The Super(ish) Leeds United Thread

[Rufus T Firefly]

I note we are losing two of the mainstays of the team over the last number of years - Pablo Hernandez and Gaetano Berardi.

In football terms, a sad day, as they have been two central figures in the last years of the odyssey to get Leeds promoted. Pablo was always a touch of class in the team. Scored some very significant goals with the standouts being the goal after 17 seconds against promotion rivals West Brom, a late winner at Bramall Lane after a howler by Dean Henderson and of course the late, late winner last year against Swansea which was huge in terms of sealing promotion and removing any nerves.

Berardi was a tough, uncompromising defender who always gave full commitment. I associate him with the plethora of Italians who came in five or six years ago - Antennuci, Slivestre, Bellusci - when the Club was in a constant orbit of mid table Championship mediocrity. The memory I will have of him will be his bawling out Jansson after he tried to stop Villa equalising, in contravention of the manager's wishes.

Two great servants - just a pity they could not get to fully enjoy the fruits of their labours by playing regularly in the Premier League in front of full houses.     

[Rufus T Firefly]

It's been a less than convincing start to this season. Two absolute scalpings from Manchester Red and Liverpool, simply highlighted to me the vast gap there is between the top (richest) clubs and the rest. That gap is not going to close anytime soon. You could argue that we are unbeaten against the teams that we should be challenging with, but let's face it, we are going to need more than draws.

I'll confess I've been nervous about this season on the basis of the degree of investment made in the last transfer window. Firpo was bought as essentially a like-for-like replacement for Alioski and Daniel James purchased which allowed Helder Costa to be released on loan to Valencia. At face value therefore, I don't see any significant strengthening of the squad. That means that we are still to a large extent dealing with a small squad, based on many players that were considered mid table Championship players about two or three years ago. Don't get me wrong, they were magnificent last year in the top flight, but I'd have my concerns about their ability to continually perform at that level. I hope I'm wrong.

Last night, the absence of Striujk, Llorente, Koch and Harrison highlighted again the thinness of the squad, but despite that there were enough chances to win that match. Paddy was very quiet up front and the defence did not convince and looked on numerous occasions to be ready to ship more than the one we did concede. Furthermore our old habit of spurning great opportunities came back to haunt us. I assume Raphinha went off with some sort of injury which is a further immediate cause for concern.

West Ham up next; a team that gave us a couple of trimmings last season and look to be threatening the top six / seven. I would not be confident.

Plenty of time of course, and I would still have great faith in the manager, but a win or two would help settle the nerves.

[Mourne Rover]

It was a big result at Elland Road on Saturday, and should have steadied the ship after going the first six games without a win. Leeds were not playing badly but the combination of wasting chances at one end, conceding sloppy goals at the other and missing key players can easily lead to a relegation struggle. Although Watford were poor, it all seemed very similar to the last couple of seasons in the championship when Leeds would dominate matches, fail to put opponents away and drop crucial points. It would be a relief if Rodrigo managed to get on the scoreboard soon as it looks like it could be a while before Bamford is back, and, apart from Raphina, we have few other reliable finishers. However, the next run of fixtures should offer the potential for at least some further progress.

[Mourne Rover]

The fact that Leeds fans were celebrating so enthusiastically today after a narrow win over the worst team in the division shows what a tough season it has been so far. It was still a crucial result, as we could otherwise have been in the bottom three after ten games. Injuries and loss of form have hit a small squad very hard and we have to hope that Bamford in particular is back shortly. The next three games, at home to Leicester and away to Spurs and Brighton, were all lost last season so there is a long way to go. However, Raphinha is playing out of his skin, and, if he stays fit, we have a chance of edging up the table. It is likely that he will be on his way in the summer and the transfer fee should be the biggest the club has ever received by a huge margin.

[Rufus T Firefly]

The fact that Leeds fans were celebrating so enthusiastically today after a narrow win over the worst team in the division shows what a tough season it has been so far. It was still a crucial result, as we could otherwise have been in the bottom three after ten games. Injuries and loss of form have hit a small squad very hard and we have to hope that Bamford in particular is back shortly. The next three games, at home to Leicester and away to Spurs and Brighton, were all lost last season so there is a long way to go. However, Raphinha is playing out of his skin, and, if he stays fit, we have a chance of edging up the table. It is likely that he will be on his way in the summer and the transfer fee should be the biggest the club has ever received by a huge margin.

Just quoting your post from Hallowe'en MR as it is equally applicable now. The result the other night was priceless and it was reflected in the nature of the celebrations at the end. That result was huge and incredibly only leaves us three points off Manure. The upcoming Brentford fixture at home would be another where a win would be most welcome, as I cannot see us getting much from December, given four of the fixtures are Chelsea, City, Arsenal and Liverpool. Beating Brentford would certainly relieve some pressure going into that fixture list.

The team is actually not playing badly, save for the Brighton game, when we got out of jail with a point. We do though appear to be getting our act together at the back which means we are tough to break down against bottom half teams, but equally we struggle for goals. Rodrigo has been disappointing and James is not inspiring confidence, albeit he is a trier and he did play well on Tuesday night. The return of Forshaw and his good form has been a boost but concerns remain about the lack of firepower up front and the impact of Bamford's absence. 

[Billys Boots]

Squad too small in numbers.  And everyone knows how to set-up and play against the tactics.  It's now maturity time.

[Mourne Rover]

Leeds have had some iffy performances, and the injury crisis has reached amazing proportions, but today was the result of the season by a distance. With an another understrength team, and two players limping off with hamstring problems in the space of a minute early on, it would have been easy for heads to drop. However, we got a brilliant response across the board, particularly from Harrison, with Struijk also having a stormer at the back. The win would have been even more comprehensive if we had not suffered a bizarre VAR decision for the second week in a row at the same ground. Newcastle next week is another massive match, but, if Bamford is back, our prospects will look decent.

[Rufus T Firefly]

That was as good as a tonic today. A performance that did a lot for my own belief in the team. It was a brilliant effort and richly deserving of the win, although my heart was in my mouth at the end. Harrison and Raphinha were both excellent in what was an overall brilliant team effort. Thought Dallas, Bate and James put in good shifts, even though the latter's finishing leaves a lot to be desired. Felt sorry for Forshaw, as I thought he was really beginning to show well before getting injured. Went into that game with a very long injury list and to suffer two further injuries to key men, and to then roll up the sleeves and re-join the battle with even greater determination, says a lot about the collective team spirit and the management. A wee win at home to the magpies and the worry would be off me a lot.

MOT.

[Rufus T Firefly]

I see we are being heavily linked with a move for Brenden Aaronson, a U.S. international currently playing for Red Bull Salzburg. He is a young, highly rated, attacking midfielder who seems to have a great engine and would suit Bielsa's style of play down to the ground.

Believe an offer of £15 million turned down and although RBS want to keep him until after the World Cup - when they see his valuation climbing - it is believed that Leeds are prepared to up the ante again and offer £22 million plus add ons.

Saw photos on Twitter of Orta at Munich airport today, which is not far from Salzburg.   

[Billys Boots]

Jason Knight being linked also with an €8M move to Elland Rd.

[Rufus T Firefly]

Desperately disappointing result. Winning goal came from an absolute goalkeeping howler, which is particularly grating as he has been playing well.

The bottom line remains that we do not have top class finishers - players who can be depended on to put the ball in the net. It was the case three years ago when we missed out on promotion and it has never been properly addressed. Bielsa appears to value the forward who will run and pressure the opposition keeper / defenders over the recognised goal scorer, which is why James was up front and Rodrigo playing deeper.

Hopefully the break can give us the opportunity to get some of our missing back to fitness.   

[Dougal Maguire]

What makes it worse is that it knocked me out of our Club's Last Man Standing competition

[Rufus T Firefly]

What makes it worse is that it knocked me out of our Club's Last Man Standing competition

I heard Bielsa mention that in his post match press conference.   

[Rufus T Firefly]

Have to say that things are not currently looking good. Followed up the defeat at home to Newcastle with a draw at Villa and then an abject performance at Goodison on Saturday. Listened to the second half of the match, when we were chasing the game and rarely seemed to threaten. We now enter a period of three games which is Manure at home, Liverpool away and Spurs at home. Can they surprise us and get 3/4 points?

If we are to stay up, I always felt it would be down to the paucity of other teams. Are there three worse though? Possibly Burnley, Watford and Norwich, and Brentford are going through a very bad run. My sense though is that a lot of the teams around us are getting a positive bounce from acquisitions made in the last transfer window - Newcastle and Everton for sure.

We have always had a very small squad and the injury crisis simply served to bring that into sharper focus. Other teams have strengthened but for whatever reason our targets were not available now and there did not appear to be any willingness to chase other options. Time will tell whether or not that was a wise option. Saturday did not fill me with confidence in that regard.

[seafoid]

https://www.telegraph.co.uk/football/2022/02/17/exclusive-jesse-marsch-leeds-uniteds-first-choice-candidate/


The American coach Jesse Marsch is the first choice of Leeds United to succeed Marcelo Bielsa in the summer should the club and their famous Argentinian manager decide to call it a day at the end of this season.

Marsch, 48, is a free agent and available to pick up the reins immediately this summer, with any Bielsa succession requiring careful planning on recruitment and squad planning. The Leeds squad has been built to the demands of Bielsa, who took the club back into the Premier League in 2020 after 16 years outside, and when the decision comes that he will step away, there is a necessity for the succession to be as smooth as possible.