Deeg67

I'm quite concerned by his refusal to use his subs (and often only one or two). People try and chalk it up to injuries but this was an issue even when the squad was pretty healthy. It's an unfortunate trait he shares with Fraudgers.

They've had 4 matches in 9 days, they're thrilled to have the break.

Because Enzo almost never uses more than 2 subs?

Yeah, I mean, they're a really good side but they have been a little lucky. This was a long time coming.

Ipswich were absolute rubbish in the last 20 minutes. They're soft at the back to be sure, but they looked soft mentally there.

There's no harm in being realistic. Of course they're playing better than we are. In their last 12 matches they have 11 wins and a draw, and a cumulative score of 26-3. They went in away against a side with four straight wins and handled them with no problem at all. They're on one of the most impressive runs in the Championship for a long time. Fortunately their playing better than us doesn't change the fact that we're still 2 points clear of them, with a game in-hand. And that nobody cares who wins this league, it's all about finishing in the top two. We should focus on that, but there's no point in denying what's patently obvious.

Ipswich has shown incredible grit in saving all these wins from losing positions. But what I see is that over the last 11 matches, Leeds has taken 31 points and Ipswich 26. Fine. But Leeds has allowed 3 goals in that span, and Ipswich 14. If they keep shipping goals like this, I’m skeptical they can keep it up. There’s a certain luck factor involved in what they’ve been doing.

More so since Winks’ effectiveness pretty much depends on Vesty providing him service. Of all the right and wrong decisions Enzo has made, realizing how crucial Vestergaard could be to his scheme was probably the most visionary. It would have been so easy to write him off as a lost cause, but Enzo realized that Vesty could potentially be the lynchpin of our attack when most teams would be ceding us 70% of the ball.

I can’t believe anyone would even ask that question, but then I couldn’t believe it was asked about FA Cup or UCL qualification either.

I rarely call for more Albrighton - he's well past it at this point. But this might be the time to go in that direction with Praet out. He can comfortably play on the right and get some crosses in, which is something we aren't getting much of from our other forward players. In a high-pressure situation like this his experience wouldn't be a bad idea either.

I hear he's sitting this one out.

Is it the best use of resources to have Stolarczyk inactive apart from cup games for an entire season? If the club believes he has a chance to be the #1 guy long-term (which I think he's good enough to justify) it probably makes more sense to loan him out to a Championship side where he can prove himself as a #1. In fact even if they're so committed to Mads that nothing Stolarczyk does will change their mind, his sale value goes up if he proves himself as an every-game keeper at a high level. Pus, the kid wants to play, not watch. It's better for him if he can do that.

It's a bit of a banana skin for them, actually. A derby, and Huddersfield is looking better under Breitenreiter (who knows Farke well). Plus a short turnaround and early kickoff after a pretty intense cup tie.

Different, like yesterday against a PL opponent who had half the possession when he was the best player on the pitch different?

This myth that Shinji was a "rubbish attacking player" proves he was right to be irritated at the role he was asked to play for us, despite the success we had in 2015-16. He sacrificed a lot for the good of the club.

Vesty has to play given his impending vacation, but I don't think you can risk Faes in the circumstances. Seems a given you'd give Kelechi a start up front and see whether he can find some form. In-between I imagine you'd see most of the guys Enzo plans to start on the weekend on the bench.

I do think it’s a bit over the top to assail the tactics when we were the better side for 75 minutes. But I do continually have issues with Enzo’s subs - they made things worse tonight for sure. And it’s worth noting that when Leeds got their second, they kept pressing forward for the insurance goal they eventually got - whereas our tendency has been to get very defensive with a one goal lead.

That rating for Daka is hilariously out of line.

Daka missing that sitter was brutal, but blaming him for this is ridiculous. He assisted one goal, should have scored another, and had one probably incorrectly disallowed (though in real-time it did look offisde, and it was the lineman’s call and not Pawson’s). Daka was overall very good.

Daka was instrumental in our goal and should have had two more.

In the end you can’t piss away that many gilt-edged chances to a team with Leeds’ weaponry and not expect to pay the price. It should never have come down to the offside call on Daka, dubious as it was - Mavididi and Daka each had glorious opportunities and didn’t come close to hitting the target. As for Leeds, they clearly have a bit of steel to them under Farke. To be able to bring the likes of Roberts (who I suspect will slide into the first eleven now for the rest of the season), James, and Bamford off the bench is certainly a luxury, but Farke clearly won the battle of substitutions. The first half-hour of the second half was some of our best football of the season but those missed chances are what matter in the end. Still a six-point cushion and our fate in our hands, no excuses. A real test of mettle now. A cracking match to watch, in any event - utterly compelling. Worth getting up at 5 AM for.

Not counting the FA Cup of course.

A great wailing and despair arises among FT haters.

Thing about Leeds is, they aren't a possession-obsessed side like we are. Against teams that park the bus sure, they'll have the majority of the ball. Against us they'll be happy to let us have 60% possession and rely on the pace and technical ability of their attackers to strike quickly.

OTOH, losing this week may give us a bit more of a sense of urgency, maybe an irritation-fueled edge that had been a little lacking. More pressure than any game for a long while, but that's not necessarily a bad thing. If nothing else, it'll be a telling indicator of how this side responds to pressure.