Totally agree that for perhaps only the 2nd time under Bielsa ( the other was
WBA away 2 seasons ago - 4 0 ) we were comprehensively beaten. Pretty much
every other defeat has been undeserved or at least close in terms of play.
Yesterday we met an excellent team at the top of their game. The stat I heard
was that their sub keeper actually cost £30m more than our total starting XI.
Whilst money does not count for everything in football it certainly helps.
Brilliant coaching can only take you so far and it is very difficult when every
one of their players was better than our corresponding playerWe knew there
would be days like this and I was pleased with the way we stuck to the task and
our footballing philosophy, so much so that had VAR worked we would have had
penalty at 1 2 with only minutes to go (albeit a point would have been
robbery)For a team fighting to stay up, and that is what we are, it is the
results against other bottom half teams that will define our season and not the
likes of Chelsea away. Indeed Chelsea, according to the club was a free hit -
they wanted 3 pts from Arsenal, Everton and Chelsea, and since we already had
4 pts it was job done.
I think the next 5 games will really let us know how the season will go, west
ham, Newcastle, Burnley and west brom are all winnable and scum could go
either way
Shelf U, have just lost again as have west brom ( plus Fulham) so only Burnley
with one point have gained any ground
DavePS anyone know what Chelsea fans squealing at Llorente was all about?
On Sunday, 6 December 2020, 14:45:31 GMT, seanscribe--- via Leedslist
<[email protected]> wrote:
I agree with most of this.
I do feel that at the core of our problems this season has been the lack of
settled central defensive partnership. I'd be willing to bet that if we'd
signed Ben White we'd have several more points in the bag. In this regard I
think that the impact of Berardi's injury in the penultimate game of the season
has been underestimated. Statistically we actually do better with Berardi in
the team, and, like White, he's thoroughly schooled in the Bielsa system. It
seems to be very difficult for new signings to just step into a Bielsa team,
even if they have the required physical fitness. Cooper's injury on Scotland
duty and Llorente's with Spain have further complicated matters. This is
probably part of the reason why we are so vulnerable at set pieces.
I also agree that we need to put our spending this summer to better use on the
field. How many promoted sides keep their club's record signing on the bench?
He's Spain's centre-forward, he should be starting.
All that being said, I expect (and fervently hope) that we'll see a reaction
against West Ham.
Cheers!
Sean
-----Original Message-----
From: John Lee via Leedslist <[email protected]>
To: Nick <[email protected]>
Cc: leeds list <[email protected]>
Sent: Sun, Dec 6, 2020 7:37 am
Subject: Re: [LU] Chelsea
In agreement with Nick & Rich’s summaries - Lampard, who I have come to despise
with a passion, already knew what to expect and did a great job tactically, and
with better quality players than us in probably every position, the result was
inevitable.
It is easy to criticise, and probably futile, but I was pretty glad Philips has
no pace a couple of times, as he was clearly looking frustrated and wanted to
clatter someone, but he wasn’t quick enough. I don’t know why he was pushed so
far up the pitch, but Chelsea did a job on him after minute 4.
I think it is now time for Marcello to consider the conundrum between not
changing your players, and playing our best xi. Loyalty is great etc, but to
progress we have to build a team around our best players, meaning Llorente and
Rodrigo should be starting and we should play with a left back at left back. My
other ‘worry’ is that we have gone from a team who regularly play some of our
young uns, to ‘experience is all’. I would rather have Struijk gaining game
time, than Cooper and his predictability. I would rather see Davis in, and I
still think Shackleton should be in, maybe at Klich’s expense. Also, if Jack
Harrison cannot cross, there is a decision to be made re him, Poveda and
Raphina!
Is Hernandez injured by the way? We needed some guile and having him come off
the bench might have helped.
When we all said at the start of the season that there would be days like this
and acted all philosophical about it then, it still doesn’t make it any more
palatable when it happens!
Sent from my iPad
> On 6 Dec 2020, at 11:05, Nick <[email protected]> wrote:
>
> Hard not to agree that Chelsea were better than us in most aspects of the
> game - whereas Leicester soaked up pressure and sucker-pinched us with speed
> and skill (rope-a-dope) - Chelsea showed basically what our system looks like
> with better quality players.
>
> Cooper, Alioski, Dallas, Klich, Harrison (and perhaps Ayling…) all looked
> this was the level that was just beyond them. Which is harsh given how superb
> all have been for the last 2 or 3 years, and given the improvement that each
> has seen in their own game. We’ve seen that these guys can make it happen to
> a level just around the European qualification mark but that to be truly
> pushing at the top we can’t have that many players out of 11 not quite making
> it. All of which sounds like damning them, it is not meant to, I have been
> stunned by how much better our team and these individuals have got in the
> last 26 months - and how much I have enjoyed watching us play, for the first
> time since O’Leary really - and if we finish where we are now in the league,
> the fact that that would feel like a small disappointment tells you how far
> we’ve come - but in the end there are limits to what training and coaching
> will achieve, especially against bottomless wallets.
>
> Bamford’s goal was absolutely top drawer - the pass out of defence, Phillips’
> first time ball (I have rarely seen a better weighted pass, and with his
> ‘wrong' foot), and the first touch and the finish - he still had work to do
> to get
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