Leeds United versus Stoke City - Official Match day thread

[The Subhuman]

What do Leeds PLayers wear under their shirts... Stoke fans want to know... some great ideas.
http://oatcakefanzine.proboards.com/thr ... yers-shirt

apart from the obligatory bent ref post, very complimentary

[1964white]

What a stunning performance

Positives

Klich - top quality footballer, we lost control & possession of the ball once MK was subbed
Saiz - back to his very best
Cooper - wow where did that come from including a delightful glancing headed goal
Roofe - ran his socks off, great movement off the ball
Phillips - so many tackles & interceptions, impressive in his new role
Douglas - lovely debut from a proper left-back, the kop already have a song for Barry
Hernandez - the old magician continues to wave his magic wand
Ayling - all over the park giving his all as usual
Alioski - I'm his biggest critic but he actually showed some quality yesterday
Our bench - what a difference, Pontus, Bamford & Roberts didn't even get a kick
Discipline - much improved, no rolling around or waving of yellow cards from Saiz & Alioski
Game plan - every player knew what was expected of them & played for each other
Movement - can't remember so much movement on & off the ball from a Leeds side
Passing - always someone looking for the ball & waiting for a pass
Creativity - we could have scored seven
Pressing - rarely allowed Stoke players to settle on the ball. Ince really spat his dummy out
Defending - rarely looked in danger against a £20m attack
Goals - first time we've scored three goals since 20th January v Millwall (& still got beat)
Points - three points always welcome on the first day of any season
Atmosphere - the kop is back with a vengeance, my god it was loud with some mental scenes too
Bielsa - when all around him were going bonkers he remained as cool as a cucumber hardly moving an inch, he swayed momentary & that was all the emotion on show, meanwhile Rowett was jumping around like a demented monkey trying to urge his players on

Negatives

Two knobheads running on the pitch, that's their season over

Overall

Always special being a Leeds fan but on days such as yesterday, it was truly awesome

I can't show any criticism after a performance like that, a first in many years. I may have overrated some of my marks however the players deserve their high scores for giving us much hope for the rest of the season

7 Peacock-Farrell
8 Ayling
7 Berardi
9 Phillips
9 Cooper
9 Douglas
9 Klich MOTM
9 Saiz
9 Hernandez
8 Alioski
9 Roofe

[The Subhuman]

Beradi obviously not a great game out of position but I did enjoy him twice out leap their CF to head clear ....It's often the case tall men don't jump well and small guys get more height. Would love to know Beradi's vertical.

[1964white]

Beradi obviously not a great game out of position but I did enjoy him twice out leap their CF to head clear ....It's often the case tall men don't jump well and small guys get more height. Would love to know Beradi's vertical.

Berardi made a couple of serious errors but his tenacity, energy & passion was there to be seen & I'll forgive him for his mistakes as I don't wish to criticise any player after what was a storming performance.

Jansson will replace Berardi in the next couple of games I suspect

[Gurj]

Berardi made a couple of serious errors but his tenacity, energy & passion was there to be seen & I'll forgive him for his mistakes as I don't wish to criticise any player after what was a storming performance.

Jansson will replace Berardi in the next couple of games I suspect

Agree Leon, that change is inevitable and will only make us stronger. Berardi for all he's passion and fight is certainly not a centre half and as seen last season, even at RB, he is liable to make a few crucial mistakes in a game. We will need Pontus at Derby and with another week's training behind him, he should be ready.

[1964white]

Agree Leon, that change is inevitable and will only make us stronger. Berardi for all he's passion and fight is certainly not a centre half and as seen last season, even at RB, he is liable to make a few crucial mistakes in a game. We will need Pontus at Derby and with another week's training behind him, he should be ready.

Lets hope so Gurj

Loud rendition of 'Pontus Jansson is magic' from the kop yesterday as he loosened up down the touchline

[Gurj]

Lets hope so Gurj

Loud rendition of 'Pontus Jansson is magic' from the kop yesterday as he loosened up down the touchline

Yes came across loud and clear that did. Fantastic support yesterday, must have made Bielsa and the new recruits think WOW !!

[Cjay]

I agree with most of this but especially the Phillips post. He was not great today and I also think that challenge on another day is a straight red. It was absolutely two footed

Agreed.

There were 2 or 3 things that Kalvin did that could have ended very differently.

[John in Louisiana]

I just hope we are able to keep this kind of passionate display up for Bielsa - he is a hard taskmaster and so fitness will be massive. the Championship really is the proverbial marathon and therefore it will be hard for these players to perform this style of football twice in a week therefore strength in depth will be key and I thought our bench looked strongest it has for years yesterday but well know suspensions and injuries can bite hard. Fingers crossed we are not hit too hard - if we can sustain that level of performance, teams will once again dread coming to Elland Road, as they did in the days of old.

That was the truly encouraging thing about yesterday's game: we had a bunch of players who were expected to be starters riding the bench for one reason or another. Put Forshaw, Bamford, and Pontus into the mix and we look pretty strong assuming, of course, people can continue playing to the level they attained yesterday. Not getting too excited yet, but the coffe in my MOT mug is tasting better today than it has in a while.

[Richard]

apart from the obligatory bent ref post, very complimentary

On Sky, they showed Bielsa walking over to the new conditioning coach and looking at a laptop, shortly after he subbed Klich, I’d highly suspect it was a graph of ground covered and health trackers.

Nice to know we’re looking into every tool available to improve team performance

[1964white]

On Sky, they showed Bielsa walking over to the new conditioning coach and looking at a laptop, shortly after he subbed Klich, I’d highly suspect it was a graph of ground covered and health trackers.

Nice to know we’re looking into every tool available to improve team performance

The fact of the matter remains we lost control of the game once Klich was taken off almost resorting to last season's style of play in the last fifteen minutes

[Genghers]

The fact of the matter remains we lost control of the game once Klich was taken off almost resorting to last season's style of play in the last fifteen minutes

He was replaced by Dallas though who was then playing out of position.

Once Forshaw is back it'll be like for like positionally and quality-wise. It does make the decision to sell Vieira look more short-sighted at the moment though, and shows a clear flaw in the 'lean squad' approach...

[1964white]

He was replaced by Dallas though who was then playing out of position.

Once Forshaw is back it'll be like for like positionally and quality-wise. It does make the decision to sell Vieira look more short-sighted at the moment though, and shows a clear flaw in the 'lean squad' approach...

Bearing in mind Crouch came on I'd have thought bringing on Pontus & push Phillips up into midfield would be the better option

[Genghers]

Phillips was in midfield already though as we were playing 4 at the back. Could have gone Pontus and move Berardi up, but that's still someone out of position.

CM has to be a priority today/in the loan window.

[Richard]

The fact of the matter remains we lost control of the game once Klich was taken off almost resorting to last season's style of play in the last fifteen minutes

It shows how vitally important each player is in their role, one little cog get it wrong and the big wheel doesn’t turn as well..

Firstly once fit, that would have been Forshaw coming on, I think that would have been like for like, secondly how much was it the entire team starting to flag heat and all things considered and Stoke 3-1 down thinking throw everything at it?

[weasel]

The fact of the matter remains we lost control of the game once Klich was taken off almost resorting to last season's style of play in the last fifteen minutes

We did but equally we could have had 10 outfield players all running on fumes (with perhaps Klich having slowed down the most according to the computer) - you also have the fact that with Stoke 3-1 down they had to gamble more and as is usually the case when that happens they attack more and dominate the match with the team that has the lead usually only a threat on the break.

Sometimes the obvious is not always what is going on.

[The Subhuman]

Highlights

https://www.leedsunited.com/video/98200 ... highlights

Just noticed at the start of that Wee Gordon greets Marcelo as he comes out ...nice