28 Aug 2019 07:12:56
I want to talk about the game generally but firstly, Pascal Struick! He gets named as a substitute for the Stoke league game, so Bielsa accepts there is a chance he will need to come on and play against Stoke in the Championship. Then the cup, where we play three at the back, none natural centre backs and none blest with the useful centre back attribute of height! Where is Pascal, all 6ft 2 of him? No where to be seen! Can anyone explain the logic in that? I accept He is not the finished product, but he is taller, more physical, used to playing centre back in a three or 4, does bring the ball out of defence and uses his height well in both boxes. We could be using him as a centre back during the year, he was on the bench against Stoke after all! So, why not give him a chance in what was clearly a first half experimental lineup. Flabbergasted! I am sure there must be a reason but I would love to hear what it is.

1.) 28 Aug 2019
28 Aug 2019 09:15:52
Morning Spanish yeah i thought that was strange! Especially when we Struggled with their height in the 1st half, leif and bera got done for pace too! Think it was on the 2nd goal would have to see it again, can only assume pascal was either ill or had a knock! When we brought Ben on we started to look more in control at the back 2nd half as Kalvin was much more comfortable when brought forward, as he struggled at Centre half in my opionion, The lads that were taken off half time were not at it at all especially Clarke who seems to have gone backwards, Stoke struggled with us 2nd period and if pablo was on we definitely would have gone on to beat them! Good Penalties and nice to see the players and hear the fans straight after his miss rushing to pick him up, we move on 3 points on Saturday, fab to see you last night mate! 😎.

2.) 28 Aug 2019
28 Aug 2019 09:27:30
Good point Spanish.
Biesla works in mysterious ways.
He messed up with selection yesterday and most likely bewildered Struik why he was picked.
Not great man management.

3.) 28 Aug 2019
28 Aug 2019 09:30:50
Spanish The reason is Bielsa is a nutcase. He didn't inherit the nickname El Loco for nowt.

4.) 28 Aug 2019
28 Aug 2019 09:39:25
You know what mate was saying exactly same thing to the wife

While a cup run is great fun personally I find them a distraction and with a thin squad more of a problem than benifit so while never glad to see Leeds lose I. The cup I think it can be a blessing

But don’t get Mb logic with Struik either loan him out or play him to give him game time, if he ain’t ready and is genuinely behind Beradi and Phillips at cb then we needed to sign a cb.

How Mb think little out of position plasters can play there and get away with it for a while season is for me proper madness and will cost us over 50 games or so.

5.) 28 Aug 2019
28 Aug 2019 11:00:04
Baffled me why he would pick Leif over Pascal at CB. Leif not comfortable there at all. Why play Mcalmont and drop KP back as well strange. Thought first half was a bit of a shambles to be honest and showed how we can be vulnerable to set pieces. Can understand now why Clarke is not making the matchday squad if that is all he is offering at the moment. As others have said not vital to win but a little cup run would be nice if only to give fringe players a a game.

6.) 28 Aug 2019
28 Aug 2019 13:06:35
Don’t rock the boat, the man knows what he’s doing,

7.) 28 Aug 2019
28 Aug 2019 17:29:23
Spot on George.

8.) 28 Aug 2019
28 Aug 2019 18:24:40
Thanks Whitey. There's usually always one player a club can't do without. Ours is Ben White. Had he played the 90 minutes, we would have gone through to the next round. Bielsa gambled and it didn't work. He's let the fringe players down who could've played in at least one extra game. This could cause some negative issues.

9.) 28 Aug 2019
28 Aug 2019 18:51:46
Once again I fully agree George.

10.) 29 Aug 2019
29 Aug 2019 08:13:41
The same Ben white that’s too small and many said had no experience and wasn’t half the player pilot was?

11.) 29 Aug 2019
29 Aug 2019 08:25:29
George, I think it was important that we could play without White and try out another formation. In a way not good that he had to come on for me as it showed we couldn’t cope without him. I just wanted Pascal to be one of the options tried out, he’s a centre back, could be an option at some stage, give him a go. I get that Bielsa likes Davis and I understand why and actually I didn’t think he had a bad game but Pascal is an option too in an area that most agree is our most challenging in terms of numbers. The fringe players are just going to have to enjoy the under 23s. The one most likely to be a problem is JC, but too be honest, tues prob showed why Bielsa isn’t fighting too hard to get him on the bench. He needs to be playing regularly and perhaps it has to be under 23s to get some form and confidence back.