Leeds A Post Match Thread

[HereBeFoxes]

Well. That felt good. 

[Blarmy]

10 hours ago, StriderHiryu said:

 

 

Just sat here watching that loop for  about 5 minutes 🤣
 

Edited 3 November 2020 by Blarmy

[Guest Markyblue]

15 minutes ago, Pub breath said:

Go ahead

It's pretty telling that we have only had one other 3 goal defeat under Bielsa that I can recall and it was against a team set up exactly as Leicester did last night.  It's absolutely no secret that the most effective way to counter Leeds' domination of the ball is to play that way, the difference between Leicester and most championship clubs that tried it is that Leicester have the caliber of players to make it work.  You were frighting on the counter attack and in vardy and Barnes, you have an electric couple of players who would worry any defence.

I said before the game that Leicester are likely to be a problem team for us as you set up in exactly the way we struggle against and so it proved.  The Kalvin Phillips shaped hole in front of our defence was there for all to see and the only other player we have in that position is Forshaw, who is also out.  We looked very fragile at the back because they lost their protection.  A bigger blow was losing Rodrigo and Raphinia just before the start.  That meant that 3 of our 4 big money summer signings were out and you basically faced a weakened version of our championship team + Koch, who had an absolute mare.  It was a harsh lesson indeed and we simply don't yet have the depth that you enjoy.

All that said, i've rarely - if ever - seen us look so disjointed.  Simple passes missed, low energy levels, errors, nervousness and very little invention or guile in our link ups.  I've perhaps only seen us play like that once or twice since Bielsa.  I guess you coped with the conditions better than we did but I also just think we had a horrible off-night where nothing really worked and we looked inert.  It happens.  You lost 3-0 to West Ham.  You can't have off days in this league, you'll get spanked, well and truly.  I do still wonder if the result may still have looked quite different had Pablo's shot gone in and not hit the woodwork, momentum can be a critical aspect in football.

Mercifully, we bounce back well after defeats and I expected to get regular lessons this season so i'm not too down this morning.  I actually enjoyed seeing Barnes and Vardy link up the way they did.  So many teams wanted to try and play that way against Leeds in the Championship, Leicester showed them how it's done.  You're probably one of the best counter attacking teams in the whole of football, it's absolutely devastating.

Well done, you look like you're set to have a very strong season again, it's impressive and heartening how Leicester have stayed around the top over the last few years.  Been good chatting on here recently and will keep popping in from time to time

Stop it , you are destroying my stereotype for leeds fans😁 fair play for fronting up and a pretty fair assessment, its nearly always a game of what could have beens but so goes it.

[Scotch]

17 minutes ago, Pub breath said:

Go ahead

It's pretty telling that we have only had one other 3 goal defeat under Bielsa that I can recall and it was against a team set up exactly as Leicester did last night.  It's absolutely no secret that the most effective way to counter Leeds' domination of the ball is to play that way, the difference between Leicester and most championship clubs that tried it is that Leicester have the caliber of players to make it work.  You were frighting on the counter attack and in vardy and Barnes, you have an electric couple of players who would worry any defence.

I said before the game that Leicester are likely to be a problem team for us as you set up in exactly the way we struggle against and so it proved.  The Kalvin Phillips shaped hole in front of our defence was there for all to see and the only other player we have in that position is Forshaw, who is also out.  We looked very fragile at the back because they lost their protection.  A bigger blow was losing Rodrigo and Raphinia just before the start.  That meant that 3 of our 4 big money summer signings were out and you basically faced a weakened version of our championship team + Koch, who had an absolute mare.  It was a harsh lesson indeed and we simply don't yet have the depth that you enjoy.

All that said, i've rarely - if ever - seen us look so disjointed.  Simple passes missed, low energy levels, errors, nervousness and very little invention or guile in our link ups.  I've perhaps only seen us play like that once or twice since Bielsa.  I guess you coped with the conditions better than we did but I also just think we had a horrible off-night where nothing really worked and we looked inert.  It happens.  You lost 3-0 to West Ham.  You can't have off days in this league, you'll get spanked, well and truly.  I do still wonder if the result may still have looked quite different had Pablo's shot gone in and not hit the woodwork, momentum can be a critical aspect in football.

Mercifully, we bounce back well after defeats and I expected to get regular lessons this season so i'm not too down this morning.  I actually enjoyed seeing Barnes and Vardy link up the way they did.  So many teams wanted to try and play that way against Leeds in the Championship, Leicester showed them how it's done.  You're probably one of the best counter attacking teams in the whole of football, it's absolutely devastating.

Well done, you look like you're set to have a very strong season again, it's impressive and heartening how Leicester have stayed around the top over the last few years.  Been good chatting on here recently and will keep popping in from time to time

I was only pulling your chain. 

 

Leeds should take compliment in how we set up against you. Despite what most Leeds fans said before the game, Rodgers isn't really a fan of low block, counter attacking football. We usually dominate possession as Rodgers prefers playing this type of football. We only set up the way we did last night against dangerous teams so the fact we did tells you what you need to know about how Rodgers sees Leeds. 

 

I do feel that your biggest mistake last night was done before the ball was even kicked. Bielsa saying he won't make any special plans for Vardy and that he wont let it change the way he plays. This is niave and slightly arrogant. You simply HAVE to surrender your pride and grind out results with defensive football in this league sometimes. 

 

Rodgers made the same mistakes last year and went to Liverpool and Man city to try and outplayed them and we got humped. Hes a world class coach, the quicker he learns to swallow his pride, the quicker Leeds will become a regular top half side. 

[HighPeakFox]

Well said @Pub breath. I would counter your 'if we'd not hit the bar' with 'if we'd been 4 up at half time', such was our dominance. 

[Danny Clender]

Last nights game was truly exceptional in the sense, it further proves the "Premier League Rule Book" is self isolating in a secret destination with no data connection and no family or friend visits. 

Our injury ravaged team, shouldn't really beat Leeds 4-1, should it? 

Well it did and not only that, but did it in such convincing style. 

 

The tactics were great, the goals were great, the individual performances were great, the result was great.

 

I know the build up was all about Bielsa and Poch, but what I enjoyed most was the way in which Brendan came out on top.

His personality before, during and after the game was on point and he proper bossed it. 

For the duration of the whole event, I'm fairly sure that's the most charismatic, confident and relaxed I've ever seen him.

To me, that's speaks volumes as to where we are right now, all over the pitch the mood and atmosphere just feels right.

That was evident during the post game walk off.

I always love to analyse the body language during that moment and last night, we looked tight. 

 

 

[mozartfox]

With Ricardo, Cags and Wilf to come back after long term injuries, this will the equivalent of a 'Carlsberg' Transfer Window.

 

Need Evans back soonest, then use the International break to re-instate Ricardo/Cags and Chestnuts into the matchday squad.

 

Great result, great performance.

[Ecdysiast]

42 minutes ago, kingcarr21 said:

People talking about when our injured players get back to fitness. Quite frankly if we carry on like this we wont be able to pick our best 11 as, to a man, they are all as good as each other in their respective positions. Ndidi will not walk back into the team the way our Midfield is playing. Which Is great as we clearly brought him back too soon in his last injury period. We can also take our time bringing in Ricardo and Castagne.

 

A fantastic position to be in

as long as we don't get anymore injuries...which is unlikely

[Mickyblueeyes]

28 minutes ago, Sol thewall Bamba said:

The disappointment in both Tyler's and Alan Smith's voice when Youri put the penalty away

Commentators don't usually annoy me but yesterday it was a different level of bias. The amount of times Tyler was encouraging them forward acting as if they'd made a name for themselves (in the Premier League) of coming back from a two-goal deficit. 

 

The bit that really annoyed me was when their play dived in the box. It was a dive. He was expecting the tackle and went down without a touch. Fuchs was just clever enough to withdraw in time. Their player should've been booked for diving. Tyler makes no mention of it. A few minutes later a Leeds player slips in the centre circle and Tyler goes: "With the conditions its possible to slip without a touch but it not being a dive". **** off. Their player fell forward in the box fully in control of his movements.

 

Leeds are traditionally a big club. One city. With the Biesla love in. Its a great media story so you cant blame them. 

 

In reality a far superior, top 6 Premier League club outshone and outfought a newly promoted club who are coming down from their newly promoted early season adrenaline rush. That story doesn't really sell as well. We spanked a lower end of the league side 4-1 and that's all it is. 

[davieG]

A balanced report from Yorkshire - https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/sport/football/leeds-united/wily-leicester-city-show-beauty-eye-beholder-beat-leeds-united-graham-smyths-verdict-3023024

 

Wily Leicester City show beauty is in the eye of the beholder to beat Leeds United - Graham Smyth's Verdict
Beauty is one of Marcelo Bielsa’s self-imposed obligations as Leeds United manager and one of the reasons he is so revered in the city.

 

By Graham Smyth
Tuesday, 3rd November 2020, 7:47 am

ROUGH NIGHT - Leeds United were beaten 4-1 by a Leicester City side who showed their own form of footballing beauty on a rain-soaked Elland Road pitch. Pic: Bruce Rollinson

His first obligation is to win games, but he wants to win them in a way that enflames the passion of supporters, he wants to win beautifully.

“I believe we have an obligation regarding the beauty of the game,” he said during a presentation in Affligem, Belgium in May 2017.

“As managers of a football team we have two obligations, well actually one, we have to win. And the way you win is no longer important. And in my fantasy, just as there is financial fair play, there should be a punishment for those who ignore the beauty of the game to achieve victory.

“It is difficult for me to accept that the only thing we are going to offer these people is the results. Because if we do not offer them football as an aesthetic element, we are making them worse as human beings.”

Against Leicester City Bielsa and his players were unable to give Leeds fans a result or replicate much of the beauty that shone even in other defeats this season.

There were flickers in the second half, hints of the football everyone knows Leeds can play, but even the goal they scored in the 4-1 defeat didn’t particularly meet their usual aesthetically pleasing standards.

Instead, a wily, experienced and clinical Premier League veteran showed that beauty is very much in the eye of the beholder.

With Jamie Vardy up front, Brendan Rodgers knew his side could still pose problems if they allowed Leeds to have the ball, sat deep, defended stoutly and exploded forward on the break.

Aided by some sloppy play from a team reknowned for the crispness of their passing football, that is exactly how the Foxes won this game, showing quality on and off the ball.

Leeds could have been ahead inside the opening two minutes thanks to a lovely move, but instead found themselves behind and always chasing the game.

With Rodrigo self-isolating having come into close contact with someone who subsequently tested positive for Covid-19, Pablo Hernandez came into the starting line-up and some of his trademark trickery started Leeds’ first attack.

Helder Costa’s perfect cross was then headed back across goal by Jack Harrison and Patrick Bamford peeled off his marker but could only nod it into Kasper Schmeichel’s arms.

It was a sliding doors moment.

 

The goalkeeper rolled it out, Leicester sent it down the left channel and Robin Koch’s attempted back pass to Illan Meslier was poor enough for Vardy to intercept, round the stopper and give Harvey Barnes a tap-in.

A sequence of play so rapid that Sky were still showing a replay of Bamford’s miss as Vardy went past Meslier summed up the way the first half went. Leeds looked to create and score a beautiful goal, Leicester got it downfield as quickly as they could. It was no-nonsense but it was still impressive stuff all the same and beautiful in its own way.

That early goal allowed Leicester to play the game exactly as they wanted, sitting deep out of possession, keeping bodies between Leeds and the goal, picking off passes across the middle that that too often went astray and then haring into space. Mateusz Klich and Hernandez were struggling to find men and at the other end, both Leeds centre-halves kept losing Vardy. His pace and movement have been nightmarish for defenders since he broke into the Stocksbridge Park Steels senior side 13 years ago and he's no less thrilling to watch in the Premier League as he was tearing up defences for Halifax or Fleetwood on his rise to the top.

It was his near-post dart that allowed him to escape Robin Koch and dive to head the ball at goal, Meslier’s save brilliant but ultimately futile as Youri Tielemans followed up, alone, to make it 2-0.

Most of the rest of the half followed a familiar pattern, Leeds taking the ball up the field, meeting a blue wall and struggling to break it down, all the while conscious of the danger possessed by the visitors on the counter attack.

When going round the wall didn’t bring dividends, Leeds tried to go through it, first through Hernandez, then Harrison and finally Luke Ayling, whose clever dinked pass put Bamford in on goal, the striker’s poor first touch allowed Schmeichel to make the save.

Bielsa replaced Shackleton with Ian Poveda at half-time and changed the shape, Harrison playing inside Costa who was now on the left wing. Leicester, all of a sudden, did not look anywhere near as comfortable. And when Leeds pulled a goal back it heightened the discomfort.

A short corner routine saw the ball pushed back to Stuart Dallas, 30-plus yards from goal on the left and his swinging cross was not only allowed to bounce but to creep inside the far post.

Another corner from the same side was half-cleared as far as Hernandez and he took it down, beat a man and curled the ball out of Schmeichel’s reach and onto the woodwork. That was about as beautiful as it got.

Bielsa elected to make another change with 23 minutes left, sending on Tyler Roberts for Hernandez who showed his displeasure with the decision, having finally started to enjoy the contest.

Leeds, having had the blue wall wobbling for a spell, couldn’t knock it down. Roberts never really got into the game, the Whites got down the flanks but couldn’t find a final ball and even when Poveda played an incisive pass to put Ayling into the box, the right-back tried to win a penalty with an all-too-obvious dive.

Brendan Rodgers made second-half changes too and they had a definitive impact.

The first time the Foxes really created danger after the break, James Maddison’s through ball put Cengiz Under in behind the Leeds defence and he simply cushioned it past Meslier with the deftest of touches to give Vardy an empty net to score in.

His threat might have been dormant for a while but it was still there and had he not clipped the ball wide of Meslier’s goal after running in behind Cooper, Leicester would have been out of sight with seven minutes remaining.

The late minutes brought nothing but more frustration for Leeds, Klich’s challenge on Maddison was ignored by Andre Marriner until a VAR check prompted him to watch it back on the monitor, a penalty the only likely outcome.

He pointed to the spot, Tielemans stroked it home and Leicester were home and hosed.

[FoyleFox]

1 hour ago, worth_the_wait said:

Real credit to Brendan on how he managed to keep a straight face to that question.

 

(I'd like to have seen the interviewer trying to ask Pearson a question like that.   I reckon "ostrich" would've been in the answer.)

Brendan knows how to play the media game and whilst Nigel and probably the rest of us would've been irritated by it, I think Brendan deferring to the mighty Leeds questions was taking the p1ss. Agree with Sky but smiling inside knowing he'd a cunning plan to take them down 

[daddylonglegs]

Every time we play I just keep thinking... we still have Ricardo to come back. 

[jmono84]

Also a shout out to the ref for making some howlers in this game. Thankfully VAR got us that blatant peno and I remember there was 2-3 more incidents like the in the first half where Barnes skinned two and was blatantly fouled and ref waved play on. Think the gel in his hair was mixing with the pouring rain and getting in his eyes.

[Ecdysiast]

 

look at those eyes ... he's off his face. caffeine and pure adrenaline. Legend

[SecretPro]

We are good aren't we. 

[Dahnsouff]

The disappointment in Martin Tyler's voice when we score the third is palpable 

[deep blue]

8 hours ago, Hack said:

We will miss the professional that is Fuchs at the end of the season, no doubt about it.  Shrewd and talented player that we have taken for granted.  The same thing can be said for Marc Albrighton who is always playing well.  great shame he never got an England callup, because he has been as good and consistent winger as others rated better.  The best free player we have ever had.

I love watching Fuchs play as he's so calm and intelligent on the pitch.  I think that if we'd used Fuchs, Morgan and Albrighton more after last season's restart we wouldn't have collapsed quite so dramatically because of the calmness, experience and, most of all, grit they would have injected. What fantastic players and squad members they've been for us.

 

On another note, I picked up (as others have done) on the joy displayed by the squad at the end.  They seemed genuinely happy for each other.  I hope that's a sign of the special gelling that was such a big factor in our 2015-2016 success.

 

Being Leicester, I guess we'll make a mess of Thursday now.

[Heskey2011]

1 hour ago, Danny Clender said:

Last nights game was truly exceptional in the sense, it further proves the "Premier League Rule Book" is self isolating in a secret destination with no data connection and no family or friend visits. 

Our injury ravaged team, shouldn't really beat Leeds 4-1, should it? 

Well it did and not only that, but did it in such convincing style. 

 

The tactics were great, the goals were great, the individual performances were great, the result was great.

 

I know the build up was all about Bielsa and Poch, but what I enjoyed most was the way in which Brendan came out on top.

His personality before, during and after the game was on point and he proper bossed it. 

For the duration of the whole event, I'm fairly sure that's the most charismatic, confident and relaxed I've ever seen him.

To me, that's speaks volumes as to where we are right now, all over the pitch the mood and atmosphere just feels right.

That was evident during the post game walk off.

I always love to analyse the body language during that moment and last night, we looked tight. 

 

 

Yeah very much so..did you notice him doing the keep talking hand gestures through out...Tielemans especially seemed really vocal..BR finding, encouraging leaders to emerge during this time is just what we need.  We're winning the mental battle.

[Lesterlad]

11 hours ago, whoareyaaa said:

the third goal was sublime that pass from Maddison was DeBruyne like and the deft pass by Under was class as well 

Don’t forget the ball from Fuchs to Maddison at beginning of the move. Sheer class all round

[1964w]

Men v boys

 

A footballing lesson for our lads

 

Well deserved victory for the Foxes

 

Good luck for the rest of the season, looks like we'll need a fair bit of luck after our performance last night

[1964w]

2 hours ago, hejammy said:

Still buzzing this morning! Such a clever performance that was. To think we have so many "first" team players out yet we can sit happy in 2nd after 7 games. Happy days

You have a excellent squad Hejammy

 

We had four out (three international signings) plus Phillips & looked distinctly championship material on that showing

 

I knew Vardy would kill us aided by Barnes too, Fuchs looked excellent too

 

Well done, fully deserved victory 

[Danny Clender]

11 minutes ago, Heskey2011 said:

Yeah very much so..did you notice him doing the keep talking hand gestures through out...Tielemans especially seemed really vocal..BR finding, encouraging leaders to emerge during this time is just what we need.  We're winning the mental battle.

Oh yes, now you mention it, I remember him doing the hand chat gesture now, really like that he's imposing that side of our game.

It was also evident from the Arsenal game that he's upped the amount of talking on the pitch he wants to hear and like you say, Tielemans was organising quite a bit last night, normally first in for the celebration too. 

[richardsfoxes]

I don't want to discredit the work/job the lads have done while key players have been out but i honestly can't ****ing wait to see this team in action when all fit. 

 

                             Kasper

Ricardo     Fofana         Cagnar       Timothee

                               Ndidi

Cengiz           Youri          Maddison   Barnes

                               Vardy

 

 

Unreal. 

[Dahnsouff]

8 minutes ago, 1964w said:

Men v boys

 

A footballing lesson for our lads

 

Well deserved victory for the Foxes

 

Good luck for the rest of the season, looks like we'll need a fair bit of luck after our performance last night

Stated earlier in this thread that both teams represented each others kryptonite, and that it wasn`t clear which way it would go. You had an off day, we had a good one, it happens.

You will be fine based on other performances, so best of luck  

[talking_goldfish]

Just watching the highlights on the OS and I know JJ's performance was first class but I'm pretty sure he only played one position