A little discussion point, perhaps? After 19 games this season ..... * We have 3 fewer points (32 v 29). * We have scored 6 more goals (23 v 29). * Our goal difference is 2 better (3 v 5) .....and yet if you listen to some on here, we had a brilliant start last season & a really crap start this season! We also had Green, Wood, & Taylor, the loss of whom have regularly been cited on here as the reason for our 'downfall'. Some downfall!! (Just for reference, the previous season, we only had 22 points, and a -4 goal difference, having only scored 18 goals!)
We are a better footballing team this season We have more strength in depth We are not good enough to be promoted though A good goalie, a good left back and a good striker (or one of the current ones to step up) and the rest of the squad is such that we’d be in with a very strong chance I’m fantasising Ekuban could make it, really liked the look of him today - though he fluffed his chances and he might find it harder to play the role at home. Really too early to say, tbh it would be a miracle if he came good enough this season
Don’t get me wrong, I want us to win more on the pitch but I’m over the moon this season compared to last. I don’t know if Alioski is hot and cold, I don’t know if Hernandez is past it, I don’t know if Ekuban will solve our striker problem, I don’t know if Thomas is getting better or not and I don’t care too much because if it’s broken Rads will fix it. Rad told us he’d buy the ground back and he did. He told us he doesn’t know much about football so he hired directors. He will know a lot more about running a club now than he did 6 months ago. He has invested in signings, some might prove to be not so great but we actually scouted them, we didn’t have an agent offering an aging freebie who nobody else wants. We are giving decent contracts over relying on 5 or 6 loans, we are signing up some real young talent for the future, we have no pending law suits, we haven’t got a clown like Cellino running us. We all want more, we demand top 6 but look at Leeds United today and compare that to 18 months ago. If we make similar strides in the next 18 months we’re going to be pretty formidable. Let’s give Rad January and see how he fixes our weaker areas... We’re slowly getting better, Rads is learning more about running a club daily, we’re heading in the right direction.
I can imagine how this thread will develop.... For me I'm more confident in the overall set up of the club, their are strengths and weaknesses in individuals but overall I think the team is better. I do not dread reading news items and seeing the club and its name being dragged into this financial crisis, or that court action, it seems like a steadied ship. Hopefully there will be some additions in January but lets not forget January can be difficult to get good recruits so I'm hopeful but realistic. Comparing this year with last, its hard to show but I think we sneaked more wins than we probably deserved last season, but then again a win is a win no matter. TC is also learning, not just about this league but also the players he has and the teams he is up against so I exepect him to improve and develop. OK yes perhaps we could have got a British manager but there is little recent evidence to show that this guarantees success. As for Radz if I had his money and was investing in something I didn't fully understand I would probably do as he appears to be doing, slowly slowly catch a monkey. Given his self confessed level of knowledge why would he want to splurge big money until he understands more. It seems to make sense but I admt there are other interpretations so we will have to wait and see, but I for one am confident he will do the right thing for Leeds. If it had been previous owners then I'm sure they wouldn't. I've said elsewhere that I would like us to be promoted but I will not be unhappy if we are in this league next year with the same set up, a modest, in numbers, targetted summer recruitment campaign and a bit more competitive set of friendlies under our belt ready for next season. So go on tell me I'm a happy clappy and don't know this or that and that it really is all doom and gloom, to be honest I don't read those comments anyway. All I will say is this is my opinion it is as valid as anybody else's
welcome back bud.just one worry from me and it's about not drawing many games.just had a look at the full table and compared to others we are conceding too many.
Cheers, mate. No doubt at all that we are conceding too many. Call me over-optimistic, but I think we'll improve on that area as the season progresses. Reason? Well, Weidwald has had his card marked, and according to TC, he's improved, especially dealing with crosses. Perhaps, we'll see about that, but for me, the main reason is that we're settling down to more consistent pairing at cb. It's always a huge problem for any team when you chop and change the cb/gk triangle. Thanks to suspensions & injuries, we've been all over the place. I can't believe that we can have another run of such bad luck in these positions again this season. Fingers crossed. Btw, the stats tell you why Weidwald is back in the team. The Championship stats are: Weidwald - P12 W8 D2 L2 GA11 ..... 2.16 points per game (extrapolated - 99 points - autos) Lonergan - P7 W2 D0 L5 GA13 ..... 0.86 points per game (extrapolated - 40 points - relegation) Interestingly, we had only lost 2 from 11 when Weidwald was dropped. I'm guessing that TC was influenced by the hysteria generated by the media & the fans. Hopefully he's learned that lesson! Also, his GA stat of 11 conceded in 12 matches is marginally better than Green's last season. Green had conceded 20 in 19 at this stage)! That's a stat to chew over for those that want to see the back of him. Prolly the same people that wanted rid of Green last season. (hands up time - I was quite vociferous about getting rid of Green ).
Agree with nearly all of that Need to just maintain faith in Rad through yo next season. He deserves it for all the stuff he’s done to make LUFC a professional club again, and in any case you can’t expect miracles in January The big challenge will also be holding onto players we want to keep, next summer
Last sentence is a very real concern. Only consolation - and it's a small one - is that their long contracts should jack up the sale price considerably. Then again, that was a hugely unimpressive consolation when we lost Wood & Taylor, wasn't it?
we can of course offer improved terms to stop that.maybe rads will go down that route to keep the best signings.
No point offering better terms if they want to go they will so Fcuk 'em But they won't want to as they will see the path forward and the ambition of the club. For the last, god knows, how many years when have we been able to say there is a real ambiton to go forward ?
Green, Wood and Taylor all wanted to leave. **** them. Off the pitch things seem to be sorted, I'm happy about that, but it's not something that interests me if I'm honest. I care what happens on it. We had an amazing start, which gave us another false dawn. I'm backing TC at this time, Cellino would have sacked him by now. We need to get a few wins in a row and you never know. In this league everyone can beat each other, so there is a chance that other teams will go on bad runs. I was impressed by Eukaban, not so much his finishing(which he's paid to do) but his running back to help defend was good. I don't rate our German donkey and at least we can send him back at the end of the season. Overall things aren't too bad. But I'm sure Glory will put on a negative spin on anything positive. Now that's two sensible Leeds Utd football related replies within a week. I'm getting another headache.
Like others, I was very impressed with Ekuban and look forward to see him Friday against stiffer opposition. It’s certainly a breath of fresh air seeing the likes of Saiz and Alioski at the club and the magic they bring. Unfortunately you can bet there are pl teams already keeping an eye on them and we all know, if we’re honest, they’ll be off. We’ve never managed to keep our best players during summer transfer windows for one reason or another. We have to next summer if we are to progress but I’ll be damned if I know how rads to do it
