OK I know I'm going to be accused of arrogance again, but..........you guys just don't get Bielsaball. The style of play he demands from his players requires them to take huge risks with the ball every time they have it. He understands that they won't get it right every time, he understands the danger that they will give the ball away (sometimes in very dangerous places..........sometimes leading to goals against us), but he believes that the potential benefits are worth it.
What is astonishing for me is the number of times they risk so much and it comes off............some breathtaking rat-tat-tat of one touch passes, each one perfectly weighted and angled. You guys can get all hot under the collar as much as you like about the CHs we aren't going to buy and the replacements for Bamford we aren't going to buy.............but Bielsa knows that gradually these boys are getting the hang of this league, they're getting better by the day, and he's in it for the long haul. The last thing he will want is to try and add a new player to the group. An alternative analysis of this game is that the Curse of London has hit us yet again. When we play in London, you can guarantee that if there is a foul right on the edge of the box, it will be a pen, and if the ball is clawed back as it crosses the line, it will be over by 1 mm. Somehow, not even Bielsa seems to be able to find a way to overcome this problem. On Sat, Jan 2, 2021 at 11:23 PM John Lee via Leedslist <[email protected]> wrote: > Unless there is some ‘bargain’ Uruguayan/Argentinian centre back under > everyone’s radar bar Bielsa’s, I can’t see us buying anyone in the transfer > window! > > We played ok in the first 30 minutes, and Spurs looked a bit surprised as > to how full-on we were. Of course not scoring would cost us - same old > story. Same old problem re giving the ball away - I thought Ayling and > Rodrigo were the main culprits - they weren’t alone in doing that, but I’d > also give Rodrigo a run out up front, mostly to stop him giving the ball > away in our own half, or giving away stupid fouls by ‘tackling’ with his > arms! He is bloody frustrating at times, despite looking like the best > player we have at others! > > We looked weary in the middle 30 minutes too - maybe Bielsa needs to think > about the word rotation? Rapha definitely looked off the pace, and Bamford > and Harrison too. > > I wonder if we’ll play the under 23 team v Crawley? I don’t want us to > lose to them, as we’ll never hear the end of it, but some of our first xi > need a rest. > > Like Rich, I didn’t think Spurs looked anything special as a team, > especially as they’d had a rest. > > Hacked of I paid £25 to BT for a monthly pass :-( > > Sent from my iPad > > > On 2 Jan 2021, at 20:42, Alec McQueen <[email protected]> wrote: > > > > Rich > > Absolutely agree: we need at least a couple of premier class defenders, > and preferably a hotshot striker this window... but where from (God Knows), > who (any ideas?), do we have the money (no), and will MB want to try to > instil his philosophy in new signings mid season (no)? > > > > I come back to Ben White... will Brighton still see us as competitors > given we are already 10 pts above them? Will they let him go for less than > 40ish million? I doubt we would pay the amount they will demand. Alas, I > just can’t see it happening despite it being our best option right now. > > > > More likely we will go buy a couple of cheap European squad type players > who won’t make a difference. > > > > Pessimistic? Me? > > Cheers > > Alec > > > > Sent from my iPad > > > >> On 3 Jan 2021, at 04:25, Richard Walker via Leedslist < > [email protected]> wrote: > >> > >> Another heavish defeat and another chance to see how we measure up > against one of the most organised teams in the league. Despite getting > hammered at Scum and losing 3-0 today I don't think we're a million miles > away. Defence needs to be sorted and needs to be sorted in Jan. If Bielsa > really believes he can get through this season without another central > defender then I think that would be a bad call. Today, it's the same old > problems - a left back who's not a left back giving away a needless pen (it > wasn't a pen but still a terrible half tackle). Defending corners - there > were lots of Leeds players around him - Philips etc but nobody got near him > and as usual Meslier was stood on his line and didn't stand a chance. How > many more times ? Then for their 2nd, Struijk(midfielder playing as > defender) commits himself in midfield and as a result we're a man short at > the back. Kane cross, Sol 2-0. Avoidable. You just can't come to places > like this with a makeshfit defence and expect to win the game no matter how > lively you are in attack. Let's see what happens in the January window. > >> It might sound like sour grapes but I don't think Spurs are a great > team. Yes they have some good individual players (Son in particular) but we > were all over them in the first half. Our movement and our interplay was > excellent and we really should have scored. For me, Bamford isn't the > answer and that might sound stupid giving he's breaking all records and is > just about top PL scorer. I think he's benefited from our great play and > he's played and finished pretty well at times. He's scored 1 in the last 4 > and that was a pen and today he didn't even look close. He looks a yard > slower than the rest of the team and he never looked like he was going to > get on the end of a cross and finish. I'd like to see Rodrigo play as > number 9 with Pablo behind him. More creativity, more intellignet play and > yes more goals. > >> The penalty gave them confidence because there's no doubt Spurs were > 2nd best up to that point. We started to make silly mistakes at the back. > Ayling and Phillips giving the ball away and as soon as they got the 2nd it > was game over. I lost count of the number of times we just aimlessly gave > the ball away sometimes just passing in to touch. Very frustrating. > >> To our credit, we made 3 subs and they all contributed to us > continually having a go in the 2nd half. Pablo was fantastic and you can > see he is looking fitter and battling for his place. I think he deserves a > start. Even his passing was good. > >> Bielsa looked more frustrated than I've seen him for a while and I'm > not surprised. We could have got something from this game but again I would > say to Bielsa you will get nowt against the top teams with a makeshift > defence. Every fucker can see that ! > >> Scores: > >> Meslier - 7. Some good saves as always and little chance with the > goals. > >> Dallas - 7. I thought he did well. Lost Son for the 2nd goal but not > sure why he was last man. > >> Allioski - 5. Started well down the left wing but when it comes to pure > defending ... well he can't. > >> Ayling - 7. I thought he did well first half but then things went > downhill and he made some basic errors. > >> Struijk - 5. Out of his depth for me. Yes he's got a nice left foot and > he picks a pass well. But look at their 2nd goal he is on his knees lunging > in when he really shouldn't be. > >> Klich - 7. I thought he played pretty well and was part of most of our > good work. > >> Rodrigo - 6. Good first half and showed some real class but then he > seemed to go to pieces and lost the bal far too easily for someone of his > quality. I still would not take him off. Take Bamford off and shove him up > front. He plasy number 9 for Spain FFS > >> Raphinha - 5. I thought this was his poorest performance since joining. > He wasn't awful, he just didn't get involved first half and only had scraps > in the 2nd. > >> Harrison - 5. Started lively but faded badly with the team > >> Phillips - 6. I thought he battled well at times but he didn't really > impose himself on the game. Then again, I didn't expect him to. He is what > he is. > >> Bamford - 3. Never looked at it for me. Never looked like scoring. > >> Subs: > >> Pablo - 8. I thought he made a real difference. > >> Shackleton - 7. I thought he also did really well down the right > >> Poveda - 5. Didn't really happen > >> Another defeat against the big boys. Hopefully we'll learn, we'll > invest in a central defender soon and we'll push on. > >> > >> Happy New Year. > >> > >> > >> > >> _______________________________________________ > >> Leedslist mailing list > >> Info and options: https://mailman.gn.apc.org/mailman/listinfo/leedslist > >> To unsubscribe, email [email protected] > >> > >> Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/leedslist/ > >> > >> Dorigo's Right Buttock... > > _______________________________________________ > > Leedslist mailing list > > Info and options: https://mailman.gn.apc.org/mailman/listinfo/leedslist > > To unsubscribe, email [email protected] > > > > Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/leedslist/ > > > > Dorigo's Right Buttock... > > _______________________________________________ > Leedslist mailing list > Info and options: https://mailman.gn.apc.org/mailman/listinfo/leedslist > To unsubscribe, email [email protected] > > Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/leedslist/ > > Dorigo's Right Buttock... _______________________________________________ Leedslist mailing list Info and options: https://mailman.gn.apc.org/mailman/listinfo/leedslist To unsubscribe, email [email protected] Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/leedslist/ Dorigo's Right Buttock...
