The Super(ish) Leeds United Thread

[Mourne Rover]

There's a long way to go, and Leeds fans know all about false dawns, but the club is finishing 2024 in great shape. Three wins in a row, seven goals scored with none conceded, and tonight also saw our best score since the Bielsa era. While Aaronson has taken some time to find his best form, the winner against Derby was from the top drawer. Farke also deserves great credit for effective player rotation, and using his bench astutely. We still need at least one decent signing in the transfer window but the table makes excellent reading this evening.

[SaffronSports]

Not great today. Almost got away with it but gave up a stupid goal straight after scoring.

I think we move the ball to slowly when playing against packed defences and make it easy for the teams to defend deep against us.

[Rufus T Firefly]

Not great today. Almost got away with it but gave up a stupid goal straight after scoring.

I think we move the ball to slowly when playing against packed defences and make it easy for the teams to defend deep against us.

I honestly didn't think we deserved to win that game. Blackburn were able to completely strangle us and it took a debatable penalty to get us a goal very late on. The defending from the subsequent Blackburn corner was terrible.

We are where we want to be at the moment, but I'm still not convinced that what we have will see us up, particularly if this develops into another four horse race like last year. Given the transfer window has now opened, names are beginning to be thrown around, and I see another name cropping up from the Summer - Buendia from Villa. Despite having played previously under Farke at Norwich, he turned us down last Summer, as he felt Championship was too much of a fall from where he was, but he is not getting any game time at Villa, and a half season loan might be in his best interests at the moment.   

[Mourne Rover]

Leeds may be the only club who could go in the new year top of their league but with supporters feeling growing pessimism about their prospects. Late goals have cost us four points in the last two games and it's pretty clear that Meslier is going through a crisis of confidence in nets. He has always been prone to the odd mistake but his performance against Hull was verging on the disastrous, and he was jointly or solely responsible for all three conceded. While Darlow will almost certainly start the cup tie at the weekend, he has also looked shaky during his rare appearances. Farke is still insisting that he is unlikely to be active in the transfer window, but it would be a huge risk to leave the squad unchanged. A striker and a no 10 need to be on his list, and a keeper may also be required. The money is apparently there, and in a tight division, where the other contenders are already starting to invest, it will have to be spent soon.

[Rufus T Firefly]

A striker and a no 10 need to be on his list, and a keeper may also be required.

I've been beating this drum for a long time. We need a proven goal scorer and a number 10. However, the goalkeeper issue seems to have exploded out of nowhere and there can be little doubt - looking on various forums and social media - that a clamour for change between the posts has arisen after the Hull disaster. The ironic thing is that the strongest rumours I am hearing around transfers in seems to concern adding to the centre of the defence, with Omobamidele heavily linked for a loan move from Forest.   

The money is apparently there, and in a tight division, where the other contenders are already starting to invest, it will have to be spent soon.

This is the thing. For all our weaknesses, I still believe we have the strongest squad, but the overall situation remains fluid and competitors are already strengthening - have the Blades signed Brereton Diaz - which means that Farke's reluctance to do much business in the January window will come under severe scrutiny if we were to hit a run of poor form between now and Easter. 

I've seen prices of Leeds being 1/16 to get promoted, which is far from where I see them. They are not filling me with confidence. 

[Mourne Rover]

We have to hope that Farke knows that he needs to recruit but is engaging in the familiar tactic of insisting that he is happy with the present squad to avoid paying over the odds in the transfer window. While January is a notoriously risky time to sign a striker, an injury to Piroe would come close to derailing our entire season. Competition for Aaronson is equally vital and the alarm over Meslier's record is steadily growing. Omobamidele would be decent cover in a position where we already have options. There is no doubt that the bookies have Leeds at an entirely false price, with Paddy Power today quoting 1/25 for promotion although it was 1/50 last week. A rational assessment, taking into account the way Leeds teams have crumpled under pressure over the years, is that our chances are slightly better than 50/50, but only if the right players are brought in shortly.

[SaffronSports]

Through to the Fourth Round but that wasn't easy. Harrogate had a shout of a pen early although I thought it was maybe outside the box anyway. Hopefully another handy home draw.

[SaffronSports]

Through to the Fourth Round but that wasn't easy. Harrogate had a shout of a pen early although I thought it was maybe outside the box anyway. Hopefully another handy home draw.

Happy with that draw. Home to Millwall or Dagenham and Redbridge

[Rufus T Firefly]

Happy with that draw. Home to Millwall or Dagenham and Redbridge

A real opportunity to progress to the Fifth Round, although I'm not sure if that's a good thing, to be honest. A cursory look through the pages of this thread will see numerous references to the dangers of an extended cup run in the context of a hugely important League campaign.

Only seen fleeting moments from Saturday's match, but we seemed to make hard work of it. Darlow had a decent enough game, so all eyes will turn to the team announcement for next Sunday's game at home to Wednesday and in particular who is in nets.     

[SaffronSports]

I felt that Darlow flapped at a few crosses so wouldn't be overly confident in him either tbh.

[Rufus T Firefly]

I felt that Darlow flapped at a few crosses so wouldn't be overly confident in him either tbh.

Aye. I'm not sure he's the answer to our problems.

[Mourne Rover]

The Leeds season is entering a defining period, with the opening of the transfer window and the announcement of Farke's verdict on our accident prone keeper Meslier. All the indications are that, despite the multiple errors which have cost us four points in the last two league games, Meslier will retain his place against Sheffield Wednesday tomorrow, so we have to hope that Farke's judgment is vindicated. It is equally important that he strengthens the squad in the coming weeks, so it has been perturbing to hear him suggest that, unless the injury to Struijk proves worse that initially suggested, he is not preparing for recruitment. Piroe, who tends to drift in and out of games, is our only reliable striker and any injury to him would have dire consequences. Bamford seems perpetually injured and has not scored since April. Joseph has potential but has only managed two goals during 12 starts and 14 appearances as a sub in the league, while Gelhardt has gone out on loan. Signing a striker at this time of year is risky, but failing to bring someone in would be asking for trouble.

[Rufus T Firefly]

Signing a striker at this time of year is risky, but failing to bring someone in would be asking for trouble.

Indeed, particularly where rivals are also strengthening.

The stakes are now very high, not just for Leeds, but for Farke himself. I can't believe that he will survive another failure to get promoted, and such failure would surely signal the end of his long held ambition to prove himself in the Premier League. 

[SaffronSports]

Didn't get to see the game yesterday as we had training but it was a great result. Still loads of football to be played though. Would love a forward and a keeper but Farke seems to be saying no business expected.

[Rufus T Firefly]

Last night's huge match between Burnley and ourselves turned out to be a damp squib, which is being kind. It was possibly in the running for the worst match I have ever seen. The first shot on target came from Dan James in the 89th minute. Burnley have a formidable defensive record and sat very deep and in all honesty Leeds did not really threaten a goal. It was desperate stuff. However, there was a sense that both managers were satisfied with a point, particularly given Sheffield United and Sunderland both dropping points this weekend.

For me though it underlined that there remain glaring issues for Leeds at numbers 9 and 10. Piroe has come in for a lot of flack for his performance, but I would still have him ahead of his replacement, Mateo Joseph, who again failed to make any impact in the time he played.

The coming weeks will see the pressure add, as we have Sheffield United away and Sunderland at home. Huge games.