Just to add that I think as the senior pro and captain, Cooper should have taken the responsibility for playing on the “wrong side” not his more inexperienced player.
What a stupid, childish reply. So would playing anyone else, or different tactics, or whatever. Nonsense. The fact of the matter is that even if he was playing, the RCB would not have been able to make a difference. Goals 1 & 3 came down our left, with the RCB where he should be. Goal 2 came from a cutback on our right, both CBs EXACTLY where they should be. So I repeat my question again. What difference would Rodon have made if he played? (No juvenile responses, please ).
I re-watched the goals there, in case I was talking out of my arse. I wasn't. Watch it again & check my description of the goals. Spot on. Rodon would not have been anywhere different from where Struijk was, as RCB, nor is he a mind-reading clairvoyant who knew when to get out of his correct positioning to prevent goals. He most certainly isn't.
But you can’t possibly know how a CB pairing might react differently together, they are not robots, that’s why pundits talk about great CB partnerships
WJs intransience is actually part of his charm He genuinely believes we have the best players in the world and it is just a matter of a coach unlocking the potential. Mind you, he also believes Scotland will win the World Cup and Euros every two years on loop All joking aside, maybe that is what being the ultimate fan is about? He just loves Leeds and won’t accept criticism (to be fair, it did me a lot of good in the late 70’s / early 80’s when I started to accept not winning the League and cup double was actually normal ). I admire him for it (oh, and he bought Ben his first beer in a pub so he is a bit of a legend).
The thing is WJ the Struijk/Cooper partnership conceded 2 goals against Cardiff in the opening 39 mins and have now backed that up with 3 in 31 minutes at Southampton. Does that mean Rodon would have stopped any of those goals ? Well the answer is we don't know but what our eyes were telling us is that the Rodon/Struijk understanding was growing and their partnership was definitely looking more solid week by week. This is proven by the three consecutive clean sheets against Sheff Wed, Millwall and Hull. It also should be noted that after Rodon left the pitch we really should have lost at Hull with Cooper by general consensus looking seriously ring rusty. Farke had the chance to reninstate them this week but chose to place more importance on the 90 mins against Watford than the three games prior. Most of us strongly disagreed with that decision and stated it before KO on Saturday, so not really a case of being wise after the event but more just stating what was staring us in the face.
You're missing the point too. Watch the goals again. Apart from the 1st, the CBs had bugger all to do with them. The 1st is clearly a brain fart moment by Coops. So given that Rodon would have been RCB, he wouldn't have been anywhere near stopping the goal. Rodon would have positioned himself exactly where Struijk did, so what difference could he have possibly made? I still haven't had the question answered. Reason? There is no reason! Rodon would have had **** all impact on the goals if he had played. Now if someone had to clearly say that Struijk would have been LCB if Rodon was RCB, we might be getting somewhere, as Struijk would probably have handled the situation differently - but only for the 1st goal. He also MIGHT have covered Byram's slip for the 3rd, but no chance he would have made a difference for the second. Basically, the only impact of Rodon playing would be Struijk possibly playing alongside him instead of Coops. But as it stands, he didn't, & if Rodon was at RCB instead of Struijk, he would have had no personal impact, as Struijk positioned himself correctly, as I'd hope Rodon would too.
So your question is "how would our defence be better with Rodon instead of Cooper?" ...and you want that explaining? You don't need an expert. Just open your eyes.
It's not a case of missing the point WJ but more that no one actually 100% knows for sure given it's all just opinion. For example Rodon might have organised the right side of the defence better which possibly could have made a difference on the second and third goals as that's where the assists came from.
Would we have conceded the three goals in the same fashion if Rodon was playing ? No 100% not. Can I prove it ? Yes. Will I ? No.
I get where WJ is coming from with the question but it's also like saying would we have still only scored one goal if Alfie Haaland was playing for us instead of Piroe on the day, we can't say for sure we would but you'd certainly expect to.
It means if you play your best players then there's a hell of a chance the team performs better. It really is that simple. The game plays out differently if you change the starting line up last Saturday.
