Junior Firpo had a tight hamstring after Wednesday night so now on the treatment table for another 3 weeks. Emu gutted. Joffy hip problem so not available tomoz so he will be sat in the stands with his mate Greenwood.
With Marcelo Bielsa taking over the Uraguay National team a few things have come out of the camp. Darwin Nunez is loving life under Bielsa and is playing better after listening to him and doing a slightly tweaked role which is getting him goals. Nahitan Nandez has said Marcelo wanted to sign him from Caliagri many times for Leeds and since taking over the National team and working with him he wishes he had joined him earlier. Dutch winger Noa Lang has also spoken this week about contacts between Bielsa and also Cosy Gakpo before anyone had ever heard of him and when you factor in another unknown in Josko Gvardiol you begin to see a pattern. The players who Bielsa wanted at Leeds are a different class from the players we ended up with after Bielsa left. Bielsa hasn’t said anything about his time at Leeds but there was always a feeling in the final year that players he wanted the club couldn’t get yet all these players went on to be well known stars. Maybe things would have turned out different if Nandez had arrived instead of Aaronson, or Gvardiol instead of Kristensen or Llorente?
What do we think of Poveda because he is a strange one. A kid who backed himself so left Chelsea, Arsenal and Barcelona academies and went to Man City academy. Pep says he was awesome and has talent in his feet. Bielsa took him to Leeds and said he has many many strengths and abilities. However as we know he doesn’t do himself any favours, not sure if it’s his head or his mouth. FARKE last week said that Poveda has showed him something special in training so got back into the action. What do we do with him? Sell him, keep him and still only 23yo and we got him for free but contract up in June
Something I have been banging on about for the last year or so is the reason the yanks are heavily invested in prem football. A gradual takeover of TV rights and ultimately clubs going it alone on their own streaming services or their own TV broadcasting operation away fro legacy media like Sky. You know stuff is happening when even The Spectator magazine starts creating headlines and a very good piece:
Why America’s top TV networks are banking on English soccer
It sure seems like there are more red-blooded Americans patrolling our streets in Arsenal and Liverpool shirts these days
ByJack Holmes
November 14, 2023
Did anyone else see the comments from Liam Cooper about how annoyed he got last season because of the attitude of some of the players and their lack of fight? Maybe it’s part of the captains job to actually say something at the time to the media so that fans can let the players know what they feel about it. Names should have been mentioned. No point hiding behind team cohesion etc as there was none and our worst fears happened.
Hoping this is true but stories in Spain and France about Firpo wanting out. I personally believe he would have gone in the summer but was injured. “With him having little playing time with the Whites, it’s said he’s aware he must ‘relaunch his career’, and a move back to La Liga is said to be a real possibility.That potential transfer is said to depend on Juan Miranda, who’s the starter at Betis and is expected to have an offer to leave for AC Milan very soon. Back to Firpo, it’s said his time at Leeds ‘has not covered his objectives’, as the Whites ‘poor overall performance’ hurt him. That’s part of the reason why he wants to leave.
The fullback is currently valued by Transfermarkt at €7m, and it remains to be seen whether Betis would go for a permanent move or an initial short loan. Firpo, who is 27-years-of-age, has a contract with Leeds United until June 2025.
With Marcelo Bielsa taking over the Uraguay National team a few things have come out of the camp. Darwin Nunez is loving life under Bielsa and is playing better after listening to him and doing a slightly tweaked role which is getting him goals. Nahitan Nandez has said Marcelo wanted to sign him from Caliagri many times for Leeds and since taking over the National team and working with him he wishes he had joined him earlier. Dutch winger Noa Lang has also spoken this week about contacts between Bielsa and also Cosy Gakpo before anyone had ever heard of him and when you factor in another unknown in Josko Gvardiol you begin to see a pattern. The players who Bielsa wanted at Leeds are a different class from the players we ended up with after Bielsa left. Bielsa hasn’t said anything about his time at Leeds but there was always a feeling in the final year that players he wanted the club couldn’t get yet all these players went on to be well known stars. Maybe things would have turned out different if Nandez had arrived instead of Aaronson, or Gvardiol instead of Kristensen or Llorente?
What do we think of Poveda because he is a strange one. A kid who backed himself so left Chelsea, Arsenal and Barcelona academies and went to Man City academy. Pep says he was awesome and has talent in his feet. Bielsa took him to Leeds and said he has many many strengths and abilities. However as we know he doesn’t do himself any favours, not sure if it’s his head or his mouth. FARKE last week said that Poveda has showed him something special in training so got back into the action. What do we do with him? Sell him, keep him and still only 23yo and we got him for free but contract up in June
Something I have been banging on about for the last year or so is the reason the yanks are heavily invested in prem football. A gradual takeover of TV rights and ultimately clubs going it alone on their own streaming services or their own TV broadcasting operation away fro legacy media like Sky. You know stuff is happening when even The Spectator magazine starts creating headlines and a very good piece:
Why America’s top TV networks are banking on English soccer
It sure seems like there are more red-blooded Americans patrolling our streets in Arsenal and Liverpool shirts these days
ByJack Holmes
November 14, 2023
Did anyone else see the comments from Liam Cooper about how annoyed he got last season because of the attitude of some of the players and their lack of fight? Maybe it’s part of the captains job to actually say something at the time to the media so that fans can let the players know what they feel about it. Names should have been mentioned. No point hiding behind team cohesion etc as there was none and our worst fears happened.
Hoping this is true but stories in Spain and France about Firpo wanting out. I personally believe he would have gone in the summer but was injured. “With him having little playing time with the Whites, it’s said he’s aware he must ‘relaunch his career’, and a move back to La Liga is said to be a real possibility.That potential transfer is said to depend on Juan Miranda, who’s the starter at Betis and is expected to have an offer to leave for AC Milan very soon. Back to Firpo, it’s said his time at Leeds ‘has not covered his objectives’, as the Whites ‘poor overall performance’ hurt him. That’s part of the reason why he wants to leave.
The fullback is currently valued by Transfermarkt at €7m, and it remains to be seen whether Betis would go for a permanent move or an initial short loan. Firpo, who is 27-years-of-age, has a contract with Leeds United until June 2025.
He should’ve kept quiet and taken the credit because we won that game 5-1 (I think)
