We've got problems

[Cjay]

We really do, in the last 2 games against the 2 worst teams this calendar year we have scraped by one and lost to a team with 1 point in 2019 before yesterday.

Thats not normal for a team aiming for promotion, thats not a blip, when was our last truly comfortable performance?  Derby? We've played 7 games since then beating only the teams in 22nd, 23rd and 14th, we bottled the top of the table clash vs Norwich, were extremely poor against Stoke a side that hadn't won in the 4 games before us or the 6 games after and yesterday managed to lose to a side with 1 point in 2019, 1 flaming point!!!!!

I know the season isnt over and keep the faith and all the usual clichés,  but dear god something has gone very wrong.

We cant continue yelling "keep the faith" and "season isnt over", we play WBA on Friday the best away side in the league who gave us a right kicking last time. Lose that 1 point seperates us from 4th, in our current form do we really look like taking points of Bristol City, Sheffield United, or even Birmingham who have beaten us already or Preston who are in form or Brentford? 

It seems inconceivable we could drop out of the playoffs but the way we are playing it really isnt, if we struggle against sides in dire form like Stoke, QPR, Bolton, how the hell will we cope with sides full of confidence ?

This time last week i thought by this time next week we will have got some of our goal difference back, top of the table full of confidence eagerly awaiting the chance to get our own back on WBA.

Now I'm very concerned.

We have kept two cleansheets since the 15th of December, we dont score enough for that.

We have only won by more then 1 goal twice since the end of November.

We dont look as fit or slick or organised as we did, we are so slow in attack, only once did we show the class we can with a slick passing move, the sort of move that was common place early doors, in typical Leeds fashion though we missed the bloody chance.

I dont know what Bielsa can do, rotate? Who with? we have a tiny squad. Play the u23s? Maybe, they're certainly a talented group but are they ready for the pressure cooker of a Championship run in?

I love Bielsa, but sometimes he baffles me, his subs baffled me yesterday, we needed creativity and a goal threat so he sent on Dallas and Douglas, eh. But they were guaranteed to be in the squad, pecking order and loyalty is another stubborn trait of Bielsa's and is likely one that has hindered us at times. I firmly believe Bielsa has loyally stuck with a lot of the squad and that has impacted our transfers , he analysed our squad before taking over and deemed it good enough. But i dont by the clubs line about January, we totally fucked up by allowing our squad to get weaker and I'm sure MB wasn't in agreement there, wouldn't admit it publicly though (loyalty to his players again).

Radz is another who shouldn't escape criticism as he allowed the January shambles, what owner allows his asset at a key time to get weaker? Thats bizarre.

Bielsa may be loyal but no manager wants there squad weakened, he publicly called for "players" (plural) better then what we had, so in that sense the club did let him down. While they may not have been able to stop Saiz leaving did Bielsa really not want a player he praised as "unique" replacing?  There will be nowhere to hide for Radz if this season goes tits up, not getting what his manager wanted regardless of circumstances at such a crucial time was very poor and reminiscent of his 1st window when Monk was in charge.

Begs the question did we really have the funds to get players "better then what we had" like Bielsa asked for? If Phil Hay is correct then no, which may explain the Dan James saga, was he the only player MB wanted or was he the only potential  bargain the club could find ? Was James all Bielsa wanted or did he comprise same as he did over Vieira to get Bamford ie we couldn't or wouldn't pay for a Saiz replacement plus the winger Bielsa wanted since the summer?

Failing to get promotion now would be a massive failure, forget pre season expectations, top at Christmas, playoffs all season, top 2 most of it, we should not be messing this up and there would be no excuses under any circumstances now. Not getting top 2 would also be poor given we have been there most of the season.

But what does Bielsa do? Something has to change and fast.

How does he get us back to that slick, exciting passing machine of earlier on?

Can he? Have we been found out?  Or has the lack of natural individual talent in key areas started to show? Bielsa has coached and performed miracles  but i did say early on i wondered if coaching can make up for natural talent all season.  Thats not to say we dont have some above average players talent wise, but not to many, MB has had quite a few of them performing above there natural levels imo, he has squeezed everything he can out of them, is that starting to show?

Are we seeing natural regression into the mid table side most people thought we would be with our squad? That was the general consensus pre season in the footballing world, media, pundits and our rival fans.

Its very frustrating

[SG90]

I just don't understand how they've gone to playing flowing football full of coincidence to not being able to control a football in a matter of weeks. It can't all be down to spygate, as that is over now. The thing is, we played very well against Swansea and 4-0 wouldn't have flattered us. Perhaps the break hindered us rather than helped us. The form thing doesn't matter as players always raise their game against us regardless of form, look at Stoke for example.

I think Clarke will be a huge boost, as would Brown coming back. I also think Bogusz should be on the bench, as he is another x factor player who can change a game.

I'm starting to get concerned now we will miss the top 2 and miss out on promotion altogether, as we will be low on confidence in the playoffs and we never turn up anyway. That would be unacceptable as we've been top 2 all season and it would be a failure. I do think we can turn it around, but it has to happen now as there's only 12 left. We can't afford to lose anymore games now.

We talk about the squad, but as I said is Sheff Utd's really that good either? No reason why we can't beat them to top 2, we beat them at Bramall Lane already.

[1964white]

So you should be concerned CJay, the problems have been there for a couple of months now

Anyway I'll be back later to answer your opening post

Some of us need to work, no doubt the shower i forfeited hard earned cash & sleep for are having a cushy time today

[Cjay]

I just don't understand how they've gone to playing flowing football full of coincidence to not being able to control a football in a matter of weeks. It can't all be down to spygate, as that is over now. The thing is, we played very well against Swansea and 4-0 wouldn't have flattered us. Perhaps the break hindered us rather than helped us. The form thing doesn't matter as players always raise their game against us regardless of form, look at Stoke for example.

I think Clarke will be a huge boost, as would Brown coming back. I also think Bogusz should be on the bench, as he is another x factor player who can change a game.

I'm starting to get concerned now we will miss the top 2 and miss out on promotion altogether, as we will be low on confidence in the playoffs and we never turn up anyway. That would be unacceptable as we've been top 2 all season and it would be a failure. I do think we can turn it around, but it has to happen now as there's only 12 left. We can't afford to lose anymore games now.

We talk about the squad, but as I said is Sheff Utd's really that good either? No reason why we can't beat them to top 2, we beat them at Bramall Lane already.

I dont know, there have been glimpses of the early season football but we havent been playing that level for some time.

Do sides really raise there game though? Or is that just paranoia?

I agree on Brown, Clarke and Bogusz, although Izzy looked a second slower in his head then everyone else, can tell he hasnt played 1st team football for ages and relying on an 18 year old is a ridiculous position to be in.

I was so confident of promotion, its wavered, i fear Friday and a week on Saturday now.

Tbf Wilder has done a great job and he has had years to mould Blades into what they are now. O'Connoll, Basham, Egan, Norwood, Stevens, Fleck, Dowell, there probably not top class but certainly think overall Blades have a stronger squad, certainly deeper.

[Cjay]

So you should be concerned CJay, the problems have been there for a couple of months now

Anyway I'll be back later to answer your opening post

Some of us need to work, no doubt the shower i forfeited hard earned cash & sleep for are having a cushy time today

You have my sympathy for yesterday, hours and hours travelling for that shite.

[whiteswan]

We have been found out! Same old, same old....same team, same style every game, whoever we are playing.

[1964white]

We really do, in the last 2 games against the 2 worst teams this calendar year we have scraped by one and lost to a team with 1 point in 2019 before yesterday.
Thats not normal for a team aiming for promotion, thats not a blip, when was our last truly comfortable performance?  Derby? We've played 7 games since then beating only the teams in 22nd, 23rd and 14th, we bottled the top of the table clash vs Norwich, were extremely poor against Stoke a side that hadn't won in the 4 games before us or the 6 games after and yesterday managed to lose to a side with 1 point in 2019, 1 flaming point!!!!!

Surely even Weasel can't defend those recent stats/performances

We cant continue yelling "keep the faith" and "season isnt over", we play WBA on Friday the best away side in the league who gave us a right kicking last time. Lose that 1 point seperates us from 4th, in our current form do we really look like taking points of Bristol City, Sheffield United, or even Birmingham who have beaten us already or Preston who are in form or Brentford?

I detest all those cliche lines, it just covering up the cracks. I've said all along we can't afford to lose the West Brom/Sheff U games although with our recent form I'm not confident at all

It seems inconceivable we could drop out of the playoffs but the way we are playing it really isnt, if we struggle against sides in dire form like Stoke, QPR, Bolton, how the hell will we cope with sides full of confidence ?

Still believe we'll make the play-offs

This time last week i thought by this time next week we will have got some of our goal difference back, top of the table full of confidence eagerly awaiting the chance to get our own back on WBA.
Now I'm very concerned.
We have kept two clean sheets since the 15th of December, we dont score enough for that.
We have only won by more then 1 goal twice since the end of November.
We dont look as fit or slick or organised as we did, we are so slow in attack, only once did we show the class we can with a slick passing move, the sort of move that was common place early doors, in typical Leeds fashion though we missed the bloody chance

Unless we get our shooting boots on & start keeping clean sheets that goal average isn't coming back

I dont know what Bielsa can do, rotate? Who with? we have a tiny squad. Play the u23s? Maybe, they're certainly a talented group but are they ready for the pressure cooker of a Championship run in?
I love Bielsa, but sometimes he baffles me, his subs baffled me yesterday, we needed creativity and a goal threat so he sent on Dallas and Douglas, eh. But they were guaranteed to be in the squad, pecking order and loyalty is another stubborn trait of Bielsa's and is likely one that has hindered us at times. I firmly believe Bielsa has loyally stuck with a lot of the squad and that has impacted our transfers , he analysed our squad before taking over and deemed it good enough. But i dont by the clubs line about January, we totally fucked up by allowing our squad to get weaker and I'm sure MB wasn't in agreement there, wouldn't admit it publicly though (loyalty to his players again)

Marcelo has limited options unless he takes a risk on some of our unused U23's, unsure if that is the direction to go

Radz is another who shouldn't escape criticism as he allowed the January shambles, what owner allows his asset at a key time to get weaker? Thats bizarre.
Bielsa may be loyal but no manager wants there squad weakened, he publicly called for "players" (plural) better then what we had, so in that sense the club did let him down. While they may not have been able to stop Saiz leaving did Bielsa really not want a player he praised as "unique" replacing?  There will be nowhere to hide for Radz if this season goes tits up, not getting what his manager wanted regardless of circumstances at such a crucial time was very poor and reminiscent of his 1st window when Monk was in charge.
Begs the question did we really have the funds to get players "better then what we had" like Bielsa asked for? If Phil Hay is correct then no, which may explain the Dan James saga, was he the only player MB wanted or was he the only potential  bargain the club could find ? Was James all Bielsa wanted or did he comprise same as he did over Vieira to get Bamford ie we couldn't or wouldn't pay for a Saiz replacement plus the winger Bielsa wanted since the summer?

Everyone knows my feelings on Mr Cheapskate

Failing to get promotion now would be a massive failure, forget pre season expectations, top at Christmas, playoffs all season, top 2 most of it, we should not be messing this up and there would be no excuses under any circumstances now. Not getting top 2 would also be poor given we have been there most of the season

Will go down as one of the worse failings of all-time giving the opposition fans a license to remind us 'Leeds are falling apart again'

But what does Bielsa do? Something has to change and fast.
How does he get us back to that slick, exciting passing machine of earlier on?

It's a bl**dy miracle what he has achieved so far on such limited squad resources, it's just got worse with the Roofe injury.

Tbh I'm in a quandary what actions he can take which would revitalise our early season form.

We've probably already seen the best of Bielsa's Leeds months ago

[1964white]

You have my sympathy for yesterday, hours and hours travelling for that shite.

Thanks Cjay it's 18 hours of my life I won't get back

Two diversions on the M1 due to roadworks just to rub the misery in.

Imagine sitting in a traffic jam on a motorway at 1am

Not glamorous stuff being a Leeds fan !

[1964white]

We talk about the squad, but as I said is Sheff Utd's really that good either? No reason why we can't beat them to top 2, we beat them at Bramall Lane already.

We had a plan B at Bramall Lane

[weasel]

Surely even Weasel can't defend those recent stats/performances

I have made the point several times that goals usually dictate how a match plays out. I even gave the common factor from the Stoke, Derby(*2) and Norwich wins in that we scored to go in front in each game around 20 minutes. This meant the opposition had to change their game plan, commit men forward, be adventurous etc, which in turn opens up space which makes it easier to play good football.

I also made the point that in those games we went 2 goals in front early in the second half. Again makes it even easier to the find space as the opposition have to try to get something.

So take away the opening goal in those games and guess what the performance would likely be the same as a lot of our other matches.

Last night wasn't a good performance but what would a goal for us after 20 minute have done to that game?

That's all I am saying - goals dictate the way the rest of the match plays out usually. Score while you are on top and you tend to keep playing well. Get the cushion of the second and usually it is job done.

I think it was the Derby game where Klich hits a worldie. How we need one of those now. We need to break the deadlock and get in front otherwise the longer the game goes on then the more we are trying to force things and all it takes is 1 mistake and we go behind.

We haven't had many great performances. All season we have struggled to convert domination into goals and unfortunately we have got worse at that. Klich 2 goals since August/early Sept, Hernandez's last goal?, Tyler Robert's last goal?

[The Subhuman]

Well we should have had a penalty ..1-0 to us, then Bamford let us down badly by missing a gilt edge chance after it was laid on a plate from Pablo ...should have been 2-0. At that point we're done and dusted and we win at a canter.

The Bamford miss is where the game turned

[BGwhite]

The confidence will be slowly ebbing away now . I feel if things don't go well tomorrow , the fans getting at them and the pressure will wear them down. Not enough quality options is the problem so really MB doesn't have much choice. This weekend I think is the weekend we all realise top 2 is just to much to ask but God forbid if they slip out of the playoffs.