The Official Leeds United Thread

[JNW1]

Ajax Treesdown said:

Killer2005 said:

Average tonight with Hull looking the better through most of the game but we got the win which is the important bit.

Let's not mention Paddys miss....

It's all about wins! 6 games left and probably need to win all 6, or at least 5.
I don't really care if we don't have the ball for 89 minutes but score in the 1 minute we do and win 1.0

Yes, results are what matters but having said that it's now two indifferent performances since the return from the international break and you can't help but think that will be reflected in results eventually if it continues. But hopefully we'll have Gruev back soon - he doesn't get talked about much but I think we've really missed him - and with a break of the best part of a week it should give chance for some of our other players carrying knocks to recover as well.

I think yesterday showed again how competitive the Championship is - the top three all won but all were made to work really hard by teams who will be in or chasing a play-off position. And although the team that eventually finishes 3rd will almost certainly have lots more points than the others in the play-offs I've got a feeling they won't go up; after being so close to automatic promotion for so long I think the psychological let-down of missing out will be quite damaging and hence I think one of the other contenders will come through and nick that final promotion place. Just hope we don't finish 3rd then!

[uk66fastback]

JNW1 said:

I think yesterday showed again how competitive the Championship is - the top three all won but all were made to work really hard by teams who will be in or chasing a play-off position. And although the team that eventually finishes 3rd will almost certainly have lots more points than the others in the play-offs I've got a feeling they won't go up; after being so close to automatic promotion for so long I think the psychological let-down of missing out will be quite damaging and hence I think one of the other contenders will come through and nick that final promotion place. Just hope we don't finish 3rd then!

Agree with this. My mate’s an Ipswich fan and he was so nervous before last night’s match v Saints. Leicester and Saints and to a lesser degree, you lot, all retain players from the Prem. Ipswich came up last season so all this is new to them - the intensity and the competitiveness. He has this feeling that if they finish third they won’t go up. I’m not sure he wants them to go up anyway! He thinks they’ll get mauled in the Prem, like Sheff Utd have with many complete drubbings by half-time. He’s enjoyed the season but worries for them a bit - he was pleased when they went up as they were miles ahead of most teams in League One.

[Jungleland]

uk66fastback said:

Agree with this. My mate’s an Ipswich fan and he was so nervous before last night’s match v Saints. Leicester and Saints and to a lesser degree, you lot, all retain players from the Prem. Ipswich came up last season so all this is new to them - the intensity and the competitiveness. He has this feeling that if they finish third they won’t go up. I’m not sure he wants them to go up anyway! He thinks they’ll get mauled in the Prem, like Sheff Utd have with many complete drubbings by half-time. He’s enjoyed the season but worries for them a bit - he was pleased when they went up as they were miles ahead of most teams in League One.

Tough one for them - I think they would struggle big time with the Prem but wholesale changes risks ruining the passion and grit that got them that far - they could just end up with a bunch of Prem mercenaries. I think Leeds suffered with that last season - the promotion squad was all but gone and we had a lot of players probably there because it was the Prem, not for the club.

Whoever does miss the top 2 will need to show some real character to go up, regardless of the quality of the squad.

[dirty boy]

The one thing I'd expect from McKenna in the absolute miracle of us getting promoted, would still be evolution not revolution.

He places an awful lot of trust in people and the team being greater than the sum of its parts.

FWIW, I don't think we'll go up, Norwich is a ridiculous game to contend with this end of the season and they've hit form at just the right time, and much like Watford and Hull looked really good against you guys, we've got those two plus Middlesbrough and Coventry to negotiate.

And then a Huddersfield team scrapping it out on the last day...

That just seems like too much to me.

Ultimately, enjoying this season like no other, I injured myself celebrating on Monday, not as much as a lad who dislocated his shoulder though lol

[Venisonpie]

dirty boy said:

The one thing I'd expect from McKenna in the absolute miracle of us getting promoted, would still be evolution not revolution.

He places an awful lot of trust in people and the team being greater than the sum of its parts.

FWIW, I don't think we'll go up, Norwich is a ridiculous game to contend with this end of the season and they've hit form at just the right time, and much like Watford and Hull looked really good against you guys, we've got those two plus Middlesbrough and Coventry to negotiate.

And then a Huddersfield team scrapping it out on the last day...

That just seems like too much to me.

Ultimately, enjoying this season like no other, I injured myself celebrating on Monday, not as much as a lad who dislocated his shoulder though lol

Agreed, I think we'll come up just short but what a season.

[JNW1]

Well if we were a bit fortunate to win against Hull on Easter Monday I thought we were robbed today - a draw was the least we deserved and we really should have won. I suppose the plus was Ipswich also lost but it was a missed opportunity for us - thought Bamford should have done better with the cross from Firpo in the first half and Piroe should have buried that chance in stoppage time.

Anyway, no point crying over spilt milk, let's hope to get back on track with a win against Sunderland on Tuesday....

[Jungleland]

Aye - two home games in a row. Have to win both really if we’re going to do it. Fail to do that and I think it’s unlikely.

It’ll be an emotional four weeks.

[resolve10]

Genuinely don't mind if we do it or not. The Championship is an exciting league. We'd probably lose Struijk, Sunmerville, Rutter and Gnonto but we'd still have a cracking squad to give it another go next season.

[JNW1]

resolve10 said:

Genuinely don't mind if we do it or not. The Championship is an exciting league. We'd probably lose Struijk, Sunmerville, Rutter and Gnonto but we'd still have a cracking squad to give it another go next season.

We'd also lose Rodon, quite likely Meslier and, perhaps worst of all, possibly Gray. There'd also be teams in the bottom half of the PL who'd probably have a look at the likes of Ampadu as well and, while I realise he's under contract to us, it would be hard for him to resist a move to the PL if the opportunity arose.

So if we don't go up personally I think our squad for next season would be quite a bit weaker than the one we have now. Maybe still good enough to compete for the play-offs but I'm not sure it would be good enough to compete with the teams coming down from the PL (although I accept that would depend on how many of their current squad they're able to retain).

I do understand the point of view that thinks it would be better to continue to compete in the top half of the Championship and not be promoted just to struggle in the PL. But when you look at much of the PL table (especially from say from 10th downwards) I'm not sure there are any teams bigger than Leeds and there are quite a few that are smaller; therefore, I think being a mid-table PL side is a realistic aspiration for us and personally I'd prefer that to life in the Championship. However, if we don't go up this season I fear it could be a while before we get another chance in the PL....

[dirty boy]

JNW1 said:

resolve10 said:

Genuinely don't mind if we do it or not. The Championship is an exciting league. We'd probably lose Struijk, Sunmerville, Rutter and Gnonto but we'd still have a cracking squad to give it another go next season.

We'd also lose Rodon, quite likely Meslier and, perhaps worst of all, possibly Gray. There'd also be teams in the bottom half of the PL who'd probably have a look at the likes of Ampadu as well and, while I realise he's under contract to us, it would be hard for him to resist a move to the PL if the opportunity arose.

So if we don't go up personally I think our squad for next season would be quite a bit weaker than the one we have now. Maybe still good enough to compete for the play-offs but I'm not sure it would be good enough to compete with the teams coming down from the PL (although I accept that would depend on how many of their current squad they're able to retain).

I do understand the point of view that thinks it would be better to continue to compete in the top half of the Championship and not be promoted just to struggle in the PL. But when you look at much of the PL table (especially from say from 10th downwards) I'm not sure there are any teams bigger than Leeds and there are quite a few that are smaller; therefore, I think being a mid-table PL side is a realistic aspiration for us and personally I'd prefer that to life in the Championship. However, if we don't go up this season I fear it could be a while before we get another chance in the PL....

It's the money and ability to compete that makes the PL almost a must isn't it?

If you got 30m for say winning the the Champ, 20m for 2nd, 15m for third (or whatever) I'd be happy with us (Ipswich) staying in this league and actually enjoy us and many other teams at least being able to compete and win games.

I learnt from League one, that it doesn't matter who you're playing when your team is winning and having a go.

[MonkeyBusiness]

Went to Elland Road last night as a Sunderland fan.
Always a good (sold out) atmosphere at both games.

Not the greatest game, especially the first half.

I'd be fuming at that refs performance. Should have been a penalty.
Clarke should have scored.
Gray is a huge talent. Shame he wasn't used more.
Bamford is frustrating. Thought the battle with Ballard was a good one.

Edited by MonkeyBusiness on Wednesday 10th April 10:37

[edthefed]

MonkeyBusiness said:

Went to Elland Road last night as a Sunderland fan.
Always a good (sold out) atmosphere at both games.

Not the greatest game, especially the first half.

I'd be fuming at that refs performance. Should have been a penalty.
Clarke should have scored.
Gray is a huge talent. Shame he wasn't used more.
Bamford is frustrating. Thought the battle with Ballard was a good one.

Edited by MonkeyBusiness on Wednesday 10th April 10:37

Penalty ?

There were two blatant penalties that should have been awarded to Leeds and at least one red card should have been given for the "hand of god" impression !.

Bamford is more than frustrating --- as is our reluctance to adopt a more direct / over the top appraoch when the fancy football isnt working

[Killer2005]

Yep, Bamford is very very frustrating but we were poor as a team last night.

The penalties were ridiculous though. The first was bad enough, but the second... No words.

[resolve10]

First half one was borderline, he leaned into it but with his full body rather than a blatant sticking out of an arm, so I can accept that.

Second half one was three penalties in one! Shirt pulling, arm in face and a handball. Best bit was the camera showed the exact view the linesman had and it couldn't have been clearer.

Once again our fans not helping, getting on the players backs after less than half an hour. They weren't anywhere near their best but all that does it drain any remaining confidence from the team.

Frustrating night but fantastic for Ipswich, they must really fancy their chances of going up now which would be an incredible achievement.

[Killer2005]

And Stewart Dallas just announced his retirement.

[JNW1]

MonkeyBusiness said:

Went to Elland Road last night as a Sunderland fan.
Always a good (sold out) atmosphere at both games.

Not the greatest game, especially the first half.

I'd be fuming at that refs performance. Should have been a penalty.
Clarke should have scored.
Gray is a huge talent. Shame he wasn't used more.
Bamford is frustrating. Thought the battle with Ballard was a good one.

Disappointing from our point of view last night; you came with a game plan that worked well but since returning from the international break that's four games in a row where we've been a long way short of our best and have dropped a load of points as a result. Yes we should have had at least one penalty last night but we shouldn't be putting ourselves in a position where an odd bad decision matters.

But having said that Ipswich failed to capitalise tonight so we're still in it - if we can rediscover a bit of form and beat Blackburn on Saturday lunchtime it will put a bit of pressure back on them when they play Boro later in the day. Could yet go to the final game of the season although if it does Southampton won't be an easy one for us!

[JNW1]

Killer2005 said:

And Stewart Dallas just announced his retirement.

Yes, very sad to hear that although it's felt inevitable for a little while; he's been an excellent servant to the club and he was one of those who Bielsa lifted to a level few thought possible (probably including the player himself!). Sounds like he may be staying in some sort of coaching capacity which is good though.

Video below is when he announced his retirement to the squad today:

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=KkD09Hwm6GQ

[JNW1]

Our fifth mediocre performance in a row since the international break and it's costing us big time; ordinarily I'd say that's that for automatic promotion but with Leicester and Ipswich dropping points recently I suppose you never know. However, instead of putting pressure on Ipswich for this afternoon we've taken it off them and with the way we're playing - and especially our current lack of cutting edge in the final third - I'm struggling to see us winning any of our remaining games.

A great shame given the position we'd got ourselves into before the international break but I'm back to thinking it's more than likely the dreaded play-offs for us (which in turn almost certainly means another season in the Championship given our record in those).

[Drooles]

We’ve been here so many times of late. We just seem to be making it hard for ourselves. Today was a massive game and, on recent history, should have been 3 points. The only saving grace is Ipswich only getting a draw. But we could have and should have been top again tonight

Edited by Drooles on Sunday 14th April 09:24

[JNW1]

Drooles said:

We’ve been here so many times of late. We just seem to be making it hard for ourselves. Today was a massive game and, on recent history, should have been 3 points. The only saving grace is Ipswich only getting a draw. But we could have and should have been top again tonight

If we'd hit a bad run but were a few points clear at the top I might take more comfort from the fact Leicester and Ipswich are also dropping points; however, we're only third and hence need to be doing better than them if we're going to make top two. When we came back from the international break I thought we'd finish with a points total in the mid to high 90's but with the way we're playing I'm thinking we could struggle to win any of our remaining games - in that scenario we won't break 90 and I very much doubt that would good enough for automatic promotion.

These last three games will be a big test for Farke - somehow he's got to restore the confidence and self belief that appears to have gone AWOL in the last few weeks.