Good Morning. It's Wednesday 6th October, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road Two Leeds players allegedly refuse Covid jab As many as two thirds of top flight footballers have yet to be vaccinated against Covid, many of those refusing to do so, citing conspiracy theories, potential long term side effects and natural immune systems as excuses. Only seven Premier League clubs have vaccinated more than 50 per cent of their squads whilst three unnamed clubs have yet to immunize even ten of their players. The (supposed) big six are understood to be the biggest culprits, with many high-profile stars refusing treatment. Leeds, Wolves, Southampton and Brentford have the highest ratio, with 90% of their first team squad fully vaccinated. Whilst 90 percent is an admirable effort, should Radrizzani put pressure on the duo to take their medicine? Nobody can make them, but they could be omitted from the first team? Opinion is divided. Many of our brave armed forces of the past gave their lives to ensure Great Britain remains a free Country, where we can make our own decisions, and not be persecuted for it. Why should we get vaccinated when we don't know the long term side effects! Stats show that 99 percent of people recover from it. Others feel those who are not jabbed are selfish, and risk passing the potentially fatal virus to others. The only way that this pandemic can be controlled is to make it compulsory for everyone to receive the vaccine. One Premier League executive was quoted as saying: 'The problem is the amount of time players spend on social media and WhatsApp groups, where conspiracy theories and misinformation are flying around all the time, 'One or two big characters in dressing rooms can have a huge influence, and in several cases that has stopped younger team-mates getting vaccinated. It's hard to break down the dressing-room mentality.' Where do you stand on the issues above? please log in to view this image Bielsa's critics are 'out of their minds' Former Juventus and Lazio star Marcelo Salas has insisted that Marcelo Bielsa is 'one of the best coaches' and has labelled his critics as being 'out of their minds." The 46yo former Chilean International striker played under the Argentine during his reign with the South Americans. "The tactical part that he gave to this generation was fundamental to achieve what was achieved because, in the end, he ordered you," "Beyond changing your head, which everyone likes to talk about changing your mentality, what Bielsa did is that he gave you order on the pitch. "He gave you weapons because to all the good things we are, he gave the other part, the physical part, to play and attack without fear. "In other words, when they say that Bielsa left nothing, it’s because you didn’t have him or you’re out of your mind. "For me (Bielsa) is one of the best coaches I had. I came from Europe, from being with Lippi and an hour of tactics, from Eriksson, another hour of tactics, with the movement here and there. "So for me, it wasn’t something new, but if you have to evaluate a coach by his work, he was one of the best. He left me a lot, I learned a lot." please log in to view this image Leeds lining up La Liga starlet Leeds face competition from Manchester United, Everton and Burnley for Republic of Ireland U19 International John Patrick. The 18yo was born in Madrid, and currently applies his trade with La Liga outfit Getafe, just south of his birthplace. Although only 18, Patrick stands at 6ft 4'. His combative style has earned the young midfielder the chance of a Premiership move when his contract runs out at the end of the season. please log in to view this image
Morning all Wrong call on the jab story Elland as it should be in the politics thread. We already saw plenty of views yesterday on the subject and inflaming it by mentioning a few times “conspiracy theories” is just wrong and you do what the media tend to do and anyone who doesnt agree with their view becomes an anti vaxxer, a racist, a knuckle dragger. I give one point in evidence where everyone in this country was scared out of their wits by our media and government advisors and Hated Sweden because they refused to lock down. Sweden is now 74th in the world for deaths per million of population. Which means 73 countries are much worse, yet all those 73 countries locked down and the countries that didnt havent suffered economic collapse, had kids going to school, had hospitals working normally. The fall out from this covid shyt will take years to come to light . Also rather than lecturing footy players why not post about the 30% of NhS staff who refuse the jab, they are allowed to get away with it and get a cushy job away from the front line. This is a footy board
To be fair to Ell, you have also just written a paragraph on vaccinations whilst criticising him for bringing it up Morning all
Plus you have to look at rates per million people in each country. So forget the position and read across it gives a better picture. But hey let's not post on here as doc says in his article. Just who is running this site anyway?.
You can do whatever you want with figures and interpret them to suit your own agenda. Latest Sweden figures 80% have had 1jab 75% are fully jabbed The authorities are having a big push to get everyone else vaccinated Source Reuters
Begs the question, if he refuses the jab, should the NHS actually treat him? Now, THATS controversial!
Anything goes, and if it creates debate - even better. There's no right or wrong answers - just opinions! The other stories haven't received much interest yet, as the more controversial posts will get more reactions.
And there's two other hotly debated stories on the agenda, though the question relates to the two Leeds players who have not been vacinated?
International break opens the debate up to all sorts of topics Just out of interest see deaths figures for uk Now tell me the vaccine doesn’t work
The cynic in me might think posts = commission for Ell - luckily, I am not cynical so I won't say anything
Evaluating Junior Firpo’s start at Leeds United please log in to view this image The hunt for a new left-back at Leeds United was never about pushing Gjanni Alioski out the door. It ran that risk by telegraphing the fact that the club were recruiting in his position but Leeds combined enquiries in the market with the offer of a new contract to him. It turned out that Alioski had better options elsewhere, financially at least, and the best of them from Saudi Arabia but Leeds were still trying to talk him round in the weeks before his deal expired in June. They had a lot of time for Alioski. At his brightest he was infectious company. As the left side of Marcelo Bielsa’s defence, he was sparky, committed and good value. Everyone agreed that he deserved an extension. That was the irony of Leeds’ priority signing in the last transfer window. They wanted an upgrade at left-back, a role Alioski had coped with well but not truly excelled in, but they did not want Alioski to leave. He was like many of the players at Elland Road: three years into Bielsa’s reign and fully indoctrinated. Bielsa had versed him in the many things he wanted from a left-back and Alioski knew the drill. Training and match days were second nature because over time the tactics became instinctive. Bielsa said as much last week when he analysed the start made by Junior Firpo, the defender brought in by Leeds from Barcelona in July. Firpo is feeling his way into his new club and it took until Saturday’s win over Watford for his attacking and defensive traits to marry up successfully, his most convincing performance yet. But Alioski had several seasons of this, Bielsa said, and in that there was valid point. Alioski knew the drill. Firpo, on the other hand, was stepping into a tactically-conditioned group of players cold. At Barcelona, Firpo was accustomed to short training sessions, some of which lasted for less than an hour and some of which were curtailed if it started to rain. At their best, Barcelona could live like that. They had the talent and the wit to run riot regardless. Firpo’s earliest sessions at Leeds challenged him to join a squad who were already highly coached and familiar with Bielsa’s methods. His pre-season was a crash course in when to attack, how to track back, overlapping, underlapping and becoming the full package. “Nowadays there are no full-backs who can’t play as wingers,” Bielsa said last month. “And there are no wingers who can’t play as full-backs.” Firpo’s touches and positioning so far back up that view. please log in to view this image After every game Leeds play, Bielsa and his backroom staff sit down and grade each player’s performance from one to 10 (one being woeful, 10 being almost unattainable). Prior to Saturday’s 1-0 win, Bielsa had not scored Firpo lower than six but had not scored him higher than seven either. His impression of Firpo was much like the public’s: that the defender’s performances were hit and miss. But Watford was different and confronted by the pace of Ismaila Sarr, Firpo showed far more of the £13 million Leeds invested in him. Sarr is Watford’s livewire, a big threat in a limited team, but like many of their players, he was a passenger at Elland Road as Leeds pressed high and hard and managed the space around halfway. Both of Bielsa’s full-back’s, Firpo and Jamie Shackleton, were active at both ends of the pitch and unlike previous matches this season, Leeds faced precious little danger in transition. Barring the final 10 minutes, their control was impressive. Firpo looked altogether more comfortable as a cog in the machine. It takes talent to play at a full-back for Bielsa and the decision to replace Alioski, or to provide him with direct competition, should not obscure the things he was good at. More than anything else, the 29-year-old had the stamina and endurance to go end-to-end for a coach who requires full-backs to be all things to all men. Bielsa wants them to break at will and act as additional wingers in possession but his tactics hinge on the same players recovering quickly when the ball is lost and defending with discipline one-on-one. Alioski was helped by an extraordinary amount of energy. In the Premier League last season, no full-back anywhere covered more distance per 90 minutes than him or produced more high-intensity runs. His individual sprints and his sprinting distance were bettered by a small handful of players. please log in to view this image Firpo has not made enough appearances yet to provide a fair comparison on that front but matching up to Alioski’s numbers over the course of a season is a tall order. They make Alioski look like a freak of nature and his ability to cover ground explains instantly why Bielsa liked having Alioski in his team. On the technical side, however, there were ways in which a different left-back could improve Bielsa’s side and ways in which a different left-back could help Leeds evolve. On the basis of Firpo’s minutes in the Premier League, there are positives and negatives in the comparison between him and Alioski. The North Macedonia international had a higher rate of true tackles last season — a calculation which adds together tackles, fouls committed and challenges lost — and was the second-most active tackler in Bielsa’s squad. He delivered more crosses than Firpo to date and took more touches in the final third. Firpo’s interceptions are more regular, though, and he has been a touch more creative, potentially a sign of good things to come. He also has an improved tackle win rate, albeit at an early stage of his first season in England. Overall, the analysis suggests he can do much of what Alioski was able to contribute. please log in to view this image One of Firpo’s biggest tests, and one of the things which is taking him time, is to learn and understand the man-marking ploy Bielsa favours. Leeds have been affected on occasions by a lack of communication or telepathy at the back, most notably during their 2-1 defeat to West Ham United a week-and-a-half ago. West Ham’s equaliser stemmed from space opening up on Leeds’ left, the area Firpo was expected to cover. As West Ham come forward (graphics, below), Firpo has followed his man across the field, almost to the far side of the box. please log in to view this image Vladimir Coufal plays Jarrod Bowen into acres of space and Liam Cooper waves for Firpo to cover before realising the full-back is not there. please log in to view this image The move ends with Bowen skipping into the box and scoring with a deflection off Firpo in the six-yard box. please log in to view this image There were similar issues at home to Liverpool where a collective failure of tracking led to Mohamed Salah scoring the opening goal. Salah was electric that afternoon and, as the player Firpo was there to mark, gave him a torrid time. As the move starts, Leeds are nicely set and Firpo has Salah in front of him but Rodrigo allows Joel Matip to go by him and immediately the shape is lost. please log in to view this image please log in to view this image Salah shakes off Firpo, Matip sends the ball wide to Trent Alexander-Arnold and Firpo is marking no-one as Salah turns Alexander-Arnold’s low cross in. please log in to view this image please log in to view this image This weakness was apparent at Newcastle too, where Leeds dominated the first half but were susceptible to the pace of Allan Saint-Maximin. Here, early on in a 1-1 draw, Leeds seem in no obvious danger with the ball on Newcastle’s left and Firpo and Dan James covering the opposite flank. please log in to view this image Confusion develops as the player Firpo is chasing peels off him and gives Saint-Maximin an easy pass into the box. please log in to view this image It took an alert covering run from James to stick a foot in and stop Newcastle scoring. please log in to view this image
Leeds got away with another problematic situation when Firpo became caught between pursuing Saint-Maximin and leaving him to Cooper who raced out from a central area to try and block off the wing. Saint-Maximin’s pace took him past Cooper and with Firpo in no-man’s land, Newcastle were able to create a good opportunity which Illan Meslier saved from close range. Newcastle were benefiting from Leeds’ lack of cohesion and openings were being caused by crossed wires. please log in to view this image Saturday’s game against Watford, however, yielded a much tighter display from Firpo and Bielsa’s team as a whole. It helped that Watford were passive and negative, costing head coach Xisco Munoz his job, but Leeds will have realised beforehand that the visitors’ game plan would be built on counter-attacks from deep. If Watford were to get anything at Elland Road, they had to break with perfect poise and punish turnovers ruthlessly. And with Leeds intending to pile the pressure on, Bielsa’s players had to work hard to negate those counters. Early on there were examples of how Firpo managed to mix bursts beyond halfway with defensive work which kept Sarr quiet. Here, he steps out into Watford’s half to close down Sarr as Moussa Sissoko tries to get Watford moving in transition. please log in to view this image Because of Firpo’s reaction, Sarr cannot turn or do anything useful with the ball and when Sissoko picks it up again, he has little choice but to send it long downfield, surrendering possession. please log in to view this image Even when Sarr did get a few yards on Firpo, the full-back had the pace and awareness to recover. His high position (next graphics) is what Bielsa wants from him but playing that way leaves gaps in behind him. Sarr sees the chance to sprint away when a pass comes from deep and Watford have bodies forward with him, looking for a killer pass. Firpo retreats quickly, catches Sarr and succeeds in blocking the winger’s cross before it can cause problems in the penalty area. Instantly, the trouble has passed. please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image Leeds were no less grateful for his anticipation when a misplaced header from Shackleton presented the ball to Josh King in a dangerous attacking position. In the first screenshot, Firpo is nowhere to be seen but in the second, he has read the danger and spotted King’s most likely target, Sarr. He smothers Sarr and makes sure Watford have no chance to shoot. Munoz’s team mustered just five efforts all game. please log in to view this image please log in to view this image please log in to view this image Firpo’s performance should give Bielsa confidence that Leeds’ tactical set-up is starting to make sense to him, particularly defensively. On an attacking front there has been no evidence of Firpo shying away from opportunities to get forward or a lack of effort to involve himself in build-up play. A total of two key passes on Saturday was second only to Mateusz Klich and Raphinha. His willingness to take gambles with his positioning is underlined by the next image with Firpo (top right) the best part of 40 yards in front of his centre-backs as they look for passing options. please log in to view this image Firpo, at face value, would seem to have the right attributes for a Bielsa team if he can cure the erratic aspects of his first two months. That period, on reflection, might be grounds to re-evaluate Alioski’s contribution at Leeds. Alioski was never perfect at left-back but he was as good a fit as anyone else in Bielsa’s first Premier League season and was a fixture there for so much of the campaign. The reality of playing there for Bielsa is easy to underestimate and it is arguably the case that with his powerful running and seven out of 10 consistency, Alioski left behind bigger shoes to fill than anyone realised.
