And by that logic (we caught W Ham on a bad day), Newcastle did the same to us - they got a huge dose of luck on top of their pile of shithousery.
On another day, any one of those crosses flashing through the 6 yard box would have hit ’someone’ and gone in…we would not have made that series of errors that let them have their goal - i was right in line with Llorente’s foul for the free kick and it was either a lazy or a tired challenge, but it was very much him deciding not to let the striker get into the box…and I do believe those Newcastle forwards were interfering with play just in front of Meslier as the free kick came in… With all that I’d expect us to win that game how it went, 8 out of 10 times. We didn’t that’s football and that’s Leeds. It is nice to imagine what Gelhardt might have done had he started with all those crosses, but he didn’t. James isn’t a striker and I think it is a mistake to keep trying that one, but that’s where he was in the previous game and we won that…Disappointed that Hjelde wasn’t starting, as you say moving Dallas into midfield instead of Koch probably…The quality of some of Rodrigo’s passing in the first half was top drawer…but yeah his fitness must still be a question. Thing is at that point him and Raph were ‘doing their job’…creating the chances, stretching the defence, the fact that no one else got on the end of things isn’t their fault. Similar to how a manager can only prepare his team, give them their instructions / game plan, it is not in his hands if his forwards fail to get their shots away or the defence give away stupid fouls. I’ve only recently gone on Twitter and the shit-show that some folk alleging to be Leeds fans are giving to Meslier and Roberts is unbelievable. I understand Klich had to jack in his account after the Chelsea game. As for people calling time on Bielsa…! Nick > On 24 Jan 2022, at 17:50, Richard Walker via Leedslist <leedslist@gn.apc.org> > wrote: > > Lots of pre-match optimism after the West Ham performance and everyone > confident we could comfortably beat the Geordies. Nothing is ever that simple > with Leeds and you probably have to look at a under par West Ham performance > to explain that particular result. > When the team was announced my immediate concern was the midfield and so it > was proved. Rodrigo hasn't got the legs to play as a no 10 in Bielsa's team, > at least not for 90 mins and when you consider he has rarely been fit, it > takes him ages to regain that fitness. Koch isn't a midfielder and never will > be and he looks exactly what he is - a central defender helping out in > midfield. He offers nothing going forward and he doesn't even fulfill his > quota of square balls. Koch, Klich and Rodrigo were always going to struggle. > To be fair, we started strongly and Rodrigo did ok in the first half. Lots of > good attacks down the left with Harrison and right with Raphinha but every > one ended with a cross or pass to nobody or a black or white shirt. Dan James > can run around all day up front and be a nuisance but he doesn't do what > strikers do and get in the right position at the right time. He did however > have the only shot that required a save from their keeper. > Newcastle looked lively on the break all game and they seemed at times just > to walk through our midfield at ease. This led to desperate defending from > Llorente which led to their free kick for the goal. I'm not going to blame > Meslier as that's pretty much his first mistake of the season and I don't > think it was that easy a stop. Newcastle could have had more but Meslier made > some good saves. At the other end we continued to pass the ball to nowhere. I > don't think Raphinha successfully passed to a white shirt in the 2nd half - > he was awful but others around him weren't helping. Rodrigo, after a lively > first half, just ran out of steam and was a passenger. > In the end, I think they just about edged it but overall I was disappointed > with our team tactics and performance. The insistence of playing a central > defender in the Phillips role does my head in. Why we didn't get back up when > Forshaw was injured is beyond belief and we should be putting in another bid > for the lad at Huddersfield. Also Bielsa's subs were shocking and just > rendered us useless for the last 20 mins. > Meslier - 5. Bad mistake but he's allowed one > Ayling - 6. Tried to get forward and defensively he did ok against a lively > Saint-Maximus (or whatever he's called) > Llorente - 7. Did he need to bring down their player ? Probably not, but he > did all the best defending for me and also one or two good passes out of > defence. > Struik - 6. Steady work against donkey Wood. > Dallas - 7. I thought he was our best player but I would have liked him in > midfield alongside Klich. > Rodrigo - 5. Lively first 20 mins but didn't actually deliver much and after > that he went down hill quick. Needs to be fitter. > Koch - 3. Really ! Come on Bielsa. > Raphinha - 6. Decent first half but really poor 2nd. > Harrison - 5 Liveley start but like so many others faded badly > Klich - 5. Liveely first half but he was a one man midfield and couldn't do it > James - 4. Not a striker. > Subs: > Roberts - 1. Oh dear, he didn't look match fit > Geldhardt - 5. Didn't do much but then again we'd collapsed by then > Can't believe we haven't got a game now for 2 and half weeks. FFS > We definitely need some bodies in. > > > > > > > > > > > _______________________________________________ > Leedslist mailing list > Info and options: https://mailman.gn.apc.org/mailman/listinfo/leedslist > To unsubscribe, email leedslist-unsubscr...@gn.apc.org > > Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/leedslist/ > > Rest in Peace Guy, and wear your hat! _______________________________________________ Leedslist mailing list Info and options: https://mailman.gn.apc.org/mailman/listinfo/leedslist To unsubscribe, email leedslist-unsubscr...@gn.apc.org Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/leedslist/ Rest in Peace Guy, and wear your hat!
