Weekend Thread

Plenty of interest for Leeds fans despite clubs absence in fixture list.

Leeds fans might be frustrated at the lack of fixtures this week but should have their interest retained with some fascinating football fixtures this coming week. Saturday afternoon sees another clash between arguably the best two teams in Europe when Man City take on Liverpool in the FA Cup semi final (KO 15:30 on BBC). This is the level alot of Leeds fans feel they should be at eventually but there is a huge skill gap at the moment. Can Leeds realistically get to the level currently shown by these two clubs? Liverpool have shown they can do it on a "budget" and Man City have an endless pot of cash.

Meanwhile, there are some crucial Premier League fixtures over the next week before we play again a week on Monday. Those particularly affecting Leeds are:-

Saturday 16th.
Man Utd vs Norwich 15:00 (need a scum win)
Watford vs Brentford 15:00 (all Brentford?)

Sunday 17th.
West Ham vs Burnley 14:15 (up the 'ammers)
Newcastle vs Leicester 14:15 (need a favour Brendan!)

Wednesday 20th.
Everton vs Leicester 19:45 (and another Brendan!)
Newcastle vs Palace 19:45 (come on the Eagles)

Thursday 21st.
Burnley vs Southampton 19:45. (Need Ellands boyfriend to help us out)

Saturday 23rd.
Man City vs Watford 15:00 (Big win for City for goal difference)
Norwich vs Newcastle 15:00 (conflict of interest here?)
Brentford vs Spurs 17:15. (All spurs in this one).

Sunday 24th.
Burnley vs Wolves 14:00.
Liverpool vs Everton 16:30.

By the time we play Palace on Monday we will have a clear understanding of what we need to do. Hell, we might even be safe.

Marsch to run rule over loan kids pre season.

We remember Bielsa discarding Klich in his first week at Leeds only to welcome him into the fold due to injuries and Klich became and remains an integral part of the squad.

It seems that the lads out on loan will be given a chance to shine back at Leeds pre-season by Marsch. The likes of McCallmont and Bogusz have caught the eye of the new management and Marsch will check them out himself. Bournemouth may not take up the option on Lief Davis despite him impressing due to the emergence of their own young prodigy Jordan Zemura at left back. Greenwood has impressed Marsch hugely and these kids could potentially save the club tens of millions of pounds this summer.

Any tips on who can jump in from the 23's or any players who Bielsa sent out who can bridge the gap?

 

Good thread Emu

Watched Derby last night and thought they were excellent against the best team in their division. It won't save them from the drop but Rooney seems to have potential as a coach.

It's been a strange season on the coaching front with the sacking of Bielsa and then Dyche yesterday and yet useless twats like Lampard get protected by the media and is somehow still in a job.

 

Thanks @Jammy 07. I hope @Doc is OK and he is just too busy this weekend.

I strangely miss being involved in the Easter weekend in the lower leagues. Alot of the promotion and relegation seems to get ironed out.

Burnley are a strange one. Under Dyche they were certainly going down. I feel a bit for him though as he hasn't been backed at all and he has worked miracles at that club. They have no right to have stayed in the top flight like they have given the finances available. Saying that, I'm a little more concerned than I was. We've all seen that 'new manager bounce' and it's obviously dependant on who they appoint. I actually feel like it might just give them the smallest of chances from here on.

 

Agree on the Burnley front and clearly it will go one of two ways.

Sacking the manager clears the air and provides everyone a clean slate whilst also erasing any underlying bad feeling that sometimes lingers below the surface in football. If results immediately improve then the bandwagan can start to roll and the momentum gained can then be sustained for a short period.

The main concern being of course is that their 'new manager bounce' coincides with our tougher run of fixtures and potentially Jesse coming back to earth and realising how tough managing Leeds can be.

 

I read an article on the new manager bounce theory recently.

Consensus seems to be:

- sides that aren’t known for busting a gut are more likely to with new manager to impress
- just a fresh approach can sometimes ‘break a rut’

however, the main theory is that managers are often sacked after a run of bad luck.. and that any bounce is just a ‘return’ to the team’s natural level… and that is as likely to happen with the existing manager as a new one.

So just hiring basil brush, mickey mouse, or frank lampard could have a short term effect, depending on the state of the team, but there’s nothing statistically in it to say sides are more likely to improve with a new manager

with 8 games to go, I guess the basil brush effect is the worry- ie anyone could make a difference… but they’re a hard working side and they’ve been struggling all season. I think this is their level, and I’m not sure where their bounce comes from.

having said all that, they have plenty of games left they could win bounce or no bounce… just games you would give them a chance in if dyche stayed. They beat Everton game before last.

 

… did I manage to manipulate that so I could claim to be right whatever happens?

 

Good thread Emu, and still recovering from surgery so struggle to put out a weekend thread weekly at the minute mate.

Loan players to watch are

• Poveda
• Davies
• Bogutsz
• Costa
• Drameh

I think the rest are history and it may well be that these are all sold off. Bielsa seemed to have a problem with Bogutsz for some reason because he went from being the future of the Leeds midfield, to sent away on loan for 2 seasons. He was actually a big part of our U23s National league and area league double winning team. He scores box office goals and creates them too?

 

Malcolm Ebiowei was very impressive for Derby last night Doc.

18 years old and a big future ahead it would seem.

 

Caprile going great guns as well mate. Maybe swap him with Klaason next season with Klaason going out and Caprile having a season challenging Meslier?

 

At least we have the Rhinos live on Mon...

 

Have you thought about a new career at the met office.

 

WTF's up with Brighton? They lose 6 in a row, draw 0-0 with Norwich, then beat Arsenal and Spurs away from home

 

FFS I has Spurs to score a goal in my accy and the sothern poofs were beaten by the real southern poofs 1.0....

 

Norwich 1-down at scum

 

0-0 on IPTV

Oh...

 

Ive Norwich to score one goal in my accy.

 

Seem to remember you saying you don't gamble before shaks

 

I lied

 

What I think I said Jammy was I never bet on Leeds Utd to lose or scum to win...