Cjay

Did they constantly pass to the left? Would seem the natural thing for a group of right backs to do? Its obvious you have better cbs now, Mings is a good player when fit (not sure he is the full shilling though), Chester is class, dont know much about the other two, Wolves fans dont seem to rate Hause at all. They did indeed which is there opinion (and I'm sure yours). Always struck me as a cop out that when people say that "if such and such was fit they'd be the best", part of being a professional footballer is being fit, if you cant stay fit thats your own fault and shouldn't be used as an out. Grealish clearly is a talented lad but if he cant stay fit then he isnt the best player anywhere consistently and part of being the best is consistency imo which is reflected in the FFT vote, cant judge a player if he hardly plays. That's part of what sets Pablo and him apart for me and what makes Pablo better. People will always disagree on talent understandably, Pablo Hernandez is 34 now and probably playing his best football since the Valencia days nearly a decade ago. A real joy is Pablo to watch and i really wish we could have had him in his prime years, around 2010 before injuries started. People forget that Valencia were a top 3 La Liga side consistently then and Pablo was one of the stars of a side containing David Villa and David Silva who attracted interest from both Liverpool and Man City, anyway i digress. Pablo has consistently for years now been a top performer in this league (the most creative player officially since arriving in the Championship) and played the majority of matches, about 83%. Jack from looking has played maybe 60%? While Jack obviously has more potential now imo he cant be considered the best because he just hasnt played often enough. That's the difference for me, on his day Grealish is quality at this level same as Pablo, but Grealish isnt fit enough to have enough days

As we celebrate promotion you guys can comfort yourselves with that

Basically you'd be shite without Elmo, i gotcha.

Thats decent, it was always your defensive issues that imo made you weak, if those are sorted that does worry me tbh.

Dont really have to imagine mate, our injury issues are well documented and continue to this day lol. Cooper has missed 10 games, Jansson has missed 7, Hernandez has missed 7, Ayling has missed 8, Douglas has missed 8 (will be 10 and then the 2 for playoffs), Ali is out for the rest of the season, Bamford has missed 23, Roofe has missed 13 (will be 14 on Sunday) Berardi has missed 24, Forshaw has missed 14 games, Dallas has missed 13 games, Clarke missed 6, Shacks missed 3, and there may be more i cant find. Managers have to find a way imo, no way we should be top 3 with an injury list like that. I will concede Hernandez is the 2nd best player in the league if you concede Jack is 10th? That was the FFT vote result. Make a good point about draws actually, you have lost fewer then us, but we have more wins, while our gung ho attitude is exciting do feel it has cost us at times. Passing out from the back, so can understand why cb issues would hinder you although i do refer to my post about our own issues, can teams really complain about injuries as an excuse when the team in 3rd has had that? Definitely respectful of your form and some quality players, worried about our own form and more worryingly the seeming confidence drain. However dont see why we should fear anyone if it is to be playoffs, we have beaten all of you at least once if it stays this way for the top 6. We are the best of the rest officially and with Norwich have spent by far the longest top and top 2 (no other sides even close in that respect including the Blades). Apprehensive and disappointed atm but once/if playoffs are confirmed excitement should return Hopefully we can lay a marker down on Sunday and have another side in the playoffs who we have done the double over (Bristol City or Derby would be one) or if not, provided Boro dont make it should we beat you then whether its Bristol City or Derby with us you and WBA we will have beaten every side in the playoffs last time we met. Come to think of it i cant remember how the playoffs work 3rd play 5th then 4th play 6th? That it.

Did expect you to improve if you improved the defence, bit pathetic on Bruces part that given the funds you needed to improve anything tbh. Your ffp situation is a source of bafflement tbf

McGinn and Grealish would make decent backups tbf for us next season when Pablo and Klich need a rest

Should results go how we expect on Saturday id like/hope we will give some of our kids a chance. Maybe it will end up being the best attended u23 game ever!!!!

Tbh we plan on getting Phillips to ruin Jack's hair do, we figure that will leave him in tears and having to be subbed They would true, but your stats without Grealish seem incredibly poor for so long that its a surprise you havent found a way to adapt yet. Rate Mcginn highly, also a fan of Hourihane who imo is pretty underrated.

Bruce was always a negative sod, win if you can but dont lose at all costs. Given your defensive frailties i think Smith does suit you, best form of defence is attack, keep the ball up the other end of the pitch, cant concede that way etc. Been a critic of his (and got pelters for it), always felt the one thing missing was end product, he seems to have found one a bit tbf to him and maybe Smith's style suits him more and plays to his strengths. Managers and players can become like a match made in heaven (Bielsa and Payet) and imo Smith suits Grealish. I think should results go as expected we may rest players to tbf, no point risking key players if the game is effectively meaningless.

Takes time for most teams to adapt to a new style tbf and not surprised that having got a few players in you did improve. Grealish wears Pablo pyjamas though Wins breed confidence i suppose, once teams get a few and confidence builds then runs happen, 10wins on the spin is impressive.

Take your point mate, Bruce was in a bit of a mess. But without him this season you are still a bit of a state results wise. Could you rest him vs us do you think? The loss of Grealish for the playoffs imo would be the difference between you being a possible winner and a beaten semi finalist.

I cant see how you could afford El Ghazi, Mings, the Wolves lad and Abraham without promotion unless the parent clubs fancy doing you a favour tbh. Dont you have a lot of players out of contract to? Huge rebuilding job surely if you dont get promotion this season? Its funny how a perceived style of play can placate fans despite results, fans are always more willing to give time if as you say they feel something may come of it in the future. I like Dean Smith as a manager, not my cup of tea as a person, bit of a chip on his shoulder imo but he does get teams playing good football.

Are things really that much better under Dean Smith? Know the football is probably better but results wise it still seems dependant on Jack Grealish being fit. 10 wins on the bounce but Grealish played in 9 didnt he? Previous 14 in all competitions without him ,2 wins.

Hi @dont_do_it_doug. Bielsa is very stubborn, he has a strict pecking order and unless injuries occur he is very unwilling to rotate and it has caused frustration to the point we could predict the subs pre game, such and such will come on for etc. His unwillingness to change the pecking order to include some of the kids who we have used who have impressed is another bone of contention, Aapo Halme, Jamie Shackleton to name a few who probably should havw gotten more of a chance fitness permitting. But rotation hasnt been easy with our injuries, the squad isnt the deepest or the most quality loaded. There are players in our first team who are at best average Championship squad fillers, players you turn to on occasion but not players you really want to rely on to often. At the same time playing kids to often has its own risks and you can understand his reluctance to a degree. Wont name names but we do lack real individual quality aside from a few players, fortunately largely covered up by effort on the part of the players and superb coaching. Its undeniable imo that the board have severely let Bielsa down, rarely do a board allow a squad to get weaker as the season goes on but ours did. Saiz left, a key player who Bielsa greatly admired( maybe not entirely the clubs fault but i dont buy that Bielsa wouldn't have liked a replacement, Baker was a squad filler but even so another body gone. Bielsa was very reluctant to call for signings early doors but as January progressed he did say "a few would be nice but they must be better then what we have" words to that effect. No question Bielsa has his faults but using largely the same squad that would have been relegated had last season started January 2018 he has had us not below top 3 all season bar 1 week when we were 4th. My frustration will be directed towards the board more then Bielsa tbh should we not go up, a risk was needed imo, not the extent you have last few seasons but a decent calculated risk. Not selling Viera to fund Bamford, being far more proactive in securing the best players we could, i dont feel we did that, we missed out on Harvey Barnes, Harry Wilson and Dan James and at least 2 of those were down to money, unwilling to cough up or trying to bargain to much. We had ages to sort out a replacement for Saiz, we had 4 months to prepare to sign the winger Bielsa wanted in the summer and January passed and still no winger. Longer then i planned this. So yes, Bielsa isnt faultless, the squad is short on depth and crucially imo individual quality in key areas, but the board badly let Bielsa down on many occasions and it is them who will have cost us not Bielsa should we fail now.

Everyone has to dream!!!!!!!

Dont blame Bielsa personally. You let your number 10 leave and dont replace him, you let a midfielder leave (Baker was shite tbf) but another body let go and not replaced and you dont sign the winger the manager wanted in two transfer windows (not just James but that ilk, pacey and direct the other was the dude who went to Derby). We gambled on Bielsa being enough. Its not over yet but deflated isn't the word.

Probably, he'd just get bored and go score a few goals. Can see him dropping into the Pirlo role in a few years.

https://twitter.com/BreatheMessi_/status/1106024326615183363?s=20 This is what makes Messi better imo, Ronnie swans about getting cross when things dont go his way, Messi gives his all to help his team. Messi all day imo, Ronnie is an incredible athlete, but Messi is naturally better imo.

Bielsa on the attack on Jack Grealish yesterday: "The person who does the thing we saw yesterday expresses a series of frustrations which are not necessarily linked to football. Because the more satisfied you are with your personal life, the less you need to do this kind of act." Next up Marcelo will turn water into wine and explain the Theory Of Evolution in Latin.

Cant understand the mentality. What did he think was going to happen after? All would just be forgotten about. Selfish idiot, didnt think of what it would do to his young family (god help his poor kids). Tough guy like him though, im sure he isnt moving out of the house?

100% credit to Grealish. Hope they throw the book (or maybe just the match report) at the idiot who hit him. Or maybe just make him watch the goal on repeat for 8 hours a day for the next year. Anyway, great character from Grealish, would have been easy to go into his shell after being assaulted. Well done Jack.

Deserved point. Far far more importantly. Get well soon Jack

This is totally wrong imo. The bold bit is ridiculous.

Only 4 points outside the playoffs, beat the Blades tonight that's 1 point before the Weekends games with a midweek game coming up and another playoff contender next weekend coming to Villa park, not a bad situation really. Imo Dean Smith was a good appointment ( I'm a fan), plays good football, can work on a budget if necessary, is able to adapt should key players leave (did at Brentford) and is a Villa fan. He has only had 1 window to work with, hard to fix a teams issues in 1 window. Perhaps he is a victim of his own early success, beating Derby and Boro, getting a draw at WBA, winning the derby. Maybe some expected to fly up the table, hasnt happened, but was always unlikely without signing top class full backs and defenders wasnt it? We are a bit nervous and edgy now, some questioning Bielsa and his selections and things. Start of the season though most Leeds fans would have snapped your hand off for a playoff place, heightened expectations because of early form can be a managers undoing imo. Dean Smith is a good manager, string 2 or 3 wins together and things will look much better. Start tonight, Wednesday and Next weekend pleaseeee