Cooper tends to drag opponents in every game. He isn’t good at it either. Pablo is getting old and needs replacing. Bamford I defended him before but he is just not good enough. Beradi needs anger management.
What last night showed me as I alluded to on another thread is that we lack a real true leader for big games like this. It's worrying for a few reasons. A) Do we have the cash to go out and buy that type of player. B) Will it undermine some of the other players should we decide to keep them. Some real hard decisions need to be made IMO if we are serious about having a crack next season and well there are players here who are no doubt popular with the fans, we can't afford to implode in games or not turn up against teams like Wigan etc... For me personally, I wouldn't care if I never saw the likes of Cooper, Pontus or Bamford in a Leeds shirt again.
Wow! Where do I start? Casillas. That's a good start point. If we're to lose 3 top players next season, then I hope he's #1 on the list. I've not been convinced by him since day 1, and his performances have been more Rachubka than Nigel Martyn. I hope the mouthy BPF-haters realise how much their cacophony has contributed to our downfall this season. Berardi. Perhaps it was clearer on the tv, but from where I sat, Berardi got fouled about 5 times in the space of a few yards, all right in front of the ref, leading to his retaliation. No surprise that he lost his rag, but it was clear to me that he was a target for rough treatment, and the ref was happy for 'advantage' to be played. I saw no advantage other than his dismissal giving Direby the advantage. Referee. Where do the EFL pick these guys up from? Do they have a secret anti-Leeds Academy to train them? If we had someone of ol' Red Nose's generation & attitude, the EFL & general public would be informed loudly through the media of how victimised we have been. Our Management are far too polite & do not work the press/use politics as a tactic as they should. There is no doubt in my mind that Direby had not practised for penalties. They knew that if they used that time to practice their fouling, diving, & ref-crowding, it would pay dividends. It did. They say cheats never win, but whoever said that clearly didn't support Leeds. Why we lost. Individual mistakes. Simple as that. On another night .... Cooper. See 'why we lost', above. If he was as good as everyone wants him to be, he's be playing for a PL club. We can't afford perfect players. Even Pontus isn't as good as some would have you believe. We've had a lot worse who haven't received as much criticism. Anyone remember Pearce, for example? Yup, enough said. Dallas. I hold my hands up. For most of the season I thought he'd have to leave us - and for good reason. Too slow, I thought. Now he's a steady utility man who is currently at the top of his game. I suspect he may remain with us. Shackleton. The lad has never disappointed, has he? In fact, he's excited us in EVERY game he's played. I heard on the radio that he's got the highest win ration of any player that's played 20 or more games for us. Not sure if that's all-time or just this season. I hope he makes a position his own next season - but where? His ability to play almost anywhere is his Achilles heel. Personally, I'd like to see him tried on the wing. If his performances at RB are anything to go by, he'd be a cracker there. Phillips. Not at his best last night, but still invaluable. He's prolly everyone's top highlight of the season. Pablo. Love him to bits, but think he was overplayed for someone his age - and it showed at just the wrong time. Prolly down to that barsteward Saiz leaving us in the lurch. If he remains with us (and I think he will), I hope he's backup only, due to our fantastic close season signings/kids being promoted. Bamford. It's all been said on here. Appears to be a misfit, IMO. Plays too far forward of his midfield, and is reluctant to go wide. Gets slagged for pace, but TBF, I think he's pacey enough. Just seems to be down to his strange straight-backed running style to me. Would be happy for him to be competing with Casillas to be the first out of the door. Loanees. I've been a critic of Harrison, and with good reason, but I must confess that he has shown a marked improvement over the season. Like Gessa, I suspect he & Brown might be back next season, and possibly as signings. Brown looked the part for me last night in his few minutes game time. He may well be the #10 we're looking for. u23s. it'll be interesting to see who breaks through next season. We have an exciting array of talent available to us. All are trained in Bielsaball, so aren't fazed by stepping up, and I'm struggling to think of any that have disappointed this season when they've had their opportunities. Clarke hasn't been the same since his virus, but was considered a game-changer from the bench before that - and quite rightly too. A youngster's confidence can be so easily dented by something like this, so should be back to his old self next season. There are too many on the cusp of permanently joining the 1st team squad to mention here. It's a fantastic feeling knowing that you've got such an array of talent available to you. Our kids, when called upon, have so far shown more consistency than many of our cash signings. Long may that continue. I think we could comfortably play our u23s in every position apart from striker next season. Even with the strikers, my inclination that they are not quite ready might be a bit harsh, but I believe striker & 'keeper are the hardest positions to come into the team & keep for a kid. Hope to be proved wrong by them. Anyone still awake?
!00% agree with this. Couldnt believe the **** the commentators came out with at the time either. Beradi is a warrior and he was in a battle. Maybe it was a bit silly but fully justified if that makes sense.
Shackleton would make a great no.10, and apparently that's his natural position so I heard. Did he play there much for the u23's?
Don't mock it Eire, he'll be great under Bielsa, and he plays very similar to Saiz, who we obviously missed.
The question I would like to raise is who the fck set that Derby team up last night!!! Lampard is too inexperienced to do that plus he’s a cockney chav and clueless imo, maybe his uncle Harry helped him figure us out and how to play us.
We can all pick players that make mistakes and blame them for everything, But these same players have also been praised on here also.......No there is only one person to blame here and that is Bielsa. He is the one who bottled it at the business end, He is the one who turned a winning side into relegation form at the most important stage of the season and he is the one that lost odds on promotion due to his inability to tactically out do his opposite manager......It is so easy to blame the players or the ref but that is just ignoring the real culprit to Leeds poor end to the season and that is the manager who when it came to the crunch he could not tactically out do the opposition manager....
Thank **** for that, he's a ****ing liability, its no coincidence we collapsed when he came in the team
It'll also free up £2.5M a year in wages. Not only is he ****ing useless I don't think it sat well with the other players that he became the club's highest earner. Since his arrival it's no coincidence that our form nosedived faster than a 737 MAX
Interesting, hope you’re right but I also hope BPF is not the answer and that we have someone else in mind
ROFL. Crap bait on that hook. Then again, the way Bielsa gave away a penalty. And crashed into himself for another goal. And positioned himself like a 12yo goalie. Yes, you may have a point. We must stop Bielsa making these stupid mistakes on the field.
It was the agent who initially told me we were signing a 'world class' goalkeeper from Spain about a week before it was officially announced. Cheeky bastard sent me a text taking the piss about last night's result. I said "the cause wasn't helped by that dodgy keeper you stitched us up with" He said "oh..err...he's nothing to do with me, but he's been terrible hasn't he?" He got us Bogusz so he could redeem himself with him as he sounds promising. Also told me they've got Bamford and Ayling on their books. Told him to try and shift Bamford on asap
Bielsa is part of the "team", he is the head of the "team" so yes he should take some criticism, he should have realized he ****ed up dropping BPF for an outfield playing goalkeeper, I was well pissed off when he allowed Villa a freebie after the way they were falling all over the place the cheating bastards, he should have told Smith and Terry to **** right off, he showed a weakness giving in, he seems to want to please the bent FL more than the fans, he should read up on a bit of history about Leeds United. The players mostly have done excellent for him but Casilla what the **** can you say about him, someone should tell the twat he's a goalkeeper not a ****ing midfielder, Cooper resorted to last seasons calamitous best. And, if these refs aren't bent, (which they are) then i'd love to see the training they get to be a referee in English football, must be a 5 minute talk about how to blow a ****in whistle, ****s
I do think Casilla has unsettled the defence. When BPF was playing and a ball was played over the top almost the whole team chased back to intercept (Wigan away being a prime example when one Wigan striker was surrounded by seven Leeds players) but since Casilla came in they didn't bother as much because the **** was usually about 30 yards outside his area. Just created uncertainty and total confusion