You're absolutely right. I haven't been this angry at a Leeds manager in some
time. What the hell is he telling the players? We have two of the most
devastating wingers in the league, including (possibly) the fastest winger
(fastest player?) in the division in Dan James. At no point during yesterday's
game did the team move the ball to those players EARLY, to allow them to
exploit the space in front of them. Again and again and again - so often that
it MUST be based on orders from Farke, when the opportunity for a fast break
beckoned, the ball was passed sideways back and forth between the centre-halves
so that the opposition could get themselves set before we tried to move down
the field. It was absolutely maddening.
It wasn't just Archie, Dan James was asking for the ball in space and never
getting it until he had two defenders on him. The whole tactical approach
seemed designed to negate our own strengths (think of all the terrific goals we
scored earlier in the season from fast breaks out of defence). Even as the
clock ticked down, our fullbacks and midfielders were still turning on their
heels and passing it back to Rodon and Ampadu, who would then pass it sideways,
as if we were protecting a lead rather than trying to score. There was a
complete lack of hunger and desire evident.
And then there's Farke's inexplicable (and inexcusable) decision to delay
bringing on most of the subs until the 82nd minute. What on earth was he
thinking? We had no spark on the field, looked tired and uninterested, and we
had Gnonto, Joseph and Anthony stewing on the bench. If ever a collective
performance was calling for wholesale changes at halftime or shortly
thereafter, it was yesterday's. I shudder to think of Farke going up against
some of the managers in the Premier League. Like a lot of managers, he comes
across well in press conferences, and I acknowledge that the EFL (deliberately,
in my opinion) made his job harder at the start of the season by taking much
longer than normal to approve the takeover. And of course we have had some
terrible refereeing decisions - yesterday being exhibit A in this regard. But
Farke has an extraordinary squad at this level, packed with current
internationals and young talent being scouted by the world's richest clubs, and
he's coming up third best in England's second tier. Last night was an absolute
indictment.
This season has been one long slow-motion car crash. I told my friends and
family before the season that my prediction was we would go out in the
playoffs. Every game seems to be moving us closer to that inevitable outcome,
and that's not good enough for Leeds United.
Cheers!
Sean
On Wednesday, April 10, 2024 at 05:43:51 AM EDT, Damian WALSH
<[email protected]> wrote:
Don't get frustrated with Cree & (especially) Georgino losing the ball. A
mild grinding of teeth will have to do :)
If they're losing the ball then they're doing their job trying to provoke
something and we've got to accept that it doesn't come off every time.
However the number of times they lost the ball because they ran into each
other or another Leeds player (Firpo featured several times here) was
indeed annoying.
As for Gray - why wouldn't Rodon pass to him? Was it "instructions"?
Whatever, by half way through the 2nd half Sunderland were completely
ignoring him because they knew he wouldn't get the pass - it gave them an
extra man to crowd out the centre. Poor Gray spent most of the 2nd half
stood on his own, arms outstretched waiting for the ball that never came.
It's almost like Farke says "give it to Cree or Rutter lads and watch them
do something"...
Damian
Le mer. 10 avr. 2024 à 09:43, John Lee via Leedslist <[email protected]>
a écrit :
> I decided against commenting immediately Nick, because it was a pretty
> under-whelming display. Like you, I think the players look knackered, and
> have just lost their mojo. Summerville & Rutter have had some really
> ineffective moments, and I can’t deny how frustrating their constant losing
> the ball gets? I thought Ampadu and Rodon looked jiggered too last night. I
> actually thought Bamford looked pretty sprightly last night, despite that
> Pike-lookalikey clattering him repeatedly. Of course he never really looked
> like scoring though - I was willing him to get a couple, but aside from a
> rubbish shot he didn’t get much of a sniff. I don’t see him being a Leeds
> player next season, so really hope he can go out on something of a high and
> bag a couple soon.
>
> I thought we played so conservatively in the 1st Half by design - avoiding
> expending energy and not getting injuries so knock it around at the back
> and hope for a lucky break, which didn’t come. Second half we tried, but to
> give Scumderland credit, they defended well, and aided by a
> partially-sighted ref , they got what they came for?
>
> That point might be crucial at the end of the season though, so on we go.
>
> I will make the point that hitting an average run of form if the play-offs
> are where we’re heading doesn’t fill me with confidence. It’s been a great
> season so far though - just hoping the players get some rest and put
> Blackburn away on Satdi!
>
> MOT
>
>
>
> Sent from my iPad
>
> > On 10 Apr 2024, at 07:54, [email protected] wrote:
> >
> >
> > Notable lack of comments on here since Saturday.
> >
> > Ampadu - Meslier - Rodon
> >
> > My foremost impression from last night was how tired everyone in the
> starting outfield 10 looked. With the exception of Gruev, and possibly
> Gray, they were listless, not just physically less sharp - slower to the
> loose ball, less running into space, slower to close down, less movement
> for the guy with ball - but we seemed mentally off it as well. All the
> things people tried didn’t come off. It doesn’t make them bad players all
> of a sudden.
> >
> > Ampadu - Rodon - Meslier - Rodon - Ampadu
> >
> > A combined total of 4 shots on goal, is poor by anyone’s reckoning.
> >
> > Meslier - Rodon - Meslier - Ampadu
> >
> > Unbelievably though, for a team moving up to second with four games to
> go, there were scattered boos in the Kop at the final whistle.
> >
> > We don’t have to finish above both Ipswich and Leicester, just one of
> them will do.
> >
> > Meslier - Rodon - Ampadu - Rodon
> >
> > Onto Saturday then. We can still do this.
> >
> > Nick
> >
> >
> > Sent from my iPad
> > _______________________________________________
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> >
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> >
> > Dave Dowden, a legend, a Totty Twin, a pie man! R.I.P.
>
> _______________________________________________
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> Dave Dowden, a legend, a Totty Twin, a pie man! R.I.P.
--
*Damian WALSH*
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*Euromaster*
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