Scoring goals

[1964white]

Why not give Ryan Edmondson a chance? Are you telling me he couldn't have scored at least one of the chances Bamford has spurned? I get the feeling he'd be one of those players who'd come alive when given the chance.

I doubt the lad is good enough SG, I'd love to be proved wrong though!

[1964white]

I think we need to lower expectations and appreciate that we are just not that good. We have a well drilled team who can control games with nice passing but that's about it.

We have clear weaknesses that are exploited week after week both in defence and attack. Yet the solution seems to be keep doing the same thing and hopefully it will come good. We have had 2 games in a row where a leeds player has failed to score and I think we could have played all day yesterday and not scored. It's the same issue that blighted last year and it wasnt fixed in the summer.

I have no ideas how to fix it I just hope those paid alot to find the answers do so soon or we could find ourselves out of the running for auto, which in a championship as poor as this one would be a real missed opportunity.

In other words this is what you get when Bielsa is polishing turds

[rich_leeds64]

I’m not sure why we can’t score but I’m beginning to think there’s a mentality setting in that players are scared to miss. Whether this stems from Bielsas coaching, don’t shoot unless you’re more than 99% certain it’ll go in, or the fact no one wants to take the bull by the horns and have a go at one of the countless chances we create in case they miss.(personal embarrassment)
My opinion is the pressure of gaining promotion is getting to them as the last 2 games have shown. Red hot favourites to go up yet our league stats show us the same as Preston and Charlton,. Forest and Swansea above us yet no one mentions these teams as candidates to go up.
We’ve got some hard games coming up, table topping WBA and Millwall, another place where we rarely escape with a point. We need to recreate our performance from last seasons WBA game and get at them from the off firing every loose ball goal ward and who knows it might fly in, it might trickle over the line off a defenders a**e, it doesn’t matter it’ll be a goal but without shooting and taking our chances by a week on Monday we could well be mid table. I hope Marcelos got them at Thorpe Arch watching on loop the replay of last seasons encounter and tell them this is what you’re capable of.
Come on LEEDS we’re better than how we are at the moment.

[leedsmad]

We are in deep s**t. Bamford is crap his scored 4 goals this year which 2 were tap ins a metre out that my son would of scored.
The bottom line is he can hold up play all he wants but he gets paid to score em and he ain't doing it.
Teams have worked us out and Biesla won't change the style of play or the formation. No one fears going to Elland Rd so we can't rely on those games being wins there.
I really don't know the answer but I can't see us going up..... Phillips will though.

[SG90]

We sold the only player who loved playing at Elland Road when it was a full house.

[1964white]

We are in deep s**t. Bamford is crap his scored 4 goals this year which 2 were tap ins a metre out that my son would of scored.
The bottom line is he can hold up play all he wants but he gets paid to score em and he ain't doing it.
Teams have worked us out and Biesla won't change the style of play or the formation. No one fears going to Elland Rd so we can't rely on those games being wins there.
I really don't know the answer but I can't see us going up..... Phillips will though.

Yes Bamford scored two goals v bottom four club Wigan when they were stretched as they were down to ten men for 70 minutes. Only 3rd bottom Barnsley have failed to score against Wigan

[SG90]

There's too many players coasting knowing they won't be dropped regardless of how bad they play. Klich needs to be dropped, as do Cooper, Harrison, Alioski and Bamford. But we know the only changes are for injuries, so they will start again on Tuesday. That said, Roberts never looks like scoring either and Clarke hasn't done anything since his collapse. Why not try some u23s, Edmondson, Kun, Bogusz? They can't do any worse.

This is where Bielsa needs to start earning his money. We need a spark. Change the formation, change personnel, change tactics. Stop being so stubborn. We need a physical threat, as our next two opponents and tall and physical.

[whiteswan]

There's too many players coasting knowing they won't be dropped regardless of how bad they play. Klich needs to be dropped, as do Cooper, Harrison, Alioski and Bamford. But we know the only changes are for injuries, so they will start again on Tuesday. That said, Roberts never looks like scoring either and Clarke hasn't done anything since his collapse. Why not try some u23s, Edmondson, Kun, Bogusz? They can't do any worse.

This is where Bielsa needs to start earning his money. We need a spark. Change the formation, change personnel, change tactics. Stop being so stubborn. We need a physical threat, as our next two opponents and tall and physical.

I said yesterday during the match that we needed a spark SG.....but from where it will come I do not know. Maybe a good result against the baggies on Tuesday might just provide it, get the good feeling back of winning games....

[SG90]

I get hate for mentioning his name on here, but what a massive loss Saiz has been. You don't bring Forshaw on to change the game and make you more attacking. I said in the summer we need to replace him and we didn't bother again.

[Cjay]

This is key and the hard work the team puts in is amazing but no team of grafters will win anything unless you also have some players who have real talent.

Bamford and Eddie are fine in terms of that they will get 20-30 goals between them playing as a lone striker. But then you are still reliant on 50-60 goals from the rest of the team and can anyone honestly see us getting that many? The worry I have is that we don't have people scoring from all over the pitch but what makes it even worse is that it isn't like the opposition goalkeeper is having to make decent saves. Not a single shot on target today that you wouldn't expect the keeper to save, same last week with the Derby keeper only making a couple of saves. The only keeper I can recall making a decent save against us was Federici's save, for Stoke, when Costa shot.

Is the answer Bamford and Eddie both starting? Hard to say really as we didn't really look any more like scoring when they were both on together today.

Main concern i have on this front is we get in to great situations, situations we should score from. But the end product is so poor that these situation become nearly chances where the goalie makes a simple save and it no longer looks like a great chance.

Yesterday Eddie had that chance with the volley, he totally scuffed it and it went harmlessly wide (maybe with a deflection) but it wasnt going in anyway so that goes down as a nearly chance the goalie didnt even have to save.

Forshaw late on 1v1, the entire goal to aim at, he hits it straight at the keeper. That for me typifies the difference between players like Adam Forshaw, hard workers, tidy players but ultimately not the sort of players who will get you the goals you need. He is not a box to box midfielder, Gerrard was, Bowyer was etc.

That is where the natural instinct is evidently missing. I loathe to use him as an example and its a different level of course but that chance fell to Frank Lampard in his prime in that split second he would have worked out where the ball beeds to go, done it and scored, he wouldnt have just hit it straight at the keeper, thats the difference and you cant teach that.

Unfortunately we have to many players like that who when the chance arrives dont have the necessary skill set to make those split second decisions that natural finishers do.

Last season MB bemoaned our lack of efficiency in front of goal.

This season we needed more imo, we needed that goal scoring number 10, we needed 2 goalscoring wingers, i have faith Costa will come good but we should have added 1 more, Cavaleiro?

Is MB's stubbornness to blame? He had largely the same group of players last season who missed hatfulls of chances.

What made him think that using largely the same players would have a different result?

Or is it a larger issue that i raised before and others have to.

BielsaBall over a season wont work without the individual talent that is available only to the elite?

Take Aguero, De Bruyne, Silva and Sterling out of the City team and replace them with an average Premier league front line, i think we would see City become the Prem equivalent of us.

The flip side of that, take Harrison, Forshaw and Bamford out of our front line and replace them with Mitrovic, Knockhaert and Cairney, top level Championship players and i think we would walk the league.

We seem to have discounted the need for enough individual quality again same as last season and ultimately it will cost us imo.

(Very long rambling post sorry )

[BGwhite]

We've been saying for many years that quality is key but Leeds have constantly failed to go out and get that out n out goalscorer that will get this club promotion. The team is waylaid with ball players and possession players which Bielsa swears by but I think he was desperately hoping that PB would come good once fully fit but that hasn't materialised so now he'll be praying Eddie can step up which is a massive ask for such an inexperienced young man, only time will tell but I'm predicting some very downhearted and p***ed off people on here come next Saturday evening.

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[Oscar]

1. Bring in Ayling as soon as he is available and play Dallas at LB neither Alioski or Douglas have been convincing in a back 4.

2. Play Costa and Pablo as inverted wingers yes we would have less width but Costa is far better on the right and Pablo although less comfortable can still do a job on the left, then we start games with two goal scoring wingers. Plus Ayling and Dallas will provide plenty of width too throughout the game. When that is ineffective bring on Clarke rather than Harrison much more of a game changer.

3. Play Roberts alongside Klich, Klich is always at his best when he plays a bit deeper with a midfield partner like Roberts or Saiz running ahead of him. They free up the space for him to make the late runs into the box or to get shots off. Forshaw plays the ball too safe and as a result there's not much rotation in the middle and it's too easy to defend against. Plus Roberts can interchange with Pablo on the left and create overloads out wide.

4. Rotate between Bamford and Eddie, some games will suit one player more than the other Tuesday night suits Eddie more because of his pace and direct running against Bartley.

The likes of Forshaw, Alioski and Harrison should only come on or play when we are ahead and holding on in games. Forshaw for his passing and Alioski/Harrison for their energy and defensive abilities.

Think team selection is the only weakness Bielsa has, starting to get frustrating players appear to be selected based more on experience and suitability to the system rather than actual performances.
The midfield 4 of Pablo, Forshaw, Klich and Harrison has scored 4 goals combined. Pablo hasn't scored since the 2nd game of the season, Harrison the 1st of the season and Klich's only league goal has come from a penalty.
Bamford also hasn't scored for 4 games and I love what he brings to the team link up play, excellent movement and a much improved work rate. I would give Eddie chance in the team as he is more clinical in front of goal especially while the rest of the team isn't scoring goals.

[1964white]

1. Bring in Ayling as soon as he is available and play Dallas at LB neither Alioski or Douglas have been convincing in a back 4.

Ha ha someone else who has noticed our vulnerability down the left flank, I have said the same since the first game of the season at Bristol City. I feel like a broken record.

We're missing Ayling big-time just like we miss Pablo, we are so much weaker without this pair

Personally I don't want to see D&A anywhere near our first eleven

When will Bielsa wake up & smell the coffee

[rab_rant]

The problem is that with Charlton, Derby, Swansea,and Forrest,they set up camp in their own box, and it becomes very difficult to put the ball in the net.

Once the wagons form a semi circle in front of goal it becomes almost impossible to score, and this is allowed to happen when we do a lot of passing in the build up play.

As we have seen with Dallas and Costa and with Clarke last year we are most dangerous when we break at pace, as this does not allow the opposition time to park the bus in front of goal.

So perhaps a simple change in attacking tactics would give better results, like when that early through ball sent Bamford on his way. The Charlton defence were nowhere to be seen, but instead of cutting inside and having a shot himself he decided to pass across goal,and the golden opportunity goes amiss.

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[1964white]

I'm predicting some very downhearted and p***ed off people on here come next Saturday evening.

I truly hope not BG after two really long Saturday's for me personally

I said at the start of the season if we go down to places such as Millwall & Brentford & come away with victories then we can start to believe this is our year. Unfortunately Charlton was a real setback, brought back memories of our poor defeats of last season, should we continue to lose against teams that I consider will finish in the bottom half of the championship then we can forget any illusions of promotion especially as we can't seem to finish teams off after total domination on our own patch.

The sad reality is we can't seem to resolve the problems that are clearly apparent

Once again our leader Cooper has tweeted "we must put things right"....how many times have we heard this last season ? To be fair Coops is not a leader he's just a mouthpiece for the players. We lack leadership qualities within our squad.

It would help if Bielsa taught our players HOW TO SHOOT ACCURATELY, then much of our problems would evaporate instantly. All about technique & composure Marcelo

[Mick Jones shoulder]

Maybe we try to walk the ball in because it appears we are gash at shooting. As stated earlier expectations need to be lowered for the reason above and we can easily be exposed at corners. Rest of it looks nice though. My brother is a baggies fan and he said they are knocking them in from 30 yards. Not confident tomorrow which hopefully means a win.

[1964white]

Maybe we try to walk the ball in because it appears we are gash at shooting. As stated earlier expectations need to be lowered for the reason above and we can easily be exposed at corners. Rest of it looks nice though. My brother is a baggies fan and he said they are knocking them in from 30 yards. Not confident tomorrow which hopefully means a win.

Apart from Pablo's strike from 25 yards v West Brom last season when did we last score from spectacular shooting

We can't even shoot from five yards

[hector]

IIRC in the 70's whenever Peter Lorimer got the ball in the other half, the whole ground shouted "shoot" and this encouraged him to take a shot from anywhere around the 18 yd box... This then was done to Tony Curry, and other members of the attacking players, and just about every home game we attempted at least 1 long range shot due to fan pressure..

Perhaps this should be statred again??

[gotagetz]

Playing pretty football is all well and good. It's needs to change sometimes and do what the arsenal's, man utd and all used to do. Grind out a result.
Opposition have figured it out already that leeds play the same every week.

[weasel]

Although we only scored once tonight (or rather relied on an own goal) it was noticeable that we seemed happier to shoot on sight and were actually getting a lot more shots on target. Admittedly we seemed to hit most of them straight at the keeper but if you don't hit the target you won't score (barring the opposition defender getting a flick to put it on target). A lot happier with our attacking play today and us finally making the opposition keeper have to make saves.