Leeds v Monaco (Friendly) Match Thread.

[1964white]

My ratings

6 Meslier - quick off his line on a couple of occasions & a bit of fancy dan footwork.

6 Ayling - eight decent defensive actions, lost his marker a couple of times

8 Struijk - seven decent defensive actions, comfortable on the ball, shame he often misses the target in our attacking set-pieces

6 Cooper - kept us organised at the back without doing too much.

5 Hjelde - a up & down display, lost possession twice in gangerous area's, arguably had our best shot on target.

7 Gray - workmanlike & composed from young Archie, linked up well with Ampadu.

9 Ampadu - so many aspects of his game to admire on his Leeds debut, three sublime passes & the goal saving block, plus some fancy footwork the highlights of his game, great link-up with all his teammates including an outlet for Meslier, always looking for the ball. Class act!

7 Sinisterra - clever, tricky and some lovely crosses into the box, our best attacking option.

6 Summerville - four dribbles, took a bit of a battering from the Monaco defenders resulting in a nasty bump on his head.

5 James - A couple of decent crosses, two wild shots off target.


5 Rutter - a couple of sublime passes, struggled in the No.9 role somewhat.

Substitutes

4 Bamford - a couple of decent control movements, a header on target not troubling their keeper

4 Gyabi - lost possession a couple of times, intent on passing the ball backwards, witnessed nothing of the Gyabi we know fron the under 21

5 Byram - did ok playing out of his natural position, one decent cross.

6 Gnonto - busy as ever without being constructive, gave away a penalty with a senseless challenge, he reminds me of Janssson with his injury playacting.

6.5 Gelhardt - some nice movement, neat footwork & decent passes

4 Cresswell - got away with a reckless challenge early on, poor headed clearance which led to their penalty, lost his marker for Monaco's second goal

7 Drameh - three dangerous crosses, a couple of nice interceptions & passes.

4 Shackleton - worked hard, but struggled a bit.

4 Joseph - one or two nice turns & passes, couldn't make an impact on the game.

[1964white]

We had a gaping hole in defence with him in it,we don't have a decent defender in the whole squad

Untrue Tyzy.

The gaping holes were down the flanks & no protection to Wober/Koch in front of them from our defensive midfield cover. Our CB's were made to work harder than any other players in the team, due to the ineptness surrounding them.

[SG90]

22 Archie Gray

Still struggling to look out of place in this company. Excellent, composed and read the game well. 7

When will the penny finally drop that he will be a key player this season? He will be our version of Alex Scott, remember this post!

[SG90]

My ratings

6 Meslier - quick off his line on a couple of occasions & a bit of fancy dan footwork.

6 Ayling - eight decent defensive actions, lost his marker a couple of times

8 Struijk - seven decent defensive actions, comfortable on the ball, shame he often misses the target in our attacking set-pieces

6 Cooper - kept us organised at the back without doing too much.

5 Hjelde - a up & down display, lost possession twice in gangerous area's, arguably had our best shot on target.

7 Gray - workmanlike & composed from young Archie, linked up well with Ampadu.

9 Ampadu - so many aspects of his game to admire on his Leeds debut, three sublime passes & the goal saving block, plus some fancy footwork the highlights of his game, great link-up with all his teammates including an outlet for Meslier, always looking for the ball. Class act!

7 Sinisterra - clever, tricky and some lovely crosses into the box, our best attacking option.

6 Summerville - four dribbles, took a bit of a battering from the Monaco defenders resulting in a nasty bump on his head.

5 James - A couple of decent crosses, two wild shots off target.


5 Rutter - a couple of sublime passes, struggled in the No.9 role somewhat.

Substitutes

4 Bamford - a couple of decent control movements, a header on target not troubling their keeper

4 Gyabi - lost possession a couple of times, intent on passing the ball backwards, witnessed nothing of the Gyabi we know fron the under 21

5 Byram - did ok playing out of his natural position, one decent cross.

6 Gnonto - busy as ever without being constructive, gave away a penalty with a senseless challenge, he reminds me of Janssson with his injury playacting.

6.5 Gelhardt - some nice movement, neat footwork & decent passes

4 Cresswell - got away with a reckless challenge early on, poor headed clearance which led to their penalty, lost his marker for Monaco's second goal

7 Drameh - three dangerous crosses, a couple of nice interceptions & passes.

4 Shackleton - worked hard, but struggled a bit.

4 Joseph - one or two nice turns & passes, couldn't make an impact on the game.

How comes Gyabi is considered over Bate, when the latter has first team experience? Won't be a popular opinion, but Gyabi should be loaned out to learn about men's football.

Going to put Cresswell down to rustiness from the England u21s. Hopefully he will improve before the season starts.

[Cjay]

How comes Gyabi is considered over Bate, when the latter has first team experience? Won't be a popular opinion, but Gyabi should be loaned out to learn about men's football.

Going to put Cresswell down to rustiness from the England u21s. Hopefully he will improve before the season starts.

Think his size may be what holds Bate back.

He's so small, because of that you have to be extremely press resistant and nimble or you are a but of a liability if pressed.

Because of his position he can't afford to lose it.

So you have to be a technical player of exceptional ability (Modric, Xavi etc).

Whether it's right or not (have to say I don't get the gyabi hype) but I think his size will always go against him.

[1964white]

When will the penny finally drop that he will be a key player this season? He will be our version of Alex Scott, remember this post!

Archie looked very comfortable against a good European side.

Would be great if he seals a regular place in the first XI this season.

It's in his genes.

[1964white]

How comes Gyabi is considered over Bate, when the latter has first team experience? Won't be a popular opinion, but Gyabi should be loaned out to learn about men's football.

Going to put Cresswell down to rustiness from the England u21s. Hopefully he will improve before the season starts.

Gyabi & Charlie struggled yesterday, hopefully a learning curve for both lads.

Not our strongest line-up in the second-half, whereas Gray had exprienced players around him, still think Archie is our best young prospect.

[SG90]

Archie looked very comfortable against a good European side.

Would be great if he seals a regular place in the first XI this season.

It's in his genes.

Will look forward to his debut v Cardiff. It's a long time overdue.