Here we go again and this weekend it must be classed as make or break. 3 points against Watford gets us off into a bunch of winnable games that settle us down and puts us on a par with last seasons points haul after 10 games. My fingers are crossed and much will depend on the patience of the crowd in the 2nd half if things haven't gone to plan So talking points this weekend are really all on the Watford game, however theres a stirm brewing in Barcelona as Koeman is about to be sacked and will take over. The Barca board are now all involved so the Dutchman will deffo go and even by close if play today? Martinez has been mentioned but says he is contracted to Belgium and all the usual suspects have also been mentioned again. Louis Suarez however has said that a couple if Spanish legends and ex Barca players should watch and wait as it will be too soon as too much bad blood and bile needs to be vented before Barca can get back on track, so the likes if Xavi should stay away until the next time. Remember they still have a great squad but are getting hammered and they still haven't even registered Sergio Aguero yet and so he hasn't played. Team selection for Watford will be interesting as Charlie Cresswell has played well enough to start, but we have Llorente back and Struijk? Struijk has played 3 games since his ban so will still have match fitness but all depends on what Bielsa feels will work best. Who goes in at RB should it be Shaks again? Will Dan James be dropped or will he move to RWB alongside Raphinha? Harrison should be back but who will fill up the middle in front of Phillips and who starts up top in place of Bamford. Lots of discussion around some if the kids because of injuries our bench as been filled with kids. Roberts or Gelhardt, Drameh or Shaks at RWB with Shaks getting a go in the middle, Cresswell called up to the England U21s, Greenwood and Summerville. Will Raphinha manage the whole game because against WHU he wasnt fully fit even though he had a good game, but with James and We Jimmy we are covered on both flanks.
Not sure what truth is in this but Leeds were rumoured to be scouting Eddie Nkehita the other night? Makes no sense to me unless moves are afoot to loan out Greenwood or Gelhardt. Why would you do that?
Football clubs are mad to have a have to pay off Managers millions of pounds to sack them! I bet Koeman can't wait.
I think tonight's u23 game will tell us more on our CB pairing If Cressy starts obviously it will be from Coops,Llorente,Struijk We seem to get the idea now with the u23's on who's going to make the first team bench. Can't see us being after Eddie just where does he play under Bielsa in his system unless we are thinking of the future without Bielsa. Barca is just a complete mess at the moment I guess nobody is safe there at this present time seems a pretty toxic environment for the near future.
Theres also a toxic environment between the President if La Liga and the President of Barcelona a real media circus and a real war. President Perez at Real Madrid also has big issues with the boss of La Liga because both these clubs have been allowed to get stronger by cheating the system and cooking the books
I think I am one of the few fans who rates Nketiah. I wouldn't pay more than 10 million for him. He just has that knack of being in the right place at the right time. I think he would be a great impact sub for us. I don't believe Sam Greenwood will make the grade here. Gelhardt looks promising. I maintain that Nketiah is better footballer than Bamford.
I tend to agree with that and the only reason Sam Greenwood came to Leeds is because Fast Eddy was ahead if him, plus Pepe and the penalty misser. Sam does score goals and some special ones from dead balls, but I have a feeling he will need to leave unless he can stamp his mark in midfield. I looked at Eddies stas whilst he was with us and everywhere else he was on loan. He scores a goal every 82 minutes whereas the best in the Championship that year was Mitrovitch on 146 mins and Olly Watkins at 150mins, Bamford was 226mins but in fairness to him his stats blew them all away last season.
You've seen more of Greenwood than me but I reckon his best position would be wide midfield in a Beckham like position. He can certainly cross a ball and take demon free kicks but he doesn't look particularly pacey or tricky. I think I'd bang him out wide and tell him to get it out of his feet early and then swing it in. Unfortunately that kind of player won't fit in to our system at the moment. Gelhardt, Summerville and Dramah look more likely given the nature of those guys and the system we play.
I like this from Bielsa on Firpo and I will go with this rather than have a downer on him “With regards to his evolution in the team, I think he hasn’t been able to play a 7-point performance, but he hasn’t also played below a 6-performance. “He has had a regular performance and he’s grown, but below what he’s capable of doing. To give an example, Alioski took a lot of games to stabilise his game and he had been in England for a few years. “Junior coming from playing with two teams that play a different rhythm to the Premier League – no better or worse, but different and this process is taking him forward and from my point-of-view it invites optimism. When Junior manages to have the rhythm the Premier League imposes on you, he’s going to be a full-back that shines a lot because he has all the physical and technical resources to generate moments of very good football.
Leeds Utd have put in planning application to extend the building at TA to build new offices and an education block for the graduates. Things going back to how first envisaged at long last, thanks to Radz, Kinnear, Orta and Bielsa. Looks like we are going to either buy back the place or lease it for a long time
Barca, In order to sack Koeman they have to pay him 13m€. He doesn't help himself with comments like, “well what do you expect with this squad”. Barca are in debt to the tune of 1350m€.(yes one thousand three hundred and fifty million euros!) They couldn’t afford to keep Messi or Griezman. All the players have had a salary reduction of 40%, I know they get paid a lot but that must piss them off. They have had a crap start to the season and could easily end up in the europa league after two 3 nil defeats in the champions league. I seriously hope they crash and burn,( if they need more petrol I will gladly oblige no shortage here)
Saw a comment from the La Liga President yesterday saying that paying off Koeman doesnt come from the same spending pot as players so Barcelona will not breach rules by paying him off
Plus compensation for Belgium if Martinez takes it Xavi’s arab outfit, maybe a freebie in Conti but he would want a war chest and princes ransom
Sorry I don't agree. Seeing him throw the towel in when he wanted out says it all for me. He wasn't a team player either.
I also seem to remember Bielsa was upset about him asking to go back. Bielsa liked him as a player but said he had much to learn. Bielsa has been proved right because Bamford is still doing his job and selected for England whilst Eddy still plays a bit part. So I dont see this as a runner
Bielsa on Joffy, but in my opinion he has already surpassed Roberts: “When Gelhardt is better than Bamford, Rodrigo and Tyler (Roberts), that will be a triumph for the work what we’ve done,” Bielsa added. “What I’m looking for, what I want, is for (Gelhardt) to verify that he is good, not to verify that he doesn’t have the level to play.”
