Good Morning. It's Tuesday 4th February, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road. Augustin has quiet debut for U23's Jean-Kevin Augustin made his first appearance in a Leeds United shirt yesterday as the U23's were held to a 2-2 draw against local rivals Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough. The 22yo former PSG hitman started the first 45 minutes for Carlos Corberan’s side before being substituted following an injury concern in the dying minutes of the first half. Fortunately it was nothing to worry about, and it was always planned that Augustin would only participate in the 45 minutes. Its fair to say that the former French Youth International had a quiet game which disappointed a lot of fans hoping he would hit the ground running! please log in to view this image Redknapp questions whether Bielsa's training will lead to burnout! Soccer pundit Jamie Redknapp has questioned Marcelo Bielsa's training sessions are too “intense” and whether that is having a detrimental affect on the Leeds players. “Is Bielsa’s training too intense? We hear stories about how intense Marcelo Bielsa’s training sessions are, so has that played a part in Leeds’ poor form?” Redknapp said. “This is not the first time this has happened, of course. “Last season Leeds were top of the table on Boxing Day, six points clear of third. Then they went on to miss out on automatic promotion. Their players will be desperate to avoid the lottery of the play-offs again.” You may recall that during Leeds pre season tour of Australia, several Leeds players including Captain Liam Cooper confiding in former player Michael Bridges expressing their fears and concerns that burnout, come the second half of the season. “The other thing Leeds struggled with last year (as well as the injury to Kemar Roofe)… I was speaking to a few of players, (including) Liam Cooper the captain… they just felt after Christmas they’d almost run out of energy, the way they’d been playing football,” Bridges said. "It's not one game a week, some of the boys are playing three a week. They just felt they didn't have enough rest and didn't feel quite right going into games. "And I think Bielsa's learned a lot from last season and the boys will be a lot fitter and fresher this year. "The style of play, like I say, is absolutely superb to watch. And they're running teams into the ground, not only with the ball but without the ball, they close them down, there's a high press and I think that it all comes down to the work that is done off the park and keeping the boys as fresh as possible to play this brand of football." Astonishing, after 30 league games only 14 players have played 5 games or more! Thoughts? please log in to view this image
Picture Courtesy of Mr i sneak, taken behind tree at thorp Arch,all copyright owned by Derby Co FC Morning everyone
Morning all... Augustin and the U23s - For me it shows Bielsa was right to leave him out of the Wigan match day squad. If Bielsa had used him against Wigan and he did zilch because of fitness and just arriving he would have been crucified on social media. Tyler Roberts in a tweet said it felt good to be back on the pitch and he suffered a torrent of abuse from Leeds fans, from wage thief to comments asking if he’d injured his glass body writing the tweet. Some fans seem intent on destroying our own, Bielsa knew, he could see Augustin wasn’t ready and I’m pretty sure he saved him from disappointing the fans and suffering negativity as much as anything. Don’t believe Burn Out, Phillips has had a three game rest, the majority have had time out injured, if we use Forshaw, Poveda, Augustin, Roberts, Douglas, Shackleton, Meslier it’s over half a squad who haven’t played a dozen games between them. Throw in Pablo and Alioski who’ve had less game time than most and we’re okay
Good morning all Mr positivity here it’s a lovely sunny day today Mr Bielsa is doing his best for the team and doing his best for individual players Think we have got to remember he sees the players day in and day out and makes his judgement accordingly No doubt the squad are aware of their performance and will react accordingly in future games in an effort to support their coach Don’t you think ?
Morning all. Would players and owners etc please stay off social media for the next 12 weeks ffs and focus on what they're paid well to do. Not too much to ask. Im sick and tired reading such tweeter said such a thing and upset a player. Bullshit
Social media is an awful place to hang out. As for players letting social media impact their game it's pretty simple. If you don't want to get wet, don't go swimming!
Plus the fact Klich looked the fittest and probably our best player against Wigan and he's played 77 consecutive Championship and play-off matches for Bielsa. Never stops running from first minute to last. There could be a case for mental fatigue for some players but definitely not physical imo.
Where have some of the players played three games a week? Two yes but not every week, they're professional athletes they should be able to pull their plug out for 180 minutes a week
Wouldn't take any notice of sick notes Bridges and Redknapp who played about 5 games a season if they were lucky.
Too much is made of social media, who says they are Leeds fans and not wums, if players can't cope with wums, stay off it.
Re fatigue. It is mental as much as physical. If you know anything about training schedules for all athletes they include rest periods, not just within a week but in cycles that include rest weeks etc. You can argue that international breaks, and even just being out of cups provide these opportunities if they are used correctly. Depends on the training regime. There are other considerations. Individuals are different, they don't all react the same way. Klich and Phillips seem able to play week in week out... but do they maintain the same levels? We're talking about levels of performance. The fact that someone is jaded doesn't stop them from running around the pitch like they always do, but it can take the edge of them... feeling leggy as they say. These comparisons with yesteryear are meaningless... you only had a small squad it was the same for everyone... and even then listen to the great Leeds team tell you what running on empty was like at the end of the 1972 season. What we're talking about now is fatigued players against fresher ones. Like anyone I don't claim to know for sure, but you can make an argument that individual mistakes can come from mental and physical fatigue. Bielsa has his own beliefs on fitness, body fat etc. He runs a proper bootcamp compared to other clubs. That is a fact. Clearly he knows how to get guys fit - does he know how to keep them at peak performance over a long season? His career record suggests that second half of the season is hit and miss for him... for whatever reason. But the one being put forward here can't be just dismissed when the players themselves are flagging it. If it was an issue let's hope Bielsa's recognised it. He does however, give the impression he doesn't think it's an issue and quotes stats about possession and chances being largely the same before christmas and after christmas last year. They obviously closely monitor fitness levels but can they assess sharpness in figures, do they monitor mental state as closely? That's before we start on pressure. It ramps up second half of the season, Bielsa needs to ensure his own personal obsessive behaviour doesn't unduly ramp the tension in the camp up. I said yesterday he's a brilliant coach but is he a brilliant manager? If he is he'll have learnt from what happened with this (largely same group of players) last year and made adjustments... if indeed they were needed.
As a professional (athlete) drinker myself, I put in the hours and there are days my tennis elbow, arthritis flare up. Do I take a day off, no I just roll my sleeves up and swap hands.
