22 Mar 2021 07:44:21
Guys, if defending better at corners is as easy as some posters on here make out, why is it that a professional coaching staff and professional footballers haven't been able to work it out! Perhaps it's not as simple as that?
It's obviously going to be an area that other teams prioritise because in games where they don't get a lot of the ball it's their best chance to score.
If we get a stable defence and a quality left back, I think things will improve but it's never going to be the strongest point of Bielsas teams. If it was he'd be better at doing it by now.
There might come a point when that defensive fragility is too much of a concern and Bielsa goes, but don't think we're there yet!
I'm happy for us to improve our defending at corners just as I'd be happy to see us improve our strike rate, but overall I'm more than happy with how we play and the results we are getting. I love the way We play, it's 90 plus minutes of exciting attacking football from start to finish, often at both ends! You don't employ Bielsa then force him to have a defensive coach!
I honestly think you either get Bielsa or you don't, a bit like marmite! I do, others don't and I can understand that. For me and for this phase of our premiership development, Bielsa will do us fine. The key will be what and who comes next.
22 Mar 2021 09:01:36
If you are saying that Bielsa is not a defensive coach then I have to agree. His primary focus is attack, and long may that continue, however my gripe is that the defensive problems are easy to minimise. It just takes time, and practice. I don't believe sufficient of either, is being applied. It looks like set piece training is an afterthought at Thorpe Arch. If it is not the Big Mans forte then all I ask of him is that he delegates the task to a First Class defensive coaching team.
22 Mar 2021 09:12:50
Never said it was easy. Leeds just get it wrong far too often. Premiership class players should be able to cut down the goals conceded in this context. Its not that we concede goals we look all over the place even when we don't.
22 Mar 2021 09:39:56
Does anyone really think that a first class defensive coach is going to get appointed to Bielsas coaching team? Just not going to happen, be like Bruce Willis hiring the worlds most expensive hairdresser!
Can’t imagine many defensive coaches wanting the job, too many nightmares!
If the improvements come they are going to come as part of the existing coaching.
22 Mar 2021 10:20:29
Good post spanish, whilst I agree with majority of your post, the corners/ set pieces issue is now a clear +present danger to us .
Managers know that's our achilles heel and know that's a direct route to goal against us .
We can't continue to just gloss over our lack of structure at corners, by accepting it's just a bielsa flaw . Bigger teams will expose this time +time again, so if we are serious about establishing ourselves and eventually competing for trophies we HAVE TO SORT IT OUT .
22 Mar 2021 10:36:26
Answer to problems, don’t give the ball away so often as we do when passing and don’t concede corners. We don’t need a defensive coach. Also I do believe it’s got into the players heads that they can’t defend set pieces and they simply panic. How difficult is it to defend a set piece for a professional footballer?
22 Mar 2021 10:56:01
Spanish, as always you are a calm authoritative voice of reason and enlightenment
However, I can see what your detractors are saying about out lack of domination at set pieces and I believe we already have the answers in our recent history.
We buy Kyle Barkley, Pontus Jansson and Chris Woods. If memory serves me right, in a Gary Monk managed team, they provided all the dominance at set pieces that Leeds United needed. I believe we conceded the fewest goals by that route in the division for that season, even given our post-Christmas collapse.
Actually, hold that, isn't Barkley unable to get in to the defence of a Big Sam managed team that is leaking in goals left, right and centre?
Isn't Jansson playing his football in the Championship for the 5th year on the trot? Isn't Woods behind our own Patrick Bamford in the goalscoring charts, the attribute he was actually bought to do.
On second thoughts maybe having a few big, tall stumps who can head a ball but can't contribute to the bigger picture isn't such a great idea.
Here's a better idea. Let's buy really really good big defenders. Van Dyke etc. Mind you spending all our money on one player (who might get injured for a whole season) and then not being able to afford the jewels like Raphina and the like could spoil the enjoyment of watching Leeds for season ticket holders who spend a vast amount of money on our obsession.
It's never easy, is it!
22 Mar 2021 11:47:53
Good debate, I’ve never done any sports coaching but I’ve done a lot of business and sales coaching. Here there is always a lot of debate about whether you coach people’s weaknesses or strengths! Sometimes you can more by improving the strengths than the weaknesses. With our team what’s best improving the strike rate of shots to goals or defending at corners. Perhaps if we upped the strike rate we wouldn’t need to worry about the corners! I suspect that’s generally where Bielsa comes from, if he really wanted to focus on corner defending then it wouldn’t be a weakness of his teams.
22 Mar 2021 12:02:19
Great post Axe, the logic of all that is that you can’t be best at every aspect of football! You will always have weak areas that other teams may or may not exploit!
You could say that due to chances created that Paddy should have scored 28 goals this season! He has done brilliantly but maybe if he had converted more of the chances to come his way, it wouldn’t have mattered so much about conceding at corners! Just saying!
22 Mar 2021 12:03:19
Spanish it is not easy if it was no team would ever score from a corner
However our ability is well below prem standard and teams a lot weaker than us are a lot better at it. Simple work would improve us in this area
To suggest we don’t need to work on it, to suggest we don’t need a defence coach and to suggest improving our strike rates to me seems very narrow minded
In any area of life but espically sport you must look at what you are weakest at and improve
Our strike rate and goals for is very good, so yes keep working on it, improve if possible but we can carry on as is as we are successful in this area
Defence over all is our weak point and corners is by far our Achilles heel so to not focus and improve on it is mental . everyone knows this is our weak point and everyone knows when you have a weakness you must drive to improve
Set plays are so important weak teams focus on them as there best way. now we are a good team but this is dragging us down. Improve and we would be an even better team.
22 Mar 2021 13:19:49
I truly am in the "It won't be easy" and saying a new defensive coach is not the whole answer because, if disected, the problem is more complex. As Opti has pointed out - if we didn't give the ball away so much we wouldn't have to defend as much.
If every problem was singular and identifiable and every answer was the same, life would be so easy. No, football at Leeds is a many layered entity where changing one layer affects others. My request was that small tweaks in different layers does not affect the overall style but may, just may, affect the obvious problem we suffer from. Wether this requires a Defensive Guru or is addressed by the Big Man himself, I care not but that someone acts on the failing is something I do care about.
22 Mar 2021 14:57:10
Spaniard Don't think anyone on here has said it's easy, just something which needs sorting. However, calls for change in coach, defensive coach as a solution show a lack of understanding for the game. Axe is on the right lines. With both attacking and defending corners, George's view is you've either got it or you haven't. It's like pace. You can't teach it. You're either good in the air or you ain't. We've seen Struick developing his skill in this area and his header against Arsenal was ironically the most thumped I've ever seen. Cooper not too shabby at corners. Pontus was also such a player. We will improve gradually over time. Personally, I'm delighted by Bielsa and the ethos and ambitions for our club are at a high. Recruit well in the summer and I see us challenging for a CL berth.
22 Mar 2021 19:35:51
I think corners are down to confidence and can be sorted if only we could stop a few we will be ok, get someone to take a lead will help, keeper is young and is doing very well let’s hope we can keep him from the vultures off the PL .
22 Mar 2021 20:59:52
What's really weird is last season we conceded LESS than everyone else. If its down to the coaching and we have the same coach how the heck did that happen? The notoriously 'stubborn'Bielsa can't have changed his tactics. Can he? How can we explain that?
22 Mar 2021 22:45:52
Championship is players playing against experienced premiership players. It’s a case of learning in season one and improving in season two. End of debate guys. See it’s that easy haha.
22 Mar 2021 22:58:41
My point exactly Love, it's not tge coach, it's the players. We need to upgrade.