Good Morning. It's Tuesday 25th May, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road Auf Wiedersehen Cooper Leeds skipper Liam Cooper has been a massive asset and servant to Leeds since his arrival from Chesterfield seven years ago for 1m. The life long Leeds fan has always given heart and soul for the club. On the field his contributions could often be littered with mistakes, but, since the arrival of Bielsa, the Scottish International has been solid at the back and difficult to break down. With the arrival of Koch and Llorente last Summer, and the emergence of Struijk who is improving game by game; are Cooper's days numbered at ER, especially if Bielsa decides to bring in Nkoulou on a free transfer? Would Cooper be happy with a bit part next season, or should he be sold to make way for emerging talent like Casey and Cresswell? please log in to view this image Bielsa favourite - available on free transfer Nicolas Nkoulou has played his last game for Torino, and will leave Turin with his head held high having been inspirational in helping his side avoid relegation. The 31yo centre back played under Bielsa at Marseille, and he is is player that the Argentine knows and trusts, but do Leeds really need another centre back. please log in to view this image Hoddle - Leeds are on Europa path Ex England supremo Glenn Hoddle believes the Whites can continue to build on what has been a fantastic nine months for them in their first season back in the top flight for sixteen years. Speaking on his podcast, the 63yo wouldn't be surprised if they were pushing for a Europa League spot next term “They can get caught on the break, but their fitness levels are marvellous and they’ve made the Premier League even better, they really have,” “I think next year, you know, once you’ve set a standard it’s hard to maintain it, it’s harder, but I think they’ll have one eye on Europe you know, that’s where they’ll be aiming. “If they get a couple of players in and strengthen the squad here and there, they’re not far off and they could achieve that in the Europa. They’ve got something to go for and it’s incredible, and there’s some ambition there and when the Elland Road crowd is back 100 per cent, it will be a hard place to go, it really will be.” please log in to view this image
Morning all... Cooper will eventually become like Berardi, used less but give it his all when he gets a chance and he will always have a tendency to walk close to the line risking a card of some kind. He is a Bielsa favourite and along with Dallas I wouldn’t be writing off their names on the starting 11 team sheet next season. What is the point of pushing for a Europa league spot if you’re not going to actually try and compete in it? We’ve seen how we approach the FA cup would Europa league be any different?
Morning all, No need to sign another CB. Two of four from Llorente Struijk Koch and Cooper is enough. No need to sign the 31 year old from Torino. Cooper will find he's picked less frequently but will remain club captain. Ayling will be the on-field captain. Koch will be first choice CB replacement and cover for Philliips. That's what I reckon anyway
Good Elland, good morning all, it’s a lovely day and the sun is shining So here I am, the season has just ended and Leeds have done much better than I feared. In fact, they have been amazing and they did as they did in the championship, they feared no-one. We ship in a lot of goals right up to the end of the season. But when Llorente became injurie free and found his feet, the leaking stopped. And if someone was wondering if we could score goals in the prem. Then the answer is a resounding YES, WE CAN!!! And we never looked out of place. Usually I’m a very patient man, but not now. Now I want new signings and I want the season to start again right now. I think this summer is going to be very very long
Completely agree with this but only change will be Struijk being first choice CB. Bielsa likes a left footer and right footer so I can't see him playing Koch and Llorente together. It'll either be Llorente and Struijk or Llorente and Cooper.
Morning all Agree with Ristac and Forza, seems pointless even though we know Coops wont be playing every game now. Liam is 30 at the start of the new season, but he's in good company with Dallas and Klich. League 1 Liam has actually only played around 80 games in that division but played well over 200 in the Championship and 207 for Leeds. Maybe he should be encouraged to take his badges and get involved with the kids. Lets face it club captain involved with the kids will be inspirational. However he still has 4 years left on the 5 year deal he signed last year, so he will be pricey for any Championship team to buy if he wants to move to get more game time. We only paid £600k for him and when we got promoted Chesterfield got another £150k, so we will make a huge profit if he prefers to leave
Morning all, We will not sign a new CB this summer whether they are Bielsas best mate or not. Bielsa knows what he has, our best options at CB since the O Leary era. There is going to be a lot of competition for that spot next season and that is great. I can see Cooper dropping to third or fourth choice next season but carrying on as club captain.
I know 30 is still relatively young for footballers these days but due to the competition in the squad I can definitly see his playing oppurntunities dying out going forward. Imagine though the club captain getting involved with, as you say, the kids or more and more off field events and moments. Cooper is clearly liked by everyone at the club, has been a brilliant ambassador as captain in his time. Maybe its time to tap into these strengths while still providing back up on the pitch. He will go down in history as the club Captain who led us back to the Prem. He has a chance to cement his legend status by doing more off the pitch as well, much like many of the Revie boys.
The question was asked yesterday what are we going to talk about now the season has finished. After covering for Ell earlier this year I appreciate how difficult it can be to come up wth different topics each day, and that was while the season was ongoing. I was reminded of something some friends and I did on facebook during the first lockdwon. Someone had created 30 questions about football along the lines of favourite goals, games, players etc One was posted each day and we all answered. Now some of these lads support other teams so the answers were varied but it gave us something to talk about. To this end I will post one question a day in the breakfast debate. Should give us at least one thing to talk about for the next six weeks. So, question 1- Favourite defender who currently plays for your team?
My favourite, not because I think he is the best btw, is Cooper. Great long term player and captain. Lets face it, good things happen for Leeds when the armband is on a jock.
I was a big fan of Llorente ever since he signed. There was chatter at the time he would be back up for Cooper and Koch. Never......
That's what I was saying foolee, Llorente and Struijk first choice CB's, with Koch next in line should one of them get injured. EDIT: I see what you mean now, Koch replaces an injured Llorente and Cooper to replace an injured Struijk. Makes sense.
So it looks likes Bamford is set to miss out on a place in the England squad. What mental leaps has Southgate made to pick Calvert Lewin or Watkins over Bamford? Both have socred/assisted less goals and finished in teams below Leeds. Calvert Lewin has really tailed off in form and lets face it do we want a dirty diving cheat like Watkins playing for England? (Same goes for Grealish)
My favourite defender? oooooo that must be Ayling. I hope that Llorente and Koch will be the pairing for the next season. Think they are our best CB’s.
Uhhh yes we do, at least we can win something then, even if it's only a free kick or a penalty Morning all
Anyone heard anything about the Alioski incident? Find it strange and a bit provocative that everyone was screaming over each other about the face Alioski made but no-one even mentioned that McNeil was spitting at his face when he was laying on the pitch.
The less players we have away the better, rough on the players but let’s get the new signings in and have a good preparation. Grealish and Watkins to get injured then Villas season is over
It does seem to have gone very quiet. I dare bet the refs report showed that Mcneil made a baseless accusation and rather than punishing him for that they have just ignored the whole situation.
It has gone very quiet and yes, I also think it may have been brushed under the rug. Still think McNeil should have been punished for what he did.
