Good Morning. It's Thursday 7th August, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road Firpo will come good When Junior Firpo arrived in the Summer, everyone expected him to be an upgrade on Alioski, but his transition to Premiership football hasn't gone exactly to plan. It's safe to say most of us underestimated the impact Alioski had on the squad. The cheeky North Macedonian was not only a dressing room favourite, but his rate work on the pitch made him a favourite of Bielsa! To give Firpo his dues, his latter performances against West Ham and Watford have learnt the former Barcelona lad rave reviews, and according to Phil Hay, he will continue to improve :- "When I think about it, I do reckon that joining this team as a full-back must be tough. Everyone is so well drilled and the full-backs have really complex roles. It’s not a surprise if Firpo is a slow burn. I get the feeling he’ll come good". please log in to view this image Dallas and Klich add stability in midfield Former Chief football writer for the Yorkshire Evening Post Phil Hay believes Dallas and Klich add stability in the heart of the Leeds midfield. The experienced duo 30, and 31 respectively, exceeded fans expectations last season turning in dazzling performances week in, week out; and although neither have managed to recapture the form of last term, both continue to play an integral part of Bielsa's system. According to Hay: "To me, it made sense to get Dallas and Klich into the midfield while the results weren't coming. It gives a bit of strength and stability and it plays the percentages slightly. It's a steadier formation and Rodrigo at 9 is much more free to think like an attacker. When Bamford returns? Something tells me he'll be back into the starting line-up. Bielsa loves him". It's been well documented that Stuart Dallas has had 'personal problems' to contend with this season. Whilst we're not sure what these issues are, broadcast journalist and Leeds fan Conor McGilligan believes the best way for the Northern Ireland Internation to overcome them, is to take him out of the firing line:- “There’s off-the-field issues, as [has] been reported with Stuart Dallas, but on the field, that’s clearly affecting him. “I think he’s been poor, I think he needs to be taken out of the firing line, even though it was a good performance from him at the weekend.” please log in to view this image Time for an overhaul Leeds free flowing, end to end football has won the admiration of millions of football fans since their return from the sixteen-year exile from the top flight. Having his players in peak physical fitness, earned Bielsa's team a top half finish last season, much to the surprise of others. As we all know, as we get older, we slow down. Many of us were surprised that this did not happen in the Summer, but the kitty was (supposedly) bare! Bielsa demands a lot from his players; intensive training day after day, sessions of murderball on a Thursday, followed by a weekend fixture has taken it's toll on his small squad. We have to ask, how long can the seniors keep up with the pace? Dallas, Ayling, Rodrigo and Cooper are all 30 (and Adam Forshaw turns 30 tomorrow), whilst Klich is now 31. All five are first team regulars, and favourites of Bielsa. Whilst there are plenty of individuals that play in the top flight a lot older, none have to contend with the elite training Bielsa demands. Is it time for an overhaul? please log in to view this image
Morning all… Our indifferent start to the season has left me with little doubt our best finishing position will be around 10th comfortably far enough from the bottom three but equally quite a bit short from top 6. How would Bielsa see this, what will the attitude of Phillips, Meslier, Llorente and Raphinha be like as they get talked up by the press and the rumour mill starts and big money offers come in? We know Bielsa doesn’t do January transfer windows so with all this in mind I’d love us to try as many of the u23s as we can, keeping in mind we still need points on the board, we can’t just assume safety is given. I’ve said before I’m expecting huge changes next season, a 31-32 isn’t old for the PL if you have a high skill level but when you already lack pace and you’re not one of the most skilled you have to wonder is it the last season for a few?
Morning all Dallas has a problem and no idea what it is, but if his marriage is breaking down or whatever its affecting him. For me if he still has problems he needs to go sort them out, which means Rodrigo drops back when Bamford comes back. i believe we will see at least one new face in January Next summer I agree with Ristac that there will be changes. I see Forshaw leaving and I see Cooper on the bench and we may even see Klich get a transfer back to Poland. I believe a fully fit Dallas is a spring chicken and is able to do whatever job Bielsa gives him. I see Cresswell replacing Cooper and we may even see Struijk move to Holland. Something is going to give with regards to Gelhardt sometime this season. He will either be ahead of Roberts next season or he wont be here. Yes he may go out on loan but I fear Sam Greenwood is destined for a move too
Morning, I’ll have to stop comparing Firpo with Alioski. When he signed I thought he’d bring to the team everything Alioski did - commitment, drive, energy - but be an even better version. Turns out they’re different players entirely. Same position yes but different strengths. Once he’s fully indoctrinated in Bielsaball hopefully he’ll turn out to be the accomplished LB we’ve needed for a while. Not convinced but early days admittedly.
Why would Struijk move back to Holland? He’s easily one our top 3 CB’s and imo will replace Cooper next season. And anyway his market value will put him out of the reach of Dutch clubs.
Just a feeling, no evidence but you have a couple of scenarios next summer. One with Bielsa and one without and if you hink about without Bielsa how many of the present team get in. Struijk is a funny one because Belgium and Holland are both chasing him, but you will have noticed when he was sent off VVD spent a long time talking to him. Playing International football means playing first team football regular. Llorente and Koch are both experienced International CBs?
On Firpo V Alioski you have a madman who runs and runs and scored some great goals and important goals but asnt a great LB and cost us points with stupid errors defending. Firpo is a few levels up as a LB butis only just getting Bielsaball. He is now getting forward and getting some good balls in. He is now starting to link to either James or Harrison but has failed to score a couple of really good chances. His defending against Sarr last week was top end. He will come good and prove to be better than Alioski who is a winger not a LB. my opinion only
Nothing wrong with having a balanced side but Bielsa won't change his starting line up unless there's an injury. Having 5 starters week in, week out at 30yo or older playing the way Bielsa demands must take its toll. We saw Klich get burnt out last season, ad El Loco was the last to notice. There were those of us that saw it months before. The only reason why Struijk broke through to the first team is because of injury, and he couldn't then find a square peg to put into a round hole. If money is tight, we need to start integrating these players now with 30 mins here and there, but we are not seeing it.
End of the day nobody knows what will happen Phillips , Rafha could well be sold. New contracts are not all they sound these days there is always ways around them especially with the money dished around by the money teams these days. In a ideal world everything above is what we want to happen but 9 times out of 10 it doesn't. I think Bielsa is a key piece into the future of some of our bigger players once he walks these could follow. Phillips loves Bielsa hes made him what he is today and owes him alot once. Big season for so many Rodrigo if he doesn't play regular he will be gone too. As on the over 30's if your good enough you survive. This season so far none of the 6 above can say they are playing as good but it's still early to early to decide.
Looks like Newcastle takeover may actually happen soon. Will be interesting to see how much they invest in the team!
Brighton midfielder Yves Bissouma was handcuffed by cops and marched out of a nightclub on suspicion of sexual assault on Tuesday night. Only the Sun have named him. All other sources don't! He's meant to be Brighton's best player this season! please log in to view this image
Struijk is ranked number 122 best CB in the world and valued at between £8m and £10mat this moment in time
Before you ask Koch is ranked 94 in the world and valued at £16m and Llorente is ranked 74 and valued at £18m. Liam Cooper is ranked 311 and valued at only £6m
