Leeds Banter Archive December 06 2020

06 Dec 2020 18:36:08
I think the way Bielsa teams play is almost unique and very entertaining. Obviously it would be more effective with more quality players in the squad and we would go far with the right players coming in. However when, not if, Bielsa leaves I do not know of any other managers who could carry on in his way and with his success. We may get better players, we may get better results but I think we should enjoy how we play at the moment because I don't think we will be able to maintain the Bielsa style and swagger after he has gone. Which will be a pity.

06 Dec 2020 19:14:19
Hess a great post! I rarely agree but this time what you say is so so true.

06 Dec 2020 19:26:18
True Hess good post.

06 Dec 2020 21:52:21
Get Carlos Corberán back from Huddersfield?

07 Dec 2020 09:27:51
If not when, the great man leaves we will have many hours on endless fun suggesting alternatives. Corberan must certainly be in there somewhere.

07 Dec 2020 13:54:12
I agree with sentiment and the football is great

but I have to be honest I don't enjoy watching us get smashed every other week and every time we don't have the ball I have to hide because I expect us to conceed

I don't enjoy set plays or corners against us give me heart attack and when we have one I get heart burn.

I don't enjoy saying every week we played better than the result suggest

I would rather say god wasn't we awful but we won 2-0

of course I repect belisa as a coach but as said before a manager is paid to get results and they are hit and miss at the moment

im hoping that once our squad is match fit and ready to go we will blow teams away but I expect that most weeks we will be exposed for our flaws. and I don't enjoy that.

07 Dec 2020 16:15:29
I can definitely empathise with some of your points Berm especially the set pieces defensively and offensively .

07 Dec 2020 17:13:12
I’m yet to see us get “smashed. ”.

06 Dec 2020 16:18:11
Final point from me today, it was Chelsea away, think about it,

Thought about it, good, calm down.

06 Dec 2020 16:49:48
It's not losing to Chelski it was expected

It's an overall view of the eleven games so far, lots of positives but some genuine concerns which are

1 we have conceded a lot of goals, far far too many
2 we continue to rely on just Bambam ( god bless him ) for most of our goals
3.our squad is small we have seen what happens detrimentaly to our results ( Leicester, Palace) . when our key players are out injured
4 We need to be more resolute in points accumulation . could have had 4 o r 5 more points from certain games.

I keep reading posters on here stating 'We are not going down'. and they will probably be proved right especially if we can avoid injuries but would love to know from them their predictions as to which specific 3 or more teams Leeds will finish above with any certainty.

Four of the next 5 games will give a more clearer indication of our season . West Ham. Newcastle Burmley West Brom.

06 Dec 2020 17:38:56
BV
What about the points we have picked up when we didn't think we would
Did we expect a point v Man City, or 3 at Villa and Everton, probably got 2 more than expected at the blunts.

06 Dec 2020 17:46:46
Yes fair comment re point 4 .

06 Dec 2020 17:58:01
Great point Richie in calming down,

My old Nan god rest her soul was always telling me that if fretting jumping up and down and worrying would change anything she would jump and and down with me, far more effective calm, considered focussed.

Actually thought Liam spoke well after the game about analysis to eradicate errors although this may not wash with goals conceded at set pieces I think Liam knows analysis may see him replaced.

I’m always hopeful but beating Chelsea was always an ask and yes i did tip us to win but we’re capable of beating 15 teams in this league more often than not, and I believe that prevents us being in the bottom three.

Blades, WBA, Fulham, Burnley Newcastle and Brighton are not better than us in my humble opinion.

06 Dec 2020 19:36:26
Class yes agree with your list of clubs not better than Leeds there are a couple of others as well.

07 Dec 2020 04:28:32
As one of the people that said categorically we wouldn't go down Baz I still stand firmly behind the statement (yes an injury crisis could derail us but you could say that about any team) . 36 points keeps you up, by the half way stage, with the games between now and then, we should be looking at having around 26 pts and should easily have more than 18. As for below us I agree with Class. Maybe 2 or 3 more too but the mid table is going to be pretty close so a point or 2 will make a big difference in standings.

06 Dec 2020 15:14:35
I understand fans being frustrated with certain players within our squad believing they are not equipped to deal with the high level of football in the Premiership. We’ve probably just spent close to 100 million on a handful of top class players. We also have a crop of very healthy, talented young players coming through the ranks. For where we are positioned right now, it’s looking very positive.
However, I’m constantly reading that we need another 5 or 6 top class players by January!
How much do you think we would need to spend for the replacements of say, Cooper, Allioski, Dallas, Costa and Ayling and the creative midfielder everyone is talking about?, 200 million perhaps 300 million let’s make it 400, then we’ve got a team to maybe compete with Liverpool, Man City etc.
This is not going to happen, even if the finances were available then there are the FFP rules.
Reality, in 3 to 4 years maybe we might be challenging for a European spot if everything goes well, this team is going to take time to evolve. I don’t understand how “some fans“ think we should be up there right now by spending massive fortunes that we simply don’t have.
A 14th 15th position at the end of this season is realistic, anything above will be a bonus. We will not be relegated.
Patience.

06 Dec 2020 15:44:29
Post of the season OP.
It's pointless giving any of our players stick. It's our first season in the Prem for 16 years and few have played in it before. It's a learning season. Don't forget a lot of out players are nearer the end of their careers than at the start and they are the ones that have got us where we are. The squad will look very different in two or three years time. Let's just enjoy the ride this season. WE AIN'T GOING DOWN!

06 Dec 2020 15:45:00
Good points OP well made.

So which of the EPL's teams do you think will definitely finish below Leeds?

06 Dec 2020 16:18:16
Leicester's last minute winner at the Blades very pleasing.

06 Dec 2020 16:23:16
Baz, to my mind I can’t see any others than Fulham, WestBrom and Sheffield Utd.

06 Dec 2020 16:31:02
Not saying we need to spend big in Jan to push for Europe just that, unfortunately I think we need to spend to be confidently "safe" in April/ May. I think we have the personell to firm up Centre Back. Its just deciding which two play. The area that does warrant recruitment is a dedicated experienced left back. The rest then is just set piece practice again, again and again. Everything forward of the back four can wait til summer.

06 Dec 2020 19:19:58
Superb post OP and I couldn’t agree more.

06 Dec 2020 12:33:37
When I was still playing and then coaching we talked about 'being brought down in the box'. It was recognised that football is a contact sport and if you got nudged a bit but not enough to put you down so be it - no action needed. We were aware that there were players mainly on the continent, that actually practiced 'falling down'as part of their training regime. Most players coaching didn't rate the divers much and laws were made to cover it. We now have a situation whereby to avoid the 'diving' allegation you are skilled up to go down at the slightest touch and pundits and coaches see this as a positive attribute - getting your team a penalty. On Saturday Poveda came in for some criticism because he got 'nudged ' a bit across the shin but not enough to cause him much of a problem. Apparently he should have gone down and won us a point. It's not how I liked to play and/ or watch football. I don't think Poveda had a particularly good game but he doesn't deserve to be criticised for staying on his feet.

06 Dec 2020 13:12:36
Agree the lad should be applauded for staying on his feet. My argument is it should have been given as a penalty as he was kicked by the opposition player. Contact was made however intentional, he was caught by the opposition players foot and not the ball, in my book that's a foul.

06 Dec 2020 13:33:26
100% agree, its either his youthfulness and eagerness to score or he is coached not to, I've raised this before, players throw themselves down for club but not for country, maybe Southgate dosent want it, unlike some 2 bob championship manager living the dream in the prem.

06 Dec 2020 13:50:11
I do agree mate but sadly we are both wrong. staying on your feet is the wrong thing to do as much as we hate it

it is ok being the bigger person and the better man but not if it costs you points. Imagine we go down by one point, sell all our players and have another 16 years of rubbish because a player didn't dive when everyone else has?

Its the same when belisa gave villa that goal. it was maybe the right thing to do, but it didn't help us get up that season while villa did. then a year later villa get a cheated goal. did they give the goal back. no they didn't they played dirty and as a result stayed up.

I agree with you but when the rules enoucrage diving, when everyone plays dirty it is foolish to play fair

ask any villa fan dirty in the prem (which is what they did) or proper in the championship. it is an easy choice sadly

what needs to happen is the refs that don't give pens when players stay on feet need to be punished and when players dive they need to be punished more. cheating is the sensible and right thing to do all the while the rules encourage it.

06 Dec 2020 19:23:59
Moral high ground? Unfortunately I say no.

06 Dec 2020 22:33:12
Hey Bermondsey, I hate to break it to you but you didn’t lose out on promotion because of what happened in the villa game, ye missed out cause ye couldn’t beat the derby donkeys, as a villa fan I have no doubt that ye would of beaten us if ye had made it to the playoff final. I disagree with the term dirty in relation to the Sheffield game we got lucky, like West Ham got lucky against us last week and we got cheated ourselves last season by var on more than 1 occasion so these things lvl themselves out over the season, after bamfords disallowed goal a few weeks ago you guys will take the same bit of luck if it comes your way in a different game and to say otherwise is nonsense, you take what u can get in the premier league, and as a villa fan I will always have respect for MB after that true act of sportsmanship, and like all you guys hate jack we will have no time for bamford for his behaviour in the same game.

06 Dec 2020 10:09:35
Hi chaps been reading site for years felt i had to add a comment after last night, players have been great but alioski cooper costa roberts dallas are not good enough for this league, will keep us up i think but going forward starting in january need to replace with real pace. that's what beat us last night along with poor defending at set pieces which has been a problem for a while.

06 Dec 2020 11:04:12
I think Costa could be good enough but agreed about the other players sadly not being good enough for EPL moving forward

Harrison needs to step it up asap too with his crossing accuracy, more assists and goals because otherwise this level will definitely start to look a notch too high for him too.

06 Dec 2020 11:05:32
agree apart from costa I think he has been great this season, every game he has done well and really stood out. the amount of messages I have had from other fans of other clubs saying that costa is good, he is catching the eye. I can't work out why he ain't playing more as harrision has some quality but his end product and productivity is not good enough for me.

06 Dec 2020 09:17:12
Big gulf in class last night. Going forward not so bad with the likes of Dallas and Alioski just about ok. However once we lose possession different story. Too many teams can run at us through midfield too easily and Dallas is no midfielder. Alioski I like but he is flawed. In defence we are very suspect particularly at set pieces. No news there. When Cooper plays we nearly always concede. He is generally solid but again flawed. On our performances so far I think finishing 15th to 17th is realistic. Next season we need two good all round centre halves and another strong running midfielder and a left back depending on the system that is adopted. Entertaining and not bad for a first season. Could have been a lot worse.

06 Dec 2020 11:19:39
I think tne performances have definitely been better than a 17th placement Hess.

What definitely needs to improve is getting the result and points the performance warranted.

We need to be more savvy and determined on points accumulation having let at least 4 points slip against Liverpool, Arsenal and Wolves. If Poveda had been more savvy and went down we may have picked up a point against Chelski too.

06 Dec 2020 07:36:42
Chelsea the better team yesterday, their players ran and ran and barely ga e us any time or space. We gave a good account of ourselves particularly in the 1st half and I don't think any of our lads played particularly badly but our lack of strength in depth compared to one of the most expensive squads in the world certainly showed. Bamford took his goal superbly.

06 Dec 2020 08:09:46
I was impressed with james and Werner. Good team.
They could have had 5-6 tbh.
Fat frank was reasonable humble too.
Their fans were weak.
But we were below par.
First bad game I’ve seen harrison have and he was joined by alioski and cooper.

06 Dec 2020 08:48:36
Ausman, personally i thought Cooper was alright not brilliant but ok, slot more had poorer games.

06 Dec 2020 09:14:43
Cooper not premiership quality sadly, and pains me to say this as he does try and loves leeds. Watched the match back today and for chelsea's first goal Cooper just stood and watched the ball come in from a right hand cross, he made no effort to try to do anything .

He was outmuscled by the Chelsea player who scored the second goal, instead going down easily and wanting a foul. Several times got caught out in pocession and gave the ball away. The Breakaway third goal Cooper was up field as we had been attacking but never managed to get himself back.

I know this sounds perhaps overly critical of the player, and know Bielsa has made average players play better, but if we are looking at staying in this league and building on it, then players like Cooper need replacing. Cooper should be seen as more a squad player not regular starter.

06 Dec 2020 07:25:59
Glad to read people’s points of view are on the realistic side with this match. As much as it pains me Dirty Chelsea were the better side, but we performed well especially in the first half.
Special praise for KP and Meslier who will evolve into a world class keeper I feel.
I don’t want to knock any of our players as we were competing against a team who are realistic title contenders.
As for the Chelsea fans allowed in the ground, crow like squawking, is that the best they can do?
Although it’s good to see fans back in the stadiums again i don’t think it should be allowed until all the clubs fans can go back. This is only fair surely?

06 Dec 2020 07:34:35
Awful plastic fans weren't they? Hardly made a sound until they were ahead and then ridiculous squawking. What was that sound actually meant to be anyway? Booing I've heard before but not that odd square. You'd think the fans would have sung a few songs but I barely heard them unless they were complaining.

06 Dec 2020 08:10:41
Was the booing not for a foul the ref missed?

06 Dec 2020 08:11:09
Can't really argue with last night's result, as you say Chelsea were better than us. Do feel we shoot ourselves in the foot at times with the way we continually have to play the ball back and around our own box. Just once in the while I feel it would not hurt for our keeper to kick the ball long upfield. We nearly got punished several times with giving the ball straight to the Chelsea players in and around our box.
Cooper needs to be replaced sadly although looks like Koch and even lorente both carrying injuries.