Leeds banter 8

31 Aug 2026 12:42:15
Hull's deal for Jean-Mattéo Bahoya from Eintracht Frankfurt has fallen through, is there an opening there for us to exploit if Willy goes to Fiorentina, and could we afford him?

31 Aug 2026 13:34:49
If we want him and can't afford him, we can always look to loan with an obligation. Depending on their finances, it could be worked that way.

31 Aug 2026 14:36:06
We've still cash available if we want to spend it, and Willi G's move to Florentina and Ramz to probably a Championship club frees up more. But do we need an AM more than a striker and a FB?

31 Aug 2026 14:47:50
No we don't, Dun.

31 Aug 2026 10:31:39
My spuds supporting brother has gone relatively quiet, but we were discussing the demise of the playmakers in football, Maddison has been a big miss for spuds but as my brother pointed out successive Spurs managers consistently omitted him as a luxury they couldn't afford or take a risk on.

He asked me who is our best passer, which got me thinking who would we say were our top three incisive passers of a ball?

Wilson definitely top three but I'm struggling to say anyone else jumps out as an excellent passer of the football.

Brentford have very strong technical players across the midfield and forward positions at a telling stat from yesterday Brentford completed 101 passes in the final third compared to our 62, that's obviously where key chances are created.

But reasons to be despondent, no not at all for me, we are in very different stages in our epl journey to Brentford they have had six seven more transfer windows than us to get that technical level higher.

Of course we want more, better players but consider that stat above, and how Thiago gets a lot more quality balls, service, than DCL gets and yet he still gave us an excellent return and scored the equaliser yesterday when Farke to his credit, went for it and we eventually pushed a very strong team back, through team spirit and togetherness.

In summary, I'm saying it's going to be a tortuous season for some if you're comparing player for player every game, now team for team is what matters most for me and yesterday despite a football lesson in the first half and yes better opposition players in the main, our team dug in and fought for that point to remain unbeaten.

Finally, every change, we make in player recruitment must improve the team ethos while we all say we want an exciting 10 can we truly accommodate such a player at this time in our journey?

31 Aug 2026 11:02:56
Great post, class!

31 Aug 2026 11:11:26
7 seasons on ..and..

I still really miss King Pablo Hernandez.

..genuinely high quality baller ..very exciting.

31 Aug 2026 12:30:58
Been too long since replacing. I did like Saiz too. Last flair players were Raphi or Georgi.

31 Aug 2026 13:34:26
Good post there, Class, and I do think the same way.
Our passing was quite good against Forest, and I felt it was an improvement from last season. The problem is, against some of the more technically experienced teams, they do keep the ball a lot better than us, and we rely on a very good, structured defensive system to nullify their attacks.

The way we played in the second half is not sustainable for the full 90mins; we just don't possess that high technical ability throughout our squad. But what we do possess is a desire and team spirit to constantly be a pain in the ass to our opponents.

I think Farke has installed that belief into all our players, that's why, even without a skilled playmaker, we are still able to thrive and be a constant threat.

We are what we are on this journey. Constantly bemoaning not being able to spend a huge amount of money is just a waste of time; it's not going to change anything. I believe in this process for the first time since Wilkinson's tenure. It's got something very real about it. Patience is required.

31 Aug 2026 14:27:19
I think fans need to appreciate we don't have a team of Mbappes, and at the end of every game, they shouldn't bemoan any player who didn't perform like him. We are definitely an example of something better than the sum of all the parts.

We have some really decent players, who, as a whole, perform great as a team. Like O/P said, Farke has, with back room, developed a really good spirit amongst the group.



As to the original question, who is our best passer? Well, hmm, Wilson in theory, I guess (though it's not shown through just yet) . Oddly enough, Nmecha sees a good pass, as shown yesterday (to me he was the big difference yesterday) . We don't have any great passers, though, on occasion they all are capable of that defence splitting pass, just not often enough.

31 Aug 2026 09:46:08
A good point yesterday considering how badly we played in H1. The positives are we have a strong Defense and a great keeper, at last. Other than their deft goal we really didn't look like conceding and we eventually created that one key chance as they tired and it was a great team goal. I don't think it's useful to single out any individual players in that kind of performance. Other than our back 3 and keeper the rest were below par.

My biggest concern is our midfield structure. It's not clear to me how Ampadu and Stach are supposed to gel. It was our key weakness in H1 yesterday and is structural rather than down to individual performance. In fairness DF partly fixed it at HT with Tanaka and the subsequent substitutions saw us get out of jail. 🤞🤞 for at least 1 more outfield signing today / tomorrow.

31 Aug 2026 07:28:58
Yeah. Was pretty dire but we showed fight and that we are hard to beat.
I also agree with poster below that Farke is learning on the job and he was responsible for the fight back. Well timed subs and change of formation.
Still don’t think it was him at City. Anyway. Let’s focus on the present. Should have been Gnonto not James. Arronsen and ao were woeful.

As has been said. Jane’s is not prem player. Like Piroe.
Worried about Rodon. Although Spose amps and Justin can step up if we lose another cb.
There goal although a good finish was a bit lucky. Couple ricochets to get to him.
Trafford again very good. Like this geezer. Great temperament.
Gary again class.
Tick tock Mr 49. Break the bank now. Make amends later.

31 Aug 2026 12:59:21
You mean like Leicester and Sheffield Wednesday?
You can add Everton, Forest and even Villa now. There’s a price to pay for breaking the bank and dodging Financial Fair Play, Aus!
Making amends, as you call it, can see you in League 1, and every Leeds fan knows what that means.

31 Aug 2026 07:39:08
{Ed's Note - NOMAD_RANGER has posted a new article entitled, The Lewis Ferguson Thread That Still Won't Go Away

30 Aug 2026 22:51:12.
That first half was scary, and we could have shipped more than the one goal. Every player on the pitch was not anywhere close to the Bees. Reminded me of the Arsenal game last year.

Wrong state of mind and tactics - and two terrible contributions by BA and Justin.



However, in the second half we did much better, and sorry Baz, your love child James is just not good enough either.
MoT.

30 Aug 2026 23:19:42
While we were totally outplayed in that first half, Brentford had an xG at HT of 0.56. I think it was (we were something like 0.04) . So, our defense was doing OK and restricting chances.
I'd take that as a positive TBH.

31 Aug 2026 00:24:35
Blimey, CA, some peeps are hard to please. 😆

Not only was Danny James Man of the Match and goalscorer in the midweek Forest match.

In the Brentford match, for 69 mins Leeds United had hardly a sniff at goal.

Within 9 minutes of DJ on the pitch, Leeds had equalised, with DJ involved in the goal.

Furthermore, Leeds looked more purposeful in attack, and the better side after DJ's introduction.

31 Aug 2026 07:09:52
He was very poor, Baz, zero shots on target, zero key passes, zero out of 2 crosses, four shots off target and an xA of 0.01.

31 Aug 2026 07:28:15
Why do we think if a player comes on he has to be Superman? No one can be Man of the Match every game they play. There were 11 players out there, but we pick out two, DJ, BA. 🤦‍♂️

31 Aug 2026 07:38:40
That's true, Whitey. tbf, all 11 could've been singled out in the first half, for one thing or another. Tactics were irrelevant in H1, coz we were second to everything anyway!

Side note, Rodon looked like he carried that injury into the game, which is a big no no.

That could possibly lengthen his time on the sidelines. Fortunately, Elvedi looked class, and can really pick a pass!

31 Aug 2026 07:55:41
Agreed, Bright, he looked like he was holding his leg in the last game, but he wants to play every game. We need younger players who are fast; Brentford have that. Do you think we should be looking at Brentford's type of younger players? DL was caught out by their quick speed.

31 Aug 2026 10:16:21
I predicted a 2 1 Leeds win. Was expecting/hoping DJ to score that chip chance. He's scored a few similar to that before.

It would have been a 2 1 Leeds win, not deserved, but still.

30 Aug 2026 17:13:05
I'm still not convinced by Farke. It took him half a season last year to change to a winning format and hasn't adapted this year to the fact that we are a known quantity to all our premier opposition.

For most of today's game we were appalling. When we weren't, we struggled to string accurate passes together. Sorry about the negativity. Just telling it how I saw it.

30 Aug 2026 17:55:12
You have to factor in the opponent; Brentford are no pushovers. In the 2nd half, he changed things around, and it worked. Would he have done that first half of last season? I don't think he would. Farke has adapted to the Premiership, it took him a while, but he's got it now.

30 Aug 2026 18:34:22
What Bisto said. They were a quality opponent, and we adapted in the second half, a hard-crafted point. We are hard to beat. JT again showing what a signing he is. Early days, but the signs are good.

30 Aug 2026 18:43:56
CJS, if Farke started with all the changes at the beginning, would you have been happy? I'm sure you wouldn't. We were outplayed by a good side in the first half, and he has faith in our defence. Hindsight is a beautiful thing, my friend.

Farke did well, changed the team when required, and got a result that, after half time, I didn't think possible. It's a good point against a team who are going to batter quite a few this season, we move on. MOT.

30 Aug 2026 19:01:39
Farke's first season, he had to sort out the absolute mess of a squad in the summer, and we got to the play-offs. Then, second season, we won promotion. In our first season in the Premier League, Farke changed the system during the Man City game, and we were ranked 7th in the Premier League from that point on.

During April and May, only Arsenal got more points than us.

He then changed the system at half time today, and we looked much better in the second half against an excellent Brentford team.

Also, our net spend is less than all promoted teams so far this window.
I'm quite convinced he's done a good job for us.

30 Aug 2026 19:04:54
Think you're being a bit unfair here, Cjs.

Last season we moaned about his late substitutions, today he changed mid game and it worked out.

We got bossed 1st half.
We looked a whole lot better 2nd half.

I for 1 am very happy with Danny's performance today, and happy with his changes.

31 Aug 2026 00:27:18
It's a more than fair analysis, Cjs.. and, indeed, it's not negativity, you are just telling it as it is.

31 Aug 2026 07:16:46
It's only an opinion, which doesn't make it right, though.
Farke will never be accepted by some of the fan base, but I think the vast majority can now see that he is proving his doubters wrong, and he is becoming a Premiership manager with more and more credibility.
Forget what some hard to please fans think, you only have to listen to the after match opposition manager's interview, most have a lot of praise for Daniel Farke.



Personally, I think he has already adapted to the Premiership. For the moment, he accepts that he doesn't have the kind of quality to play his preferred formation, so he has had to adapt, and he's done that very well.
I look forward to many seasons with DF, and am very interested in how he will change and transform this Leeds Utd football team.

31 Aug 2026 07:42:21
Farkey played a blinder turning that game around yesterday! Would love to know what he says in the dressing room, and how he handles those situations!
He is really developing very positively!

31 Aug 2026 09:38:29
OP, if he set his team up like yesterday, I think it's fair for some to question his ability. Why didn't he do his homework on the opposition that his team were going to face? We were the home team, and you have to agree that was as poor as you can get.

Why wait to half time, you can clearly see we were having problems 10 minutes in. I hate it, but Leeds were falling apart. DCL is definitely not a loan striker, not quick, and in his case had no service. Fair play, it was better second half.

31 Aug 2026 10:18:35
OP, I wouldn't go by what managers at press conferences say about other managers.

31 Aug 2026 13:55:44
Whitman, we are not able to sustain the way we played in the second half for the full 90 mins. I think Farke wants to frustrate our opponents, especially the very talented ones like Brentford. I think the idea is to soak up the pressure in the first half and try not to concede a goal. It did take an exceptionally well taken goal to breach our defense.

Of course, fans won't like to see our team to be under so much pressure like we were in that first half, but I thought we defended very well and we even lost our key defender in Rodon.


I always felt, in the second half, that changes would be made to put Brentford under more pressure, and, sure enough, it happened and we equalized.

We are not going to overrun teams at home for the full 90 mins. We didn't last season either, simply because we don't have that quality throughout our team yet.

I think DF did his homework very well on Brentford, and we could've even nicked the win at the death. They couldn't beat us last season either, and they are about five seasons ahead of us with building their squad in the Premiership.

31 Aug 2026 14:17:41
I fully acknowledge that we are a team in the building, but we need to turn up. Sorry to say, we didn't until late in the game. Farke could have made changes; you don't have to wait until half time.

If, as many said, BA was s***, then take him off. It seems to me he can't do right by many on this site, and, having been on the Terraces, it's not the same story.

31 Aug 2026 14:53:46
He did make changes, at half time!

31 Aug 2026 16:51:27
Brentford are a really good side and I'm glad of the point. They will be top 7 for sure, and top 5 wouldn't surprise me. Are there 6 PL teams that are better than them? I'm not sure there are. Four out of 6 points, unbeaten, and one goal against us are alright with me for now.

30 Aug 2026 17:08:58
Fatawu and Ensico very good signings for Ipswich.
Not sure why we struggling to bring the right attacking players in.

30 Aug 2026 18:47:22
I particularly rate Encisco, but he cost £30m, and Fatawu was £24. I think that's too much for our resources.

30 Aug 2026 19:17:43
BBC reported that they paid a combined fee of £47M for them. We've not got that much left in our budget after the signings we've already made - it's all about money.

30 Aug 2026 16:42:54
Good point against the form team in the EPL, thinking, what do Brentford have that we do not have currently?

On today’s stats, technically more gifted offensive players from midfield or wide areas. Why?

This is their seventh season in the EPL. That’s a lot of transfer windows to shape a side, develop patterns of play and build continuity and understanding between players.

Lots of our lads off it today and personally think Farke should have started with Wilson instead of BA but understand he wants to maintain width in a proven formation.



But Jimmy again looks top draw and well done Farkey for going for it and getting us a very valuable point, Scienza at Saints looks at a technical level we could certainly use, but it’s a very different game in the Championship so it’s a gamble.