weasel wrote: ↑Thu May 02, 2024 8:51 am
The trouble is that Southgate has a lot of great players and has dragged them down. Farke has probably made players look better than they are. It is easy to say we have this great squad but the truth is somewhat different
We have an average keeper.
We have had a left back that despite the Barcelona sh*te has been poor for 2 years and injury prone. Yes we paid big money but for the most part we'd have been happier to see free agent Byram start there. Farke has got the best out of Firpo.
We had a right back that mosr fans wrote off. Farke spotted that Ayling wasn't theplayer he was and took the option to play Gray there. Yes Gray has potential, more so in midfield, but he has been exposed at times at right back. Don't forget that Farke wanted Aarons, signed Spence and also Roberts. 3 rightbacks tell you that Farke didn't have the right back he wanted.
Ampadu - great signing and full credit to Farke for that as I hadn't heard of him. So we finally have a position where we have a player that is better than average for the division despite him having to play there due to injuries.
Rodon - another great signing and someone that again is better than average for the division. However again the credit is due to Farke for picking up a player from the scrapheap.
CM Gruev and Kamara - Both are decent but hardly setting the world on fire. Good signings perhaps not great signings but value for money I guess.
LW James or Gnonto - yes we clearly have an advantage here although it has to be said Gnonto was non existent for half of the season and James needed to have his confidence restored.
RW Summerville - yes again we have a far better than average player for the division. Summerville has his strengths and weaknesses but statistically has had a pretty good season. Credit to Farke for giving him license to do what he wants.
No.10 Rutter - Emperor's new clothes spring to mind and how he got into the team of the season baffles me. Yes he has had a very good amount of assists, not many of late, and Farke has had to find a role for him where his lack of goals isn't as important.
No 9 Piroe/Bamford - Bamford was on the scrapheap but Farke has got the best out of him. Bamford is doing what Bamford does albeit with less pace than he used to have. Piroe hasn't had the season we'd have expected but if Farke brings in the players he want then Piroe might flourish instead of having to feed on scraps.
We have a team that has some parts that are better than other teams but also some weaknesses. We're certainly not England esque playing against a load of minnows and Farke has also proven that he can get results against the 'big teams' having done the double over the 2 teams that look like getting promoted. This is a strak contrast to Southgate who comes unstuck against the better teams.
I didn't make the Southgate comparison tbh, I've just seen it elsewhere, think it's actually pretty accurate.
People have gone back and forth with the squad, the consensus though of our opposition in this league is its massively above a normal Championship squad, depth and pedigree wise.
Leeds fans have a habit of talking the players down, we've all done it, but in context with a normal Championship squad ours is massively above the pedigree you get at this level.
Again you can manipulate it any way you like (I get accused of this as well)
But Firpo was one of the best attacking wing backs in La Liga hence why Barcelona signed him.
Spence and Roberts were both in different seasons the best right back in the league.
Rodon earned a £20mil move from this league because of how good he had been in it.
Ampadu is an odd one, bounced around but he's been considered extremely gifted since he was literally a child.
Kamara and Ampadu (cost £11mil for a start which is more than most of the league spent in total this summer. Both experienced internationals with Europa League and Champions League experience.
Gnonto, Summerville, James obviously levels above. Gnonto was none existent because Farke kept bringing him off the bench with 10 minutes to go and expecting miracles (did the same with Bamford and Firpo). Those who said they needed more time were shouted down at the time.
Georgie is clearly talent wise levels above this league, but he needs coaching (something that DF hasn't done as he is still making the same mistakes he did at Hoffenheim). Is it credit to DF for stumbling on a role or credit to DF in general for his performances? Who knows but DF said he was a winger, then played him as a striker now plays him as a 10.
Piroe and Paddy are proven top level Championship strikers (divide opinion of course) but most clubs would be happy with 1 we have both.
Then you throw in Anthony whose barely been used but was one pf the top wingers in the league a few seasons ago.
Struijk who people have raved about for years and is destined for higher things.
Or Cresswell (sorry but DF treatment of him is a disgrace, completely wasted a year of his career) who was a regular for the 5th best defence in the league last season.
So you can manipulate our squad however you feel fit, but outside this fanbase it's considered very strong and top 2 level.
But anyway this was one of the many DF Soutgate posts below.
I think they are quite accurate tbf.
The setup Is very similar, it is safety first football, it is quite boring unless Bellingham or a Rutter does something.
And It has been for Southgate (hopefully not Farke for our sake) ultimately unsuccessful.
They both have been found lacking in big games (be it tournaments or run ins). They both struggle to manage games or impact them positively when it isn't working.
Farke at Leeds is just like Southgate with England.
Took over a difficult situation and has done well at man management and leading them out of a s**t period, but ultimately they're too conservative and lack the tactical nous to get over that final hurdle. . . . .
I've said this a lot lately. What's extraordinary about this is people don't see it. You've also not named the most obvious comparison; We literally line up the exact same way. Farke and Southgate play the exact same way.
The defence and defensive midfielders ONLY exist to win the ball back, control the game and then give it to one of the talented ones upfront, hoping that someone will do something good in the moment. This is why we're the first team ever to win so many games with ZERO goal contributions from midfield.
It's mindboggling when you think about it...
Leeds United got to 93 points doing it.
England got to their first final in 55 years doing it.
Now take out 2 or 3 important players from England, say Kane, Saka and Bellingham. Can you see them replicating that accomplishment?
That's what is coming next season for this Leeds team when we lose 2-3 Critically important players and Farke tries to coach his way to perform better than this year to get us up.
That's the rational, objective reason for questioning his stewardship next year.
Can we expect him to outperform results this year with fewer tools and to overcome his inability to influence games through match plans and in game substitutions