Byebyegeegee wrote: ↑Sun Dec 05, 2021 11:37 am
Watching those clips it’s made me remember just how good a header of the ball Kewell was too. Just another consummate ability to add to his already outrageously impressive talents.
He’s often made out to be the bogeyman for Leeds fans now and rightly so imo, but boy what a player he was then!
But again extremely inconsistent, you'd get a great game then nothing for the next 3/4, Easy to cobble together the good bits for you tube but a lot of the time he was not even in the game..
Such a frustrating player to watch, I'd imagine Bielsa would be whipping him off at HT a lot, not a euphemism
"A mind is like a parachute, it doesn't work if it's not open"
Leeds1000 wrote: ↑Sat Dec 04, 2021 10:15 pm
Can't argue with any of that. The point i was making is O' Leary took over a relatively stable side manage by Graham and sprinkled the magic dust of youth he had at his disposal. We were all at sea when Bielsa took the reins albeit there were signs of encouragement during TC's reign up until Christmas. Bielsa turned what some people at the time thought were league one players into a top 10 PL finish although we did spend a lot of money it ended up being largely the same side that we had in the Championship. Both managers have their respective merits. One obviously had better players than the other.
At the time i just couldn't see us getting out of the Championship.
That's why I feel that a comparison between Wilko and Marcelo Bielsa is far more valid. Though Wilko did actually begin his tenure with the club in a worse situation than when MB arrived.
In early October 1988 we were 21st in the second division, with 6 points and equal on goal difference with Birmingham who were in the relegation zone. We had won one game, drawn 3 and lost 5 - 6 goals scored and 13 conceded. MB took over with the previous season finished, the club 13th in the division and 19 points clear of the relegation zone. Obviously Bielsa had the summer to work with the players, whereas Wilko took over a couple of months after the season had begun.
Wilko got promotion in his first full season and MB in his second.
Byebyegeegee wrote: ↑Sun Dec 05, 2021 11:37 am
Watching those clips it’s made me remember just how good a header of the ball Kewell was too. Just another consummate ability to add to his already outrageously impressive talents.
He’s often made out to be the bogeyman for Leeds fans now and rightly so imo, but boy what a player he was then!
My favourite player of that era.
14 goals in 31 appearances in the PL in one season plus 3 goals in cup competitions - I wish that Harrison, Costa and James were that inconsistent To put it in perspective Viduka - one of the best strikers to ever play for the club - scored 22 in all competitions that year...What would we give for a winger who can score 17 goals in a season now ?
Last edited by CHAPELALLMAN on Sun Dec 05, 2021 12:51 pm, edited 8 times in total.
Looking at those goals, what jumps out at you is how Kewell had the technique to hit the ball along the floor, making it harder for the goalkeeper to get to. How many times do we see our players sky their shots into the stand. I agree it's difficult to judge performance when all you're seeing is the successes, but looking at these stats comparing Kewell and our own god, Eddie Gray, his goal-scoring rate of 59 in 231 games, compared to Eddie's 36 in 326 games doesn't look too shabby. (I'm no expert at stats, so forgive me if I've misread them).
CHAPELALLMAN wrote: ↑Sun Dec 05, 2021 12:39 pm
My favourite player of that era.
14 goals in 31 appearances in the PL in one season plus 3 goals in cup competitions - I wish that Harrison, Costa and James were that inconsistent To put it in perspective Viduka - one of the best strikers to ever play for the club - scored 22 in all competitions that year...What would we give for a winger who can score 17 goals in a season now ?
Jimang wrote: ↑Sun Dec 05, 2021 3:02 am
Agree O'Learys team was much stronger, only Raph and Phillips would get a place in that team for me.
I do rate Bielsa a better Manager than O'Leary though. In my view O'Leary benefited from Sgnt Wilkos youth players coming through.
Top Managers for me:
Revie
Wilkinson
Bielsa
O'Leary.
How about throwing Wilkos team into the mix? How do they rate?
Lukic
Sterland
Dorigo
Batty
Fairclough
Whyte
Strachan
Wallace
Chapman
McAllister
Speed
I think whether you are talking about O'Leary's or Wilko's teams at their peaks verus the current team, the difference is that Bowyer, Baake, Batty and Dacourt or Strachan,McAllister, Batty and Speed would put a stranglehold on the middle of the park, which is the great weakness of this current team. Kewell would run rings around our current full backs, and Cooper would never be able to handle Viduka or Chapman.
Last edited by CHAPELALLMAN on Sun Dec 05, 2021 2:02 pm, edited 3 times in total.
CHAPELALLMAN wrote: ↑Sun Dec 05, 2021 12:38 pm
That's why I feel that a comparison between Wilko and Marcelo Bielsa is far more valid. Though Wilko did actually begin his tenure with the club in a worse situation than when MB arrived.
In early October 1988 we were 21st in the second division, with 6 points and equal on goal difference with Birmingham who were in the relegation zone. We had won one game, drawn 3 and lost 5 - 6 goals scored and 13 conceded. MB took over with the previous season finished, the club 13th in the division and 19 points clear of the relegation zone. Obviously Bielsa had the summer to work with the players, whereas Wilko took over a couple of months after the season had begun.
Wilko got promotion in his first full season and MB in his second.
I first started going to watch Leeds with a few school mates around 87. Wilko and then the signing of Strach for the following season and the rest is history. Fantastic achievement what he did in the first 3 years.
Jimang wrote: ↑Sun Dec 05, 2021 3:05 am
Agree O'Learys team was much stronger, only Raph and Phillips would get a place in that team for me.
I do rate Bielsa a better Manager than O'Leary though. In my view O'Leary benefited from Sgnt Wilkos youth players coming through.
Top Managers for me:
Revie
Wilkinson
Bielsa
O'Leary.
How about throwing Wilkos team into the mix? How do they rate?
Lukic
Sterland
Dorigo
Batty
Fairclough
Whyte
Strachan
Wallace
Chapman
McAllister
Speed
Pass.
I wasn't born so I can't comment.
What I would say is the Premier league was more competitive as the years moved on, what Wilko did was amazing but money had yet to change the playing field.
Leeds1000 wrote: ↑Sun Dec 05, 2021 1:30 pm
I first started going to watch Leeds with a few school mates around 87. Wilko and then the signing of Strach for the following season and the rest is history. Fantastic achievement what he did in the first 3 years.
Absolutely Leeds. I can't understand why a lot of fans seemingly have so little regard for what Wilko did - it was nothing short of a miracle how he turned things around and beat the mortal enemy to the first division title ! It was the sweetest of title wins. I fear that I will never see another top tier title win for the club in my lifetime though I am not at pension age.
I was a bit too young to really appreciate the Revie era. Wilko's sudden and unexpected achievements for the first 3 seasons were like a fairytale for me, and though living in London at the time, I made sure that all those around me knew about it. O'Leary's swashbuckling side which took Europe by storm was also fantastic after a number of mediocre seasons and the boredom of the Graham years. I was still living down south back then, but if people heard that I was a Leeds supporter they would start telling me about how fantastic they thought the CL run was for such a young team. And they would tell me how much they loved the attacking fearless style of play.
Last edited by CHAPELALLMAN on Sun Dec 05, 2021 1:42 pm, edited 3 times in total.
pjm2019 wrote: ↑Tue Dec 14, 2021 8:31 pm
Question: What manager would pick the same team 3 days later when we have such a small and tried team. Only MB. He has a Plan A and thats about it.
Who is available
Genuine question, how old are you?
"A mind is like a parachute, it doesn't work if it's not open"
pjm2019 wrote: ↑Tue Dec 14, 2021 8:31 pm
Question: What manager would pick the same team 3 days later when we have such a small and tried team. Only MB. He has a Plan A and thats about it.
Who is available
Please just do one
Stop worryin' about what people say, when it ain't gonna stop them anyway.
Hater of Liars, Cheats and Trolls
Freedom of speech is not allowed if it upsets the mods
To put it in perspective Viduka - one of the best strikers to ever play for the club - scored 22 in all competitions that year...What would we give for a winger who can score 17 goals in a season now ?
