Good Morning Everyone, Liam Cooper has denied claims of a mutiny at Elland Road and has shown support for Evans despite recent results “He’s just an honest manager and he’s a good motivator,” he said. “He gets the boys up for the game, he’s honest with us and he keeps us going all the time and we just buy into that. “Of course I understand the level of interest in the club - it’s a massive club and obviously the media are interested in everything. "But we just concentrate on what we’ve got to do on the pitch, we turn a blind eye to what’s going on off the pitch. “We try to do our best for the club, the supporters and the management staff.” Is Cooper simply towing the company line? Thoughts? Noel Whelan has questioned the mental toughness of the Leeds players following their collapse against Huddersfield. Whelan thinks the current Leeds squad lack leaders, who would organise the team to ride out good spells of play from opponents. “It’s the mental toughness that I question about a lot of the players when things aren’t going right and people aren’t playing well. How do you get something out of the game?” he wrote in his column in the YEP. “At the moment I think we are a little bit soft mentally when it comes to seeing out games and riding a bad period of a game and going a goal behind. “Against Huddersfield, we got off the hook with the penalty, it was a great save by Marco Silvestri and then we got the goal and that should have been it. “But then we crept back to those old bad habits, not defending set-pieces properly, not creating chances, looking a little bit scruffy and not really having any game plan. “That comes down to a mental toughness of a player within the team to control that; to tell the lads to get into position and just sit tight for a bit and just ride something out. “I just don’t feel that we have got many people in there who can be that leader, who can arrange that on the field.” Thoughts?
Morning Elland. Of course theres also the possibility that the players arent good enough Cooper will hardly admit that. As usual, for the most part, theyre a bunch that other clubs didnt really want and for the most part, didnt try desperately hard to buy from us so what can we really expect. Weve improved a little but itll require huge amounts to make us into a top two outfit over the summer. Ill bet the Engerland supporters cant wait to get Wooney back to full fitness to get the Euro dream back up and running
Morning Eire, I would agree with the mentally strong bit. Seems we cannot dig our heels in and ride it out. We buckle, and collapse.
Morning all... I would imagine the first team 11 are all on Evans side then maybe just 1 or 2 go crying to Cellino. We are approaching that time of year where a few craftily "leaked" anti Evans stories will be leaked out, Evans isn't getting a new contract and Cellino will want to justify why. I'm wondering how much longer before the name calling starts. Captain... If Vinnie or Strachan were playing for us now, could you imagine the bollocking the players would get on the pitch before even entering any dressing room.
"Har har, Jim lad, 'tis mutiny is it? Let's go ashore and rape some cats and frogs." A good motivator? F**k, hate see a bad one "He's up the boys for a game" Thats what they come for. "A dismissive club". They dismiss anything difficult Thoughts? Are you 'avin ' a larf?
Morning all, I've been saying for years that the side has no leaders, why our supposed 'expert' head coaches haven't done anything about it is baffling and simply shows them up to be totally inept. The last one we had was probably Kisnorbo, and a leader like him brings twice as much to the side than someone like Wootton Whelan is spot on, the team lacks leadership and a backbone Nasty players required ASAP, players who are up for a battle who command respect, another Kisnorbo or a younger version of Michael Brown would do for starters
There have been plenty of leaders available but we never went for any of them either because of cash or because some fans didn't want them. Joey Barton case in point, doing a great job for Burnley. Kevin Nolan etc but plenty thought Barton was bad for the club cos his personal life is a joke. Sorry we need leadership and behind the mdia hype is a class player and motivator. Plenty of our players don't yet have mental toughness and its why we play better away as they freeze in front of the fans. Yes they all want to do well for the club but due to no help of a leader on the pitch they can't handle it. Its why lesser players at smaller clubs are fighting for top 6 and we aint
I hate to say it Essex, but maybe Barton might have been that motivator that the team needed or maybe he'd have been a disruptive twat.....
