05 Dec 2021 23:45:47
How many times this season have we gone one nil up, only to draw or get beat.
Need to finish off teams and stop conceding silly goals.
Great to see ayling and bamford back, let's hope Kp injury not serious, really over rely on him and tough games to come.
Have to say Firpo and Dallas looked better too.
Don't think beilsa trusts the young ones, for me, should've been Cresswell for coops.
Lastly, where is Koch?
06 Dec 2021 00:56:33
Its a myth ( certainly when Bielsa has been LUFC manager) that he brings through young players ; Struick and that is it
if Eddie Gray and Oleary were in charge what's the odds that Gelhardt and a few others would have many more first team games appearances : Bate, Cresswell, Summerville, Greewood, Drameh too.
06 Dec 2021 07:15:01
. and what's the odds that we would still be in the Championship too. Great guys, but not great managers.
06 Dec 2021 08:26:19
I would say it was a lucky goal rather than a silly goal because the deflection fell at his feet, not taking anything away from the finish though.
06 Dec 2021 09:32:31
Guess your more referring to their first goal Ms, which looks a bit of a mixup on our part, but almost certainly not helped by the fact that KP was sat down in the centre of the pitch injured. With man-to-man marking, having him go down is likely to have caused a little immediate confusion as to who needed to be picking up KP’s man and so on.
Their second one was definitely a lucky deflection to Canos’ feet, which must be at least the third time so far this season when the ball has dropped so (un) kindly for the opposition to score, having done so for Wolves and Spurs.
06 Dec 2021 09:52:07
Not great managers! I seem to remember O’Leary taking us to the top 4 and champions league semi final before Robbing Ridsdale messed everything up. We need to reflect after these next 4 games and hope to god that the others around us don’t put any kind of run together, hopefully we can get some signings over the line in January and the injuries back fit.
06 Dec 2021 10:56:10
Indeed Me spot on
i am so over the overated Bielsa and the bs ' greatness'
axe get a grip man so you infer that Bielsa is ' great' yet others who have achieved far more for LUFC are inferior
so maybe you consider that not great/ good management coaching team of Eddie Gray and Oleary one of the most luckiest coaching/ management team in the entire history of football to blag their way through over 5 years of fine achievements because not only did LUFC under them
1) play great football for 5 seasons in a row between 1997 and 2002 in the EPL bringing through 6 or 7 young players finishing 5th, 5th, 3rd, 4th and 5th in EPL
and
2) reaching 2 consecutive Euro semi finals : the UEFA cup semi in 1999/ 2000 ( 14 matches) and the Champions League semi ( 17 matches)
Furthermore re the very overrated ' greatness' of Bielsa ; I seem to recall another Leeds United manager also took a struggling Leeds in 2 seasons from struggling 2nd tier team to promotion, then 4th then champions within 4 seasons
Howard Wilkinson and the team of Oleary and Gray's achievements for LUFC remain superior to that of Bielsa : Bielsa is good but he certainly isn't great.
06 Dec 2021 11:31:44
Baz, it’s very clear you no longer want Bielsa as our coach/ manager. Which great manager is out there, who wants to come to Leeds also and take us to the top in about 3 seasons?
Tbh with the amount of injuries we have been blighted with who could do a better job? You can look at the very experienced Benitez who has had far more resources to rely on is quite clearly struggling with his injury toll.
Believe me, Bielsa is the man for the job at this moment in time, anyone else taking his place now we will 100% be relegated at the end of this season!
06 Dec 2021 11:52:32
OP
yes Bielsa till end of season is probably still the ( best) choice ; hopefully LUFC stay up
but end of season well I think that will be it for Bielsa at LUFC.
06 Dec 2021 13:15:02
Baz - Ed1 did an excellent article, not that long ago, about O’Leary’s time as Leeds manager - which I seem to recall wasn’t entirely complimentary - yes there were some good points but also a significant downside. In recollection of that period it may be you who’s among those on the rose-tinted end of Leeds United fans’ psychosocial spectrum.
Of course we would all prefer it if we were not having to rely on injury time goals to dig out a win or draw, the way the team have been willing and able to dig in so deeply to get those points shows the spirit is high in the squad, and that they are still 100% behind Bielsa and his methods - as KP and others have said very recently, they know they owe a lot to Bielsa for getting them where they are. To bin Bielsa and his methods mid-season would be massively disruptive to the squad, and also the fanbase, the vast majority of whom are fully emotionally invested in the way he has transformed the Club on so many levels.
It would take really special coach to keep the squad and fans as united as they are, and schisms within the Club are the last thing we need right now. Who do you think Leeds could and should appoint to take over?
06 Dec 2021 13:37:52
Clu if you look at my previous post I have agreed with OP that it is probably still best that MB remains till the end of the season.
as for the team of OLeary AND Eddie Gray their achievements are more than notable in that 1997 to 2002 period on the pitch ; some decisions by Oleary in his final year off the pitch particularly his wretched book not so.
06 Dec 2021 14:32:39
I, for one, do not press the "Bielsa Out" button, just yet. Certainly not in January, not even, necessarily in summer however the honeymoon is certainly over and the much misused "greatness" tag can now be questioned. I tear my hair out at some of his substitutions. I despair at seeing his continued use of a teachers pet. I know he sees something in the man but how many seasons can we wait for a goal every 14 games to come good. Can we wait 2 maybe 3 seasons in the forelorn hope?
As for his myth of bringing on the "young ones" I worry that a little diamond like Gelhardt will wake up one day and ask "where am I going? " seeing his ideal chance slip away as Bamford returns. This scenario could sadly apply to other U23s some of whom have already tasted first team action and may not be blessed with infinite patience.
Unfortunately I have seen too many people, in all walks of life, who are so blinkered, so intransigent that they will do the opposite of what is sensible, just to show they can. It doesn't make them great. It merely shows they are flawed.
I will forever be gratefull to Bielsa for doing what he did for Leeds but his reign cannot go on forever and I feel there is a groundswell of opinion that, maybe, it is time to step aside and hand over the reins. I applaud the board for their pre-empting any decision in order to smooth any transition. The last thing any one needs is a last minute walk away.
I hope that behind the scenes talks with potential successors are ongoing and somewhere, as with players, there are gems yet to be mined. Let's, if it must be, find a new Jurgen or Pep.
06 Dec 2021 17:04:08
Baz - your previous post had not actually come through when I penned my comment, sometimes there can be quite a lag between submitting a comment and it appearing on here. Glad to see you recognise that a change at the helm mid-season would not be a good.
Leo - I don’t think for one minute that Bielsa is on some power trip as you seem to suggest re team selection. He is just doing what he genuinely believes to be for the best of the team and players concerned, including the youngsters. As for the young lads loosing patience, they will have discussed the planned pathway for them before they agreed to come here, and they were clearly content with what they were told, as they wouldn’t have come here otherwise. Bielsa will be sticking to what was outlined to them so long as each of the youngsters is sticking to their side of the bargain. It is clear that he is very much invested in building for the future - for a period beyond his time here, with both the training infrastructure and the Academy players - he will (in liaison with the Academy staff) will be trying to provide opportunities for development at the right times, to ensure the Club’s investment in young talent bears the maximum fruit, for the Club and the players concerned.
By the teacher’s pet I presume you are talking about Tyro. Bielsa has said he wants him here as long as he continues to fight for his place here - that doesn’t mean that the Club isn’t open to offers for him, on loan or permanent. If the Club is thinking about bringing in new players, either permanent or loaned, we may need to sell, (or loan if appropriate to help them get playing time) existing squad members. Clearly we don’t know whether or not Tyro is among the players who may be involved in such decisions, but if so it would make sense for Bielsa to give him game time and praise his contribution if appropriate, as he would with other players. Less likely to get interest in an established squad member who’s just a bench warmer, a d even more so if uninvolved on match days. The same applied with Costa.
06 Dec 2021 17:43:43
Yes Me and Bazvid, I don't think Eddie Gray or David Oleary were great managers. Here we go again with the abusive reply just because I don't agree with you myopic and frankly ludicrous thought process
Eddie Gray as manager, what did he win? I absolutely agree he was a much loved manager but that doesn't make them great, but that's only my opinion. From my observations he was by far a better Number 2. When he was helping Oleary the team was flying. Once replaced by Kidd we saw the start of the downward trajectory
Oleary, again what did we win? I liked his style of management at the beginning but once better players were bought he was unable to find a style that got the best out of the squad. and my opinion is that Martyn, Kelly, Radebe Bowyer were already established under Wilkinson and got no better under Oleary. And Harte, Woodgate, Kewell and Smith were part of Wilkinson famed academy.
Bielsa has won the Championship so only behind Revie and Wilkinson in terms of success
Oleary and Gray, get a grip guys, shakes head and laughs.
06 Dec 2021 19:07:55
Axe my little "snowflake" I enjoyed your oh so predictable OTT reaction to me suggesting that you get a grip
I too question your dubious thought process
as much as I am proud of Leeds winning the Championship ( a 2nd tier trophy) I personally don' t consider it a more successful achievement than 2 European trophy semis and a top 5 EPL position 5 years in a row.
We disagree on this and that's completely fine, but no need to burst a blood vessel over it my ole mucka lol.
06 Dec 2021 23:13:05
Don't forget the legend Grayson who won promotion from League 1 and would surely have taken us up again were it not for the despicable Master Bates and his money grabbing ways.
07 Dec 2021 08:30:21
Baz so you planned the "get a grip" comnent to get a reaction from me?
And you now call me a "snowflake"
Thanks for clearing that up. Your own words paint a picture for the rest of the posters on here.
07 Dec 2021 08:32:42
Alf, I hadn't forgotten Grayson but his was promotion and not silverware and it was league 1.
And I agree that his team had the basis for a push at championship promotion before it was sold from under him. Such a pity.
07 Dec 2021 13:53:20
Nothing in my posts stated I planned to get a reaction from you Axe ; get over yourself.
07 Dec 2021 15:33:09
Baz, your quote about for posts up is:-
"Axe my little "snowflake" I enjoyed your oh so predictable OTT reaction to me suggesting that you get a grip"
And now you say "Nothing in my posts stated I planned to get a reaction from you Axe"
So which one is it?
You are a bully, plain and simple. You challenge people who do not hold the same opinion as you. You use phrases that are derogatory such as "get over yourself" and "snowflake" in an attempt to belittle them. You expect your opinions to be listened to but when others state their opinions using stats you deride them
Guys, cheers for the brilliant time I have had here and all the brilliant opinions out there, but the fat lady has started to sing. Have a great Christmas everyone and great luck in your futures.