Questions from Leeds fans

[Cjay]

10 minutes ago, limpid said:

640 pages of arguments

found it, thanks 

 

 

[Rugeley Villa]

2 hours ago, Cjay said:

Well that was an interesting read, thanks 

Didn't read it all, 600 pages, skimmed 40 or so, he certainly divides opinion, what i didnt know is at one point he had gone a full year without a goal, thats shocking for an attacking player.

Even more shocking is the wage figures you guys had on there, £50-70k a week? That cant be right, greatest of respect he was never THAT good .

We all love our academy lads, we have had a few and they get a lot more slack then non academy lads, but seems Gabby is wearing out his goodwill.

From an outsiders perspective ive always thought of Gabby Agbonlahor as ok, in his younger days, when he had lots of pace, he was a threat, because he was quick, scored some goals and generally was a worry for the Prem defences. 

I didnt know till i read your thread about his erm, outside football issues.

Now, he isnt anymore then an average Championship forward/Winger, there was a debate on there about whether he could manage 20 goals in this division, personally id say no, his ratio throughout his career is what, 1 in 4, yes, largely against better teams in the Premiership but also surrounded by better players and service so it balances out. 

He isnt a bad option from the bench, but if you were relying on him to fire you to promotion i think you would be down here till the day he retires imo. 

And to think arsenal were rumoured to have wanted him a few years ago. Think it was for 12 million. Even in his prime he was never all that, and was only a 1 goal in 4 games player. He had lots of speed and that was it. 

[Cjay]

1 hour ago, Rugeley Villa said:

And to think arsenal were rumoured to have wanted him a few years ago. Think it was for 12 million. Even in his prime he was never all that, and was only a 1 goal in 4 games player. He had lots of speed and that was it. 

In fairness that doesnt say much for Gabby . . Wenger has signed far more dross strikers then good.

Francis Jeffers. . .Lucas Perez . . Nicklas Bendtner . . . Park Chu Young . . Marouane Chamakh . . Kaba Diawara etc

[Rugeley Villa]

9 minutes ago, Cjay said:

In fairness that doesnt say much for Gabby . . Wenger has signed far more dross strikers then good.

Francis Jeffers. . .Lucas Perez . . Nicklas Bendtner . . . Park Chu Young . . Marouane Chamakh . . Kaba Diawara etc

Definitely, it would be a typical arsenal signing. Gabby is half the player Walcott is and I don't rate Walcott as a top 4 club player. 

[Cjay]

2 hours ago, Rugeley Villa said:

Definitely, it would be a typical arsenal signing. Gabby is half the player Walcott is and I don't rate Walcott as a top 4 club player. 

Agreed, the fact many thought he would end up as successor to Thierry Henry is even more silly, Henry was better then Walcott is now when he was 20. 

[VILLAMARV]

Thought I'd just leave this here

 

Edited October 13, 2017 by VILLAMARV

[dont_do_it_doug.]

1. We both have relatively new managers, Steve Bruce coming up on a year in charge, what do you think of him so far?

After a shaky opening he's doing 'Steve Bruce'. Physical, counter attacking football. Not the best to watch at times but effective enough now. Have had my ups and downs with him, let's put it that way.

2.Which of your signings are you most impressed with so far?

Of the summer? John Terry. Of January - Conor Hourihane.

3. What have you made of your start this season?

Annoyed with the stumbling start but we have settled into a winning groove. Bad luck with injuries has me wobbling a touch but it has been 'ok'. After so many years of losing it's good to be finally winning and actually dominating a few games.

4. Which Championship side have you been most and least impressed with?

Most - Wolves. Least - Fulham. I wasn't impressed by Fulham last season either, even when they beat us. They don't like it up-em. 

5. If you were allowed to sign one player from a Championship rival who would it be?

He has been injured I know but I love me some Forestieri. Also a big fan of Pontus. 

6. The media had you amongst the favourites for promotion, is this a view reflected amongst yourselves? 

Well it is by me, yes. 

7.John Terry, experienced leader who will rally the troops on the pitch and lead you to promotion or ageing past his best centre half living on his reputation for one last pay day?

Best player in the division, bar none. Sooner he is back the better.

8. Are you concerned that you could become another big club stuck in the lower divisions for some time like a Leeds, Nottingham Forest, Derby County etc or are you confident if not this season then next you will return to the Premier League?

Confident but concerned. 

9. Your key player for this season?

John Terry.

10. Finally your picks for top 2 and playoff winners and bottom 3?

Top 2 - Wolves, Aston Villa. Bottom 3 - Burton, Sunderland, Birmingham City

11. Added this after having a read through and thought id ask for your opinion on your newish owner and ffp. Has he done well and does ffp concern you guys or are you confident the club has it under control? 

I think he's wicked, love the bloke. His heart is most definitely in it. I'm less convinced by Wyness, but then he deals in the results which have been sketchy up until now. I'm certain FFP is under control, though it is of course a stain upon the game. 

Thanks in advance and good luck for the season

You too. Your home crowd is the best in any division bar none 

Edited November 24, 2017 by dont_do_it_doug.

[OutByEaster?]

On 06/09/2017 at 02:59, Cjay said:

 

1. We both have relatively new managers, Steve Bruce coming up on a year in charge, what do you think of him so far?

He's an experienced and wily campaigner and he's doing what it says on the tin. We're very often not great to watch, he's not a modern progressive manager, next to Pep he looks like something from another time and our team looks like a sort of 80's throwback at times - but - we're winning games, we look balanced and the players look like they know their jobs. He's taken a lot of criticism and he's making us eat it; hopefully he can continue to do that. He's also proving to be quite a lucky manager - injuries have a couple of times forced him into things that work for us - he's then had the nous to keep doing the things that work. 

2. Which of your signings are you most impressed with so far?

Terry I guess, for his attitude and commitment, maybe Whelan for his grit, Onomah has occasionally looked a decent loan signing as has Johnstone and Snodgrass has been excellent of late. Elmohamady had a poor start but has improved - none of them have really stood out individually I guess, we're vey much a team effort. The age of our signings is a concern.

3. What have you made of your start this season?

We're improving - we look solid now and settled. I thought we looked a bit ropey at the start of the season but we now look like a team that can make the playoffs.

4. Which Championship side have you been most and least impressed with?

I think Wolves are the obvious one to be most impressed with - they've got money, they've spent it wisely, they've got a good manager and they're the best team in the division, playing the best football in the division. I hate them.

5. If you were allowed to sign one player from a Championship rival who would it be? 

I have a feeling I'm likely on my own here, but I'd have that Barry Bannan from Sheffield Wednesday - our big weakness if that we can't pass or keep the ball - that makes it difficult to control games against teams we're better than and it leaves us occasionally looking a little chaotic. Bannan would help with that - as a former player I have a feeling he'd get a slightly mixed reception.

6. The media had you amongst the favourites for promotion, is this a view reflected amongst yourselves? 

Not from me - I think we've got a shot at it, but I don't think we're favourites by any means. I'm hoping to get in through the playoffs. 

7. John Terry, experienced leader who will rally the troops on the pitch and lead you to promotion or ageing past his best centre half living on his reputation for one last pay day?

Very much the former, and I think surprisingly so. He's impressed with his attitude and formed a good partnership with Chester. 

8.  Are you concerned that you could become another big club stuck in the lower divisions for some time like a Leeds, Nottingham Forest, Derby County etc or are you confident if not this season then next you will return to the Premier League?

Yup. We'd be foolish not to be concerned. The game is about money nowadays and size doesn't get you a big enough advantage in terms of cash. It'd be easy for me to point out that we can take a fair bit of confidence in being bigger than the other clubs on your list, but there are half a dozen clubs smaller than all of those you've mentioned sitting in the top division at the moment earning twelve times what we do.

Mind you, I've also got to say I'm enjoying competing at the top end of the Championship a lot more than I enjoyed clinging on to the bottom of the Premier League. Now that the top of the Premier league is largely a closed shop with a six foot FFP fence around it and there's no real chance of teams like us, or you, or for that matter Southampton, Stoke, Everton and all but about six clubs at the top winning anything in the foreseeable future - enjoyment has started to matter to me - if you can't win, what do you want to be? What do you want from supporting your side?

I'm hopeful we'll be promoted either this year or as soon as is possible - I'm less hopeful I'll enjoy it more than this when we get there.

9. Your key player for this season?

A nineteen year old centre forward with limited goalscoring ability.

Keinan Davis allows us to play, he holds up the ball and lets midfielders attack. If we don't have him in the side, we have two ways to break teams down - passing the ball (which we're rubbish at) or Jonathon Kodjia (who is broken). So, our season rests on the broad shoulders of a talented if limited teen.

10. Finally your picks for top 2 and playoff winners and bottom 3?

Top two for me would be Wolves and just about anyone. I think there's a group including us, you, Wednesday, Boro, Derby and Cardiff fighting it out for the rest. I'll take us through the playoffs and you can have second spot cos I know it'll make you happy.

Sunderland, Bolton and small heath for the bottom three - a tragedy, an expectation and a classic comedy.

11. Added this after having a read through and thought id ask for your opinion on your newish owner and ffp. Has he done well and does ffp concern you guys or are you confident the club has it under control? 

He's doing pretty well, it's hard really to tell how well he's doing because we've lost so much money in recent years that he hasn't been able to spend as much as he'd like. We seem reasonably well run and he seems to have a plan, he's likeable and we're all hopeful. I'm quite positive about him. FFP concerns me in two main ways - Firstly,  for Villa because it limits us, it stops the owner investing and puts us in a straightjacket - from what I can gather we barely made it through in the summer and we won't be spending to any extent in January - we 're a big club in this division, possibly the richest and through FFP one of the poorest. Secondly, because it's a stupid idea designed to keep the money at the top protected and the TV show simple enough for the Chinese to follow.

 

 

 

 

[Cjay]

13 hours ago, OutByEaster? said:

 

 

 

Thanks for the replies

[Cjay]

Hello again

With the game only days away i thought I'd come back.

Things are a bit different now, for both of us

1. Whats changed from your point of view, is it a case of players playing better or Bruce getting it right? Etc.
2. Your thoughts on your teams strengths and weaknesses? 
3. Win and you are for a spell 2 points of 2nd, are you more confident of Promotion now?
4. Who should we be most concerned about from your players?
5. Have you seen much of us? If so what have you thought?
6. How do you see the game going? 

 

[Nigel]

1 hour ago, Cjay said:

Hello again

With the game only days away i thought I'd come back.

Things are a bit different now, for both of us

1)Whats changed from your point of view, is it a case of players playing better or Bruce getting it right? Etc.

The team has settled now. Its no real surprise that as the season goes on we are getting better. Bruces tactics of playing the same team has hurt us when we lose first teamers and may come back to haunt us towards the end of the season, but its bearing fruit atm. Its a simple enough plan of just doing your job but the quality of our midfield rises us above most teams. Confidence breeds confidence too.

2) Your thoughts on your teams strengths and weaknesses? 

We are defensively really solid (joint best defensive record) even though this has been undermined by the loss of Terry, but we seem to be battling through without him. Our midfield is quality for this division, good mix of steel and attacking intent and with Adomah knocking them in for fun its a dangerous unit. In saying this it has to be to make up from a chronic lack of goals from our forward line. Injuries have really kicked in here and we have lost 4 out of our 5 forwards leaving only Davis, a teenager, to plow it alone. Whether we can go the whole season without more goals from here is open to question.

3)Win and you are for a spell 2 points of 2nd, are you more confident of Promotion now?

We are in as good a shout as anybody. Its all about injuries for me as to whether we can keep this up. If we can get through a very tricky december in and around this position I will be confident, especially as January will allow us to get another striker in to ease the burden on Davis. Currently Im quietly confident.

4)Who should we be most concerned about from your players?

Adomah....he is on fire in front of the net. Aside from him Snodgrass will be a handful, most our attacks come through him. An excellent player at this level. 

5) Have you seen much of us? If so what have you thought?

Just what I have seen on highlights.  Your midfielder Saiz seems quality. Pontus will always be one of the best defenders in the league. TBH im glad you had that bad period. Having a fully confident Leeds at the top of the table would be a lot harder to catch than the likes of Sheff Utd. 

6)How do you see the game going? 

Im nervous if im honest. Can see you beating us as we struggle against quick skillful attackers. Samba probably wont sleep the night before. This will be one of the most difficult games left on the calendar, if we get a good result it will cement my belief that we can get up. Ill be happy if we just put in a good performance.

 

 

[Cjay]

2 hours ago, Nigel said:

2 hours ago, Nigel said:

 

1)  I like many were surprised how you started, given the money spent, the quality who arrived and the experience of the coach, expected much more. Now i suppose we are  seeing what most of us expected, you near the top. On paper you  always had one of the best squads,, unfortunately for you the game isn't played on paper..Certainly in great form now, as you say confidence breads confidence. 

2) Seen you once or twice on tele, you always seem defensively sound, hard to break down and well organised, would expect that from a Steve Bruce side to be fair. Got some really good midfielders,, solid bunch, Snoddy stands out for me as a Leeds fan. But interesting you mention the attack, because when ive seen you (maybe its just been those few games), there wasnt much attacking intent, very very little creativity. Perhaps it was ones off because on paper there is no reason for it, just an observation i made when ive seen you. 

3) I would expect you to be up there now, with the players you have an confidence that this form has brought. 

4) Always rated him, going back to his Bristol days always wished we had got him. Should be interesting down your left, our right. Your form player is there directly against our form Goalscorer. Whats Adomah like at tacking back?

5) He is special, not perfect, tends to be a bit greedy or try and dribble when he needs to pass, but he is a very gifted player. Bit biased but we have played most of the "big clubs" now and i havent seen a bigger standout talent yet. Pontus is having a hit and miss season, can be awesome, can be dodgy. haha well feel free to have another bad period yourselves, starting Friday 

6) I'm nervous to, think you are one of the form sides (just behind Wolves), you will be full of confidence and belief, and as a traditional "big club"  cant see the  hostile atmosphere at Elland Road bothering you as much as it does some. I'd probably take a draw if offered one now, partially down to yourselves and the above reasons, but mainly because we  are the most inconsistent side in the league. You have really good  sides,  bad sides,  average sides and then a few who are all 3. We are really good or really bad, and there is no in the middle, if you score first you will win (0 confidence in this teams powers of recovery),, flip side,, if we score first we will win (imo), we have scored first in every game we have won.. Whatever happens it looks to be very exciting. 

 

[VILLAMARV]

On 11/26/2017 at 15:30, Cjay said:

Hello again

With the game only days away i thought I'd come back.

Things are a bit different now, for both of us

1. Whats changed from your point of view, is it a case of players playing better or Bruce getting it right? Etc.
2. Your thoughts on your teams strengths and weaknesses? 
3. Win and you are for a spell 2 points of 2nd, are you more confident of Promotion now?
4. Who should we be most concerned about from your players?
5. Have you seen much of us? If so what have you thought?
6. How do you see the game going? 

 

1. Little bit of everything. Mostly time more than anything I'd say. Time to gel, time to find his best side.
2. Quite good without the ball, not so clever with it in all honesty.
3. December is massive for us, yourselves, Derby, Sheff Utd, Middlesbrough and Bristol City to come with Brentford and Millwall no mugs, injury problems for Terry, Jedinak, Kodjia, Hogan and others. If we can come out of that run being a few points behind 2nd I think we'll all be very happy with our lot
4. Hard to say, Adomah is obviously flavour of the month and rightly so. Snodgrass is settling in nicely. With Kodjia out I'd say Davis becomes the key player for us though.
5. Not really. You've obviously lost a lot of games recently which leaves you firmly in the play off mix imo but you can beat anyone in this league on your day. Which makes you dangerous. Saiz is a very tidy player.
6. Whoever gets the first goal wins i think. I'd take a draw at Elland Road most days, but you've let a fair few late goals in so far this season so it's all about how we deal with your frontline for me. We're on a good run. First proper litmus test of us without the two main men though imo.

[Cjay]

1 hour ago, VILLAMARV said:

1. Little bit of everything. Mostly time more than anything I'd say. Time to gel, time to find his best side.
2. Quite good without the ball, not so clever with it in all honesty.
3. December is massive for us, yourselves, Derby, Sheff Utd, Middlesbrough and Bristol City to come with Brentford and Millwall no mugs, injury problems for Terry, Jedinak, Kodjia, Hogan and others. If we can come out of that run being a few points behind 2nd I think we'll all be very happy with our lot
4. Hard to say, Adomah is obviously flavour of the month and rightly so. Snodgrass is settling in nicely. With Kodjia out I'd say Davis becomes the key player for us though.
5. Not really. You've obviously lost a lot of games recently which leaves you firmly in the play off mix imo but you can beat anyone in this league on your day. Which makes you dangerous. Saiz is a very tidy player.
6. Whoever gets the first goal wins i think. I'd take a draw at Elland Road most days, but you've let a fair few late goals in so far this season so it's all about how we deal with your frontline for me. We're on a good run. First proper litmus test of us without the two main men though imo.

1) he deserved time, now its paying off.

2)Means you may be able to break us down, but at the same time may leave gaps for our tricky trio.

3)thats a very difficult period, 5 promotion hopefulls, a talented on there day very good Brentford and a physical and organised millwall, do well to get double figures point wise from that imo.

4)Like Davis, he's that young striker isnt he? Be interesting to see how he copes with Pontus who likes to er, rough up strikers. Interested to see how Snoddy copes woth a right footed left back, he likes to cut in but that will be onto our left backs stronger foot.

5) We can, but we can easily lose to anyone, that inconsistent.

6) I'd agree, 1st goal will take it. I'd take a draw now but score first and I'm confident.

[TRO]

On 9/6/2017 at 16:52, villakram said:

1. Useless, sack him.

2. Kodger.

3. We've been poo.

4. Least Villa/Norwich, you lot are close to top of most.

5. No-one, they'd just become useless the moment they stepped onto VP under uncle Brucey.

6. Personally no. Generally, I suspect not.

7. Jury is out on this one, though his start at the club has been quite respectable.

8. Terrified.

9. Kodger.

10. Not us and not us... elsewise, too depressing and too much work.

11. Nope, not at all clear he has any idea what he is doing or that we are much more than an overseas property investment. FFP or not, if we don't get promoted, serious pain lies ahead. I expect plans to sell/develop the land close to VP will be revealed.

Congrats on ditching the super dodgy Italian and good luck for the season.

Its good an actual game, can't ruin your day

[villakram]

1 minute ago, TRO said:

Its good an actual game, can't ruin your day

I am not going to get my hopes up... not, not not 

[TRO]

On 10/11/2017 at 17:02, Cjay said:

In fairness that doesnt say much for Gabby . . Wenger has signed far more dross strikers then good.

Francis Jeffers. . .Lucas Perez . . Nicklas Bendtner . . . Park Chu Young . . Marouane Chamakh . . Kaba Diawara etc

He was only given a new contract......to play the Blues.

its in his contract, score against the blues thats all you have to do.

[villakram]

On 11/26/2017 at 10:30, Cjay said:

Hello again

With the game only days away i thought I'd come back.

Things are a bit different now, for both of us

1. Whats changed from your point of view, is it a case of players playing better or Bruce getting it right? Etc.
2. Your thoughts on your teams strengths and weaknesses? 
3. Win and you are for a spell 2 points of 2nd, are you more confident of Promotion now?
4. Who should we be most concerned about from your players?
5. Have you seen much of us? If so what have you thought?
6. How do you see the game going? 

 

1. Brucey-ball is now in full effect. This means a functional and difficult to beat team. Given our squad, we should be in the playoff places.

2. Relatively speaking, we are now a tactically robust outfit. In that, we have a shape and discipline such that we will be in pretty much every game, almost regardless of how "on" the team is on a given day. A sprinkling of quality or a set piece and we are in business. The weakness is that we really lack a deliberate creative side to our game or the ability to play some neat and tidy passing football. Also, Bruce is very slow to respond to in game situations and I fear this will hurt us dearly come crunch time.

3. Play-off or bust. I think we are looking in good shape for that. I don't see us as being in line for auto-promotion as of yet, but if we keep this run going, who knows.

4. Alberto. Injure him and you lot will probably win.

5. Nope, but it looks like you've survived a real sticky patch and managed to not fire a promising coach. This is likely to be a real benefit to your squad later in the season. Hopefully, our sticky start wasn't too early as learning how to deal with this in March is fatal.

6. Friday night lights... have to favor the home team. It's a tight game as we're not as good as our recent form.

[Cjay]

On 11/27/2017 at 19:58, villakram said:

1. Brucey-ball is now in full effect. This means a functional and difficult to beat team. Given our squad, we should be in the playoff places.

Given your squad id expect more then just functional 

2. Relatively speaking, we are now a tactically robust outfit. In that, we have a shape and discipline such that we will be in pretty much every game, almost regardless of how "on" the team is on a given day. A sprinkling of quality or a set piece and we are in business. The weakness is that we really lack a deliberate creative side to our game or the ability to play some neat and tidy passing football. Also, Bruce is very slow to respond to in game situations and I fear this will hurt us dearly come crunch time.

Ah, thought you lacked creativity when i saw you, thought perhaps a one off. 

3. Play-off or bust. I think we are looking in good shape for that. I don't see us as being in line for auto-promotion as of yet, but if we keep this run going, who knows.

Thats got to be the minimum surely, promotion any way possible. 

4. Alberto. Injure him and you lot will probably win.

I'll send Pontus a message
 5. Nope, but it looks like you've survived a real sticky patch and managed to not fire a promising coach. This is likely to be a real benefit to your squad later in the season. Hopefully, our sticky start wasn't too early as learning how to deal with this in March is fatal.

Certainly is, we had a sticky patch near the end and completely imploded, playoiffs looked all but guaranteed at one stage. 

6. Friday night lights... have to favor the home team. It's a tight game as we're not as good as our recent form.

Interesting, your saying your form has hidden poor performances?

 

[Cjay]

Should probably answer my own questions 

1) From our point of view. First and foremost, individual errors have cost us, fans always look for excuses, but on this occasion it is possible to attribute blame for about 50% of our goals to an individual. Luke Ayling has been out of position for 5 or 6, Eunan O'Kane gave the ball away edge of our box at Wednesday, Andy Lonergan gifted Brentford 2 goals, at least 1 at Wolves, probably even 3 if you really analysed it. Not saying we deserved to win these games, but stupid individual errors have really cost us in all of them and more. Plus, our poor recruitment has been found out to a degree, Kyle Bartley and Charlie Taylor not replaced, Rob Green sold and replaced by Laurel and Hardy, Chris Wood sold and replaced by a very all or nothing player in Lasogga etc. Finally, think TC has maybe misjudged the physicality of the league, such was our early form TC maybe thought "well we can pass our way through everyone and play lovely football", this wasnt the case and after Millwall think the side have been in a state of shock, with small moments of clarity here and there. 

2)Strengths-  At our best we are a very solid and organised team, out of possession we maintain a solid shape, with players rarely out of position. Our midfield pair are young and combative, they wont allow your more creative players to settle and will both provide plenty of energy and drive, both attacking and defensive. Up front (if he starts) we have Caleb Ekuban, only his 3rd game of the season due to injury but he was brilliant, chasing down, using his size (hes 6ft2, not a small boy) and strength to occupy defenders, not afraid to have a run at the back 4, and use his pace to get into the wide areas creating room for the 3 behind him to play. Hernandez,Saiz and Alioski are the stars, they are so important, intelligent, skillful, love to run at defenders and crucially they interchange, the front 4 will swap, making them hard to man mark. Biggest strength though, the hard work and closing down of the front 4, especially Alioski, and Ekuban, they will chase and hassle your defence all game, the high press is a large part of any success we have had this season. 

Weaknesses- We have no powers of recovery, its very sad, but this side seems to have no fight in it, once we concede it all just collapses. Not a little collapse, a big collapse, what once before was a cohesive unit, is now a group of strangers running about like headless chickens. If you score first, you will win, thats it, simple as that. Our goalkeeping situation is a state, the guy we signed looked a bit uncomfortable (without making any massive howlers) early doors, and was dropped for Andy Lonergan (a guy who was pretty poor when we first had him) and he after some ok games turned into a disaster, now Wiedwald is back. While improved vs Barnsley he is susceptible to crosses, and if pressed his distribution can be taken advantage of. The defence, at its best as i mentioned above, at its worst it is a shambles, players out of position, nobody taking responsibility, dont always look entirely comfortable passing out form the back, press our back line and you have a good chance of prospering. 

4) Front 4 can all be dangerous, but probably Alioski and Saiz most of all. 

5) Bits here and there on tele. Defensively sound, well organised, hard to break down, players capable of moments of magic on there day. But not much pace, at times the play can be very slow and cumbersome, and lacked creativity on the times i have seen you. 

6) No idea, we have 2 sides, totally different apart from being the same players, one is a capable of beating anyone in the league, the other would struggle in league 2. First goal wins it i think, id take a draw now however. 

 

Good luck for the game