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23 Apr 2017 20:51:22
Ah well clutching at straws to rely on Huddersfield Wednesday and reading to lose both games and us to win ours, we would get battered in semis on current form anyway so just as well, still have enjoyed the season and only hope we can build and improve on this year, gutted we have thrown it all away over the last month when we were looking good at start of April.
23 Apr 2017 17:43:36
So in summary: Monk was appointed far too late last summer to have a proper influence on signings and to organise a proper pre season. Almost certainly he wasn't allowed to sign the players he would ideally have liked, but he came knowing cash was limited. After a dreadful start he got his system working, which was to sort out the defence and build from there.
Amazingly it took us up into the playoffs. Monk made it crystal clear the type of players we needed in the January window. They weren't delivered. To placate him, but more probably the fans, we signed Pablo Alonso and Mo. All of them potential quality. On their day. The jury is out on Pedraza. Hernandez has brilliant touches but seems way past his best. Mo apparently just not up to it.
So we have never been in a position this season with players good enough to create enough chances or score goals. If Chris Wood hadn't been on fire, or had been injured, we would have been mid table. We've criticised Monk for no plan B. But has he the players who are really good enough? We should have had 6 points in the last 2 games regardless of who he picked.
The players let him down and let us down. Those 6 points would have meant playoffs. Can Monk deliver us promotion? Dunno. But definitely not unless the owners are prepared to dig deeper. Much deeper, into their pockets.
23 Apr 2017 18:52:08
I agree Speeds but hopefully they won't have to dig too deep with all the money that's coming in from our departures. We know what Cellino is like with money (could have been born in Yorkshire) but if Rads buys the other 50% we will see what sort of person we now have in charge. It is for him to back Garry in the summer, strengthen and regroup for another go.
23 Apr 2017 19:28:19
Good points Speedo but I cannot blame the players. Ran out of steam yes. Ran out of luck, a little i suppose. A few lads saying seventh is where we deserve to be. Bullshit.
I tell you what, we'd beat reading, Wednesday and imo Huddersfield in playoffs. Fulham be tough but we showed how hard it would be for them to beat us at the Cottage. Our team had been built over a short period of time and hence is missing, again, in my opinion a couple of players.
A top quality wide player the most obvious. If we had Knockeart we'd be battling for top two! We have a will to win and character, shown through whole season, in abundance. Green Ayling Pontus Bartley Wood and maybe even Viera all had big shouts to be in championship team of the season.
That's more than half a team in the best of! Ok I would of loved a McAllister type but these kind of creative players are rare especially in our league. Maybe the lad Monk was after from Norwich know at brenford could of been the missing attacking link, who knows?
And anyone who says we punched above our weight and got lucky in games doesn't know the championship. One last point. Keep the manager and the same six mentioned before and with a couple of additions we will be right up there next season!
23 Apr 2017 19:35:14
One last point. It took Brighton under a great manager a second full season to get promoted. They kept their best players. Will MC do the same? He has to otherwise we could go back another twelve years. He has to cough up for Bartley. Keep Jansson and Wood. And most importantly keep Gary Monk.
23 Apr 2017 19:51:39
Well that's true Leo. There will be a tidy shilling or two to be made from some of the transfers this summer. Let's hope it's all reinvested, and more
24 Apr 2017 09:12:44
Rad has and agreement to buy out Massimo's remaining shares if we stay down Cork so its more about finding out what he will do.
24 Apr 2017 14:04:45
Good point gum
24 Apr 2017 16:35:35
Well said Cork
23 Apr 2017 15:15:41
Ultimately the dreadful start and dreadful end will be our undoing. It looks like a fitness issue, therefore we need to have a proper pre season under our belts, not v non league or Irish teams again. Maybe Germany or Spain or France, or somewhere like that against much stronger opposition. Let's not give the league a 6 game head start again.
23 Apr 2017 17:27:50
Yes, more a fatigue issue than fitness imho. There is no depth to the squad . we have about 18 players who can play at this level and you need least 25 or more
23 Apr 2017 17:54:03
Certainly against teams who can keep the ball and make us chase. Show us how to use it with effect not just sideways tippy tappy.
24 Apr 2017 09:13:47
Don't think the start was a fitness thing, more that we pretty much had a full new team for the first couple of games and a new formation, the last month has def been fatigue though, players like Wood and Jansson, even Ayling and Bartley, have looked off their normal level, not bad maybe, just not their best.
But look at how many games these guys have played the last few seasons - Jansson only started 9 senior games last season, Bartley 5, 40+ games is a long slog without the odd match off at that point.
24 Apr 2017 11:27:14
I've been saying all along that we need a better pre-season. It showed what a poor one we had when we lost so many in the first eight games, anyway, upwards and onwards :)
23 Apr 2017 13:44:25
I have thought for a while that seventh was very much on the cards. You can't keep sneaking wins and draws when you are not making chances. This really comes home hen the pressure is on.
We have shored up the defence by having the likes of Vierra, Bridcutt and Phillips in mid field none of whom can regularly pick out the pass or push on past our forward. Hernandez is our only real creative player and he is past his best by along way.
That is probably why he was out in Qatar. Monk was probably hoping for one last hurrah from him. It didn't happen. Solid defence keeps you in the division - chances and goals get you promoted.
We had one but not the other. I have a feeling that if you are going to do better next season we will need two outstanding centre halves to replace Jansson and Bartley who I think will probably go. Hope we replace Cooper but if the two others go we might have to keep him.
We definitely need a very good number 10 (better than Roofe) who is the current player to replace Hernandez who should now go. We need at least one winger that can actually get past defences and cross. Dallas should probably stay for his defensive qualities.
There is nothing to choose between him and Alfonso but he is cheaper. Sacko has the pace but is not the finished article by any means. We also need a box tox midfielder who can get forward and score goals. We have a surfeit od mid fielders who can defend but not much more.
I don't know where O'Kane fits in with this as he doesn't play much. Vierra is Good and getting better. I don't rate Phhillips at this level. Bridcutt was ideal when we needed shoring up at the back but, for me, he plays too deep and he costs us going forward Wood can score but I would like to see how good he actually is when he has support and bodies around him.
His all round game doesn't look great but it is difficult to tell when he is regularly left isolated. Without all this we could be just another mid table team or worse.
23 Apr 2017 18:42:05
can't disagree with too much of that. post of the day Hess
23 Apr 2017 18:47:37
Good call Hess. I would even give Dallas a go in midfield during the preseason. He has the attributes. He can tackle. He can put a pass in. He knows which way is forward. What more do you want? The only thing he lacks is pace but in midfield you can get away with that.
We also need a Jonjo Shelvey type. Leon Britten was mooted, acceptable. I agree that Pablo needs to be replaced, unfortunately his flashes of brilliance were all to rare. Thankfully Monk was a defender so knows what to look for because as you surmise it would be no surprise if both CBs were poached in the summer. I just hope that we get top dollar for all our stars (and that every penny is reinvested in the team) .
23 apr 2017 13:17:01
end of the day it's been a much improved season i'd rather be 7th from top than 7th from bottom another full house at er next week all leeds aren't we. mot.
23 Apr 2017 11:27:08
Why play 2 holding mids if your defense is so good? Good at the back surely means you can be a little more creative up top. Why can't I be a Real Madrid supporter?
23 Apr 2017 132:08:41
Problem with that is apart from Hernandez we have four other midfield players who are basically all the same, the midfield players have cost us a top 6 spot if we could keep the the defence and our main striker and had better quality in Midfield plus another striker we may have a chance but sadly I can't see it happening money talks and our Italian owners will take the money if decent bids come in for Wood, Jansson etc.
23 Apr 2017 13:39:44
Well you can vinny. Just check your blood next time you bleed. And if it doesn't have Leeds United running through it, you can support whoever you want !
23 Apr 2017 18:49:16
One of the reasons our defence is so good is that we do play 2 holding midfield players. My only request is that Monk stops worrying so much about our defence, takes the shackles off and tells at least one midfielder to "get in the box" whenever the chance arises. I have said before that then both midfielders would need super engines as one would need to sprint box to box and the other would be two men while he is on his own. It can and has been done by many other teams. This could have been tried mid season or even against Burton with a pairing of O'Kane and Viera but unfortunately the time this season may have passed.
23 Apr 2017 09:47:32
Quick question. who would you like to be manager next season?
23 Apr 2017 11:37:20
Easy one that mate Garry Monk
23 Apr 2017 13:40:26
Ditto. Not perfect but I'll take him any day
23 Apr 2017 14:42:16
Same question to you Curahee - who do you want to Ben manager?
23 Apr 2017 17:37:09
Maybe Grayson would be a good shout, but then again I don't know many managers from other countries. look at Wagner, who had really heard of the Dortmund assistant before he came? It's is always a gamble to change and I'm not saying that I have the answer to who would get it right, but I'm not convinced that monk is the man to get us promoted
23 Apr 2017 18:51:58
For the sake of stability, Garry Monk. He may not be Conte but neither would Conte if he had to work on a shoestring budget. At times Monk is too defensive minded but if we go through the whole of next season scrambling 1-0s then bring it on. I for one have had too many disappointing years.
24 Apr 2017 11:31:07
I can't believe anyone would even think about changing managers.
23 Apr 2017 09:44:05
I don't often post on here but now that I have had time to digest the events of last night I thought that I would throw in my two bobs. Just like a late goal scored against us that leads to a draw feels more like a loss I can't help but feeling slightly gutted that we have let slip a relatively comfortable situation of a few weeks back to the one that we currently find ourselves in.
That being said though if I had been offered a 7th place finish a few games in to the start of this season I would have practically snatched at it, who would have thought after Fulham where most corners of the fanbase were feeling indignant at Chris Woods ear cupping celebration that a) he would be top of the scoring charts and b) that Leeds would still be in with a chance at the play-offs rather than wearily limping into mathematical security in the lower half of the table?
The fact of the matter is we are a mid table team that has been winning games more through sheer grit than outstanding quality, it speaks volumes that our two most popular candidates for player of the year are a striker and our goalkeeper. I know that many in the various forums that Leeds Fans congregate have decided after last night we are done and that's all folks but until we are mathematically out of contention I will still believe, it may be out of our hands but we still have a punchers chance of gatecrashing this year's play-offs.
Now what I say next may be met with ridicule but I think we will overhaul the wendies if we can topple Norwich, they face the tractor boys who are a tough nut to crack at home then it is Fulham who I feel could walk the play-offs regardless of opposition. If this happens I wouldn't want to be Michael Vaughan
22 Apr 2017 22:31:11
If i was monk i would get some young kids in like Wilks and knight for next 2 games i know what people will say we need to play full stregnth as we can still do it but we did that today play 3 up top Wilks, Wood and Knight 3 midfield Viera, dallas and o'kane 4 at back Ayling, Bartley, Jansson, Taylor give Peacock-Farrell a go in goal can not be any worse than last few games.
23 Apr 2017 11:53:14
Whoa Hardy How radical are you? I don't think it's time for the kids but certainly my team talk and selection would be different. I would play Pedraza, on the wrong wing for some of the game, and tell him to SHOOT! I would play O'Kane in midfield and tell him to get forward.
It would mean hard work with O'Kane box to boxing and Viera doing the work of two at times. I would think hard about playing Hernandez who has been absent too many times recently. Maybe put Roofe in at No.10 and again tell him, Get In The Box! Just show that we can, if we try, go for it.
23 Apr 2017 17:41:11
I agree hardy, perfect time to play them and try new things. We have two competitive games that really have nothing riding in them. We won't go up and can't finish lower than 7th. A perfect opportunity and one which doesn't arise very often. That's the kind of thinking we need! Though let's be honest we would all be able to pick the starting 11 monk will choose, and the formation to within one or possibly two players