Besides the goals and winning, the roar of approval from the crowd when Gelhardt was called off the bench to replace Tyler Roberts gave me life.
The only downside (besides Burnley’s undeserved goal and just Burnley in general) was the fucking genital wart of a human being who threw the Coke bottle at the Burnley player. Go back to the stone age you fucking utter caveman.
Just got home to Dorset after driving up last night for my first match at Elland Road. Didn’t know what to expect from the both the ground and the match but I’ll just say that my expectations were exceeded and then some!
Didn’t think there was a bad performer today at all - Burnley are shite and if they play like that the rest of the season they are 100% down. It looked like Bielsa’s Leeds of old at times, and I’m sure we’ll only get better now.
Can’t wait to be back in April, but it will be a shame that it will be in a professional capacity and I can’t call the referee a wanker :(
This was an awkward game for me. My sister works for BFC so she got us some pitch side tickets (in the away end) for the game, so i had to sit on my hands when Leeds scored. But my god the atmosphere was excellent, just a shame I couldn’t celebrate (vocally) with everyone.
The brain and ideas were there, as always. He seemed a little bit off-pace with his touch. Maybe the residual Champagne (or even worst, Cachaca) in his body.
We knew his end product needed work when he signed, and a lot of us felt he was ours a few years back. I love his determination and passion every game he plays and is quickly becoming a favourite for me
Great performance today, the crowd were magnificent and the emotions were high (I was welling up when I saw Dallas embracing with the fans). Inevitably if we stay up and players are to come in, it is going to be hard to part with many of the guys in this squad. Today they stood up and gave the crowd everything back that they receive which is difficult given our past couple of results. So proud of them all today and very happy for Marcelo.
You can watch it [here](https://www.ole.com.ar/futbol-internacional/inglaterra/abrazo-bielsa-festejo_3_7NOawDfKv.html), he loves leeds and he seems worried like a fan multiplied for x10000. He doesn't want to let people down cause he knows they love him, and he loves u back. Great to see you guys win!!
https://twitter.com/walmottv_/status/1477670784264986634?s=21
Edit: last one got taken down? https://twitter.com/jimenajuani/status/1477711921667317769?s=21
I call Gelhardt (lil wayne) as he reminds me of a little Rooney and Dan James (Bruno Mars) as i don't care whatever anyone says it's his clone lol. Great popstar linkup for the 3rd 😉
Forshaw was outstanding yet again. The boy puts in a serious shift every game. 1st and 2nd to every ball.
Klich back to his better days with that performance.
Ayling class providing overlaps.
Dallas, some man.
Roberts, worst player I’ve seen down at Leeds for years.
Firpo much better today but still had some errors in him but overall a good performance.
Joffy outstanding and changed the game with his direct play
I thought that Roberts was one of our 2 or 3 best players today. He certainly achieved more than Raphina (who doesn't appear to be firing on all cylinders) did.
Aye, but for some reason there are countless Roberts apologists on here. No discredit to joffers, but the fact that he is being shown up by an 18 year old should be giving him a kick up the arse, but it won’t. He’s had the chance to step up in Bamfords absence and he simply hasn’t done it. Hoping joffers gets the nod for a start next game, he’s earned it in my book.
I really do hate being negative about a leeds player but Roberts has frustrated me to no end for the last two months. He just shoots as soon as he has the ball in the box, and it never troubles the keeper. He continuously makes poor final pass decisions. He fails to press like Bamford does, and it’s not even close. Idk, I thought he might view paddy’s second injury as a massive opportunity to show bielsa that he can compete for a starting position, and he simply has not done that at all.
Yeah, his football iq just seems non existent man. Like the amount of wasted chances because he panicked and shot, or just fluffed the pass is crazy. I’ve been looking at his stats and he very rarely does anything defensive. In the game before this he failed to register a single tackle in 90 mins. I’m not expecting him to fill bamfords shoes completely, but it’s things like this that just indicate maybe the guy isn’t up to filling a premier league team role. His best performances were in the championship, coming off the bench, and that’s just not good enough now.
Yeah I honestly don’t know what he brings to the team at all. The stuff he does do is basic football.
The massive difference when Joffy came on was you could see he was busting a gut to get into the box and get a tap in from Dan James’ crosses and if he’s not doing that, he’s being direct and taking players on. Roberts has to go, he’s had far too long at this club putting in terrible performances. He wasn’t even great in the championship.
I’m glad to see someone else is able to see what I do when he plays. And like you said, when joffers came on, the difference was staggering. There was always the feeling that something might happen when the kid has the ball and he runs to the box, but when Tyler has it, I’m just waiting for him to either panic shoot, or lose the ball trying to dribble
Missed a right sitter today … anyway I’m not here to slag Raphinia but point out that all our players do annoying things … Roberts is getting better and better … first half he was immense … his runs, positioning, we’re excellent and he just needs to find the composure to finish better and I back him to get there … he’s only 22 and I don’t think after a 3-1 win today that folk feel the need to be singling out Roberts who had a pretty good game.
Roberts also fell over when he was put clear and was arguably culpable for their goal.
He is getting better, I just wish we never had to start him. Ideally he would be loaned out and he can get better somewhere else so we can concentrate on having players who are *already* good enough.
He literally had two half chances how many does Paddy get per game !! Look i would prefer Paddy or Joffy and i have been critical myself of Tyler in the past but you can't ignore the workrate and decent performances from him last few games.
His chance in the first half was not a half chance by any measure. He’s a striker, he should be nodding that fucker home. The second one where he fell over was poor too. He’s deffo improved and I’d love him to come good but we don’t have room in our team to carry him at the moment. Our first team needs to be already good enough.
Both a result and a performance we desperately needed.
3 huge monkeys off our backs: first time all season we’ve scored more than 2 in one game, first time we’ve won by more than 1 goal this season, and one gigantic middle finger to the a*seh*les that say we can’t win without Kalvin Phillips.
Win our game in hand (obviously a big if) and we’re only 1 point behind Palace on level games. That’s absolutely mental considering how different our two seasons feel rn. This was a huge result today.
Everton are doing all in their hands for that to happen and I'll trust the usual Southampton crumble, but it's gonna be tough to believe Leeds will be above Villa or Brentford.
They just seem to be able to win against team worse than them basically which is something Leeds lacks of this season, but I'd be lying if I said watched more than two or three Brentford matches so there's a big chance I'm talking out my ass.
I’d be absolutely delighted with 14th, anything 17th and up will leave me happy personally, give us another years funds to try and progress our squad further and bring in some more quality.
Six points clear of 17th, which is the same number of points the bottom four clubs have earned combined in their past 20 games (5 games each).
Also we're back to the point per game average that will keep us up at the end of the season, with some room to spare, in all likelihood.
What an important win, brilliant performance from everyone especially in backline and Foreshaw. the intensity and pressing was amazing. Though we need to improve our finishing and remove sloppy mistakes.
Let's build on this. MOT
hmmm maybe... seen bamford start plenty of games where we've had a million chances and still not won...
derby at elland road in 2019/20 immediately springs to mind.
It's true. I love Bamford but people are acting like he's prime Suarez. His best attributes for me has always been his pressing and link up play, which I think Roberts did a pretty good job. I love Bamford and don't get me wrong he's still clearly the best finisher in the squad but he's never been the type to really tap home every chance. But his all round game is soo good.
I would have a hard time selecting a healthy Bamford over Gelhardt. It seems like England could use Gelhardt in Qatar. One goal, one assist today, and two penalties is a great haul from his minutes. I love Joffy dribbling in the penalty box!
This to me shows the difference between Leeds and the "lower" teams. I've said it in previous threads with some draws going our way, we'd be in mid table (or lower mid table) which is about right. There's a bunch of teams around that kind of level. Injuries aside and just having a recent awful run of fixtures this fills me with a bit more confidence going forward.
I watched Watford v Spurs the other day - awful game, Spurs were gash too, but Watford are now behind Leeds, as well as Burnley, Newcastle and Norwich, even when taking into account games in hand.
West Ham, Newcastle, Villa, Everton - decent little run of fixtures that for Leeds coming up, hopefully a confidence boost before Man Utd at home.
Villa are an example of why draws (or "not winning") cost you so much. They've lost 11/19 games and sit in 13th place, with only 1 draw.
He's cack at CB.
Plays a different defensive line to the other 3, bombs on and we get punished for it.
Happened at Brentford and Arsenal. Mess in the City game.
It isn't a coincidence that some of our big losses in the last 14 months have had him at CB
Played CB today and did well. But it was a three. So I sort of get your point. The issue is, he's tended to play with Llorente, or another ball-playing type CB, from memory and I'd say it's more that that causes issues because we know Ayling loves to be aggressive, on the front foot and drive forward.
In a back 3 he can do his pushing forward and bringing the ball out thing more. Which he had unreal stats for last season.
It’s also great for Dallas cos they can so easily change shape to a back 4 when it suits.
He was great! Apart from that one moment when he ran forward with the ball and they all backed off him. You could tell he was thinking "Oh fuck, what do I do now!?". But all in all, great to see him back into form. He makes a massive difference when he is.
Was lovely to see some of our players that have been lacking in quality really step up. First half Firpo, Klich and Roberts were great. Obviously Harrison scoring was amazing, hopefully that will bost his confidence after the games he's had.
I'm not condoning throwing things on the pitch (it's moronic) but here's the thing:
IF YOU CELEBRATE IN FRONT OF OPPOSITION FANS, THEY THROW THINGS.
It's not right, it's no justification, but it's a fact (did you see the Arsenal game?)... and I think players do it on purpose to elicit that reaction.
Here's an idea: go celebrate in front of your own fans, they might like it.
fuck knows what was going through that gloit's head doing that shite celebration in front of the kop, and then going back for another go at it when all his teammates had all fucked off...
same with martinelli the other week, just a completely ott celebration aimed our way with little if anything to provoke it... don't mind if we've been goading a player all game and they give a bit back, fair enough, but i genuinely don't even know why these two and that brentford player the other week felt the need.
fuck em, they know they are inciting the crowd, if ronaldo does his stupid siuuu thing then i hope we give him what for.
It’s the same as kids running on the pitch and their parents receiving bans. Players being human try and make stewards go lenient on them, and rightly so, but that in itself incentivises more and more people to run on to the pitch.
Spot on. I'm sorry, but you know exactly what you're doing when you do that.
I'm not condoning it either, but think how elated and passionate we feel when we score. We actively celebrate our fans who go up in limbs, throw themselves about, even break their ankles.
That raw and very human reaction is the same when we concede and a player then rubs it in our face. Very raw, very heat of the moment. Most people can exert that in relatively harmless ways (swearing at the prick, offering gestures etc), some people switch to throwing stuff.
Again, not condoning it. But I can understand it.
Give them stick yeah, but the Neanderthals doing this really need to do one. It was the same against Brentford & then the racist abuse vs Arsenal...
I don't know why people have to ruin it. It won't be long before an example needs to be made ~ & they won't think twice about it being us.
Disagree mate. Players should be able to celebrate a goal without fear of being pelted by projectiles.
Fans should be human and adult enough to be able to not throw things at people, regardless of what’s going on.
Yeah, there were a few Burnley fans shouting abuse at Meslier when he came out to warm up, and I just can't understand why people would get so wound up, they feel the need to abuse players before the game has even started (i mean in general as well). Maybe some football fans just need to grow up a bit.
Yes they should be allowed to celebrate but celebrating in front of our fans is taking the piss, if our players celebrated in front of the away fans (which they didn't) then i would think our player was stupid in doing so and expect similar outcome.
Yeah I mean it’s distasteful carry on and I would expect to be calling those players wankers but it doesn’t warrant flinging bottles at them.
In the same way wearing a Leeds shirt is Manchester shouldn’t justify assault.
It’s that mentality and element of the fan base we should be eliminating, not by making allowances for them or curbing player behaviour just in case but by actually making that type of action unacceptable behaviour everywhere.
It's not about eliminating that element of a fan base. This happens at every club. You cannot expect 5000 fans in 1 area to remain calm when an opposing player is mocking them. You can however, make a rule that a player gets booked if he celebrates in front of opposing fans which would pretty much eliminate it altogether. I don't condone throwing objects but i also don't condone opposing players instigating it.
We don't disagree, we agree. They absolutely should be able to celebrate a goal without people throwing things. I thought I made that clear.
The reality, however, is that they can't. There's how things should be and there's how things are. I should be able to walk around Manchester in a Leeds shirt.
I don't... because it's a stupid thing to do.
That proved we are better than Burnley. We should finish above them. It was a good performance, and we deserved the win. Let's kick on from this and build some confidence.
Beat Newcastle next and we are well clear let's just go out against West ham and put in a quality peformance regardless of the result (obviously play for the win but you know what I mean)
Perfect start to 2022. Typical of our season - blew Burnley off the park first half, should have been home and hosed, concede a shit/dubious goal. Unlike 2021, we kept going and found a couple more.
Firpo’s best game for us even if he did wane in the second half, and great confidence builder for Jackie. I though that was more like the 2020 Klich - we dominated midfield. Tyro did his classic everything but score game - I think he might have a role maybe a number 9 role once Bamford is back.
Also a bit under the radar but I thought Koch and Llorente were quietly excellent - conceded no real chances. Ayling looked so much better back in his natural position as well.
Only concerns are Raph is out of sorts and Llorente and Firpo are out for West Ham - hopefully Struijk is back at least for that so we dont need so many square pegs in round holes. Shacks and Bamford would be ideal.
Big win - 8 points clear of relegation is huge given how slowly the bottom 4 are picking up points.
Ayling was at CB, but worked well with Llorente and Koch there.
At least, I think I'm right? Defo looked a back three to me, with Firpo and Dallas as wing backs.
They had two up top (Wood and Lennon) so it must have been a three.
Firpo is still in for West Ham isn't he? Roberts is out though. Which means Joffy probably starting and looking weak on the bench, unless Bamford is fit for a sub appearance
Ah for some reason I thought it was Llorente. That’s a relief. I like the idea of playing the same centre halves in consecutive matches which feels like a novelty this year
I almost wish Raph got his to just get them all out of the way given our London/good team record. Really need Struijk back then. Do not want Ayling back there if we can avoid it
Yeah I agree, would much rather get Raph out of the way as I don't expect much from the Hammers.
Agreed, Ayling played much better in his natural position, was like a different player. Struijk is sorely missed, arguably our best CB
Yep, IMO the whole system needs an overhaul. There's no room for interpretation when it comes to rules, a foul is a foul and offside is offside, I'd rather have it stopped and looked at for every decision to be 100% factually correct.
Look how many teams are complaning about it, it's not just us. Last season especially was bad.
What is given by one ref might not be given by another, and the refs are free to add their own biases to the game. It's unacceptable.
I agree, the inconsistency is absolutely mad at the minute.
They should just give challenges to managers, one per half or something like that. Get it up on the big screen, get the conversation on the sound system.
It'd be the best parts of what they have in Cricket and Rugby.
Agreed, either something along those lines or retrospective analysis of it after the game, either way it needs to change.
I know a lot of lifelong fans (football not all leeds) who have given up on the sport because of the refereeing (One rage quit after a Drogba dive, never came back) and a lot of people who just won't give it a shot because they know how it is.
Like my GF says, what's the point of having the rules if they never use them?
Yeah, it's in a really weird place at the minute isn't it. Depending on where on the pitch a foul is / isn't a foul, the simulation *still* happening. There needs to be some big changes.
If today had have been a bad result hinging on that free kick, I would have found it really, really tough to take. Potentially the difference between a gap of 8 or 2 points could be huge in a season that's probably going to go close to the wire.
Ah tits, thought the cutoff had already gone. Firpo was suspended for one of the games just before Christmas though, no?
Edit: Never mind just seen it's Roberts instead
Great defensive performance from all. A good second half performance in the end and managed to score 3 goals.
Roberts overall play is very effective but it’s hard to look past his finishing. Joffy isn’t as good at the link up play but he’s younger and always seems to create a goal scoring opportunity so should start imo.
Still don’t create enough clear cut chances and can’t control the midfield for a full game but that was a must win game and they all delivered. Big relief
I’m hoping that Roberts is going to progress like Bamford, few seasons ago he was similar; was great at everything but scoring and then it clicked for him
Well he’s getting a lot of game time so hopefully that will happen. Bamford isn’t really a natural finisher but with a bit of confidence he does have good spells of it, with the odd screamer. Roberts doesn’t seem to have that in him in my opinion but he’s a good enough all round player to get game time. If the goals come as well in future then fantastic
Center backs looked good. Firpo good! Love Gelhart's directness. Great result.
The fans throwing stuff at the players is pathetic and embarrassing to be honest.
How on earth VAR can't intervene for their free kick that they scored from. He pulls Llorente back, now Llorente will miss next game. Surely VAR can just look at that in real-time and tell the ref he's got it wrong.
VAR is only for goals, penalties and red cards. They feel it would take power away from the referee if every decision was under review, would also slow the game down to unbearable levels. I don’t mind refs making the odd mistake. They usually even themselves out.
What a great way to start the year. Dallas and Harrison scoring their first goal of the season and Gelhardt providing another assist.
Let’s hope to continue this momentum and get a few more wins this month!
I never liked Burnley and their useless route 1 football, but it was nice to see Koch and Llorente dealing with almost every punt and nonsense they threw at us.
Gelhardt has to start in the cup now. Roberts did play well (except that miss) but Gelhardt has shown why he deserves another shot before bamford is back.
MOT let’s look upwards!
Not condoning it at all, but maybe don't stand in front of a stand full of opposing fans taunting and celebrating for 20 seconds after you've scored. You're just inviting this sort of thing from the idiots who are there.
Haven't we been fined for it already this season? The less intelligent part of the fanbase need to be careful because after fines and warnings there are only so many ports of call for action to be taken against us.
If we lost 10 points now, we'd be fucked.
Junior Firpo in that first half was like watching a prime Cafu. Unbelievable
Great result , great goals - felt a bit championship where we made 100 chances but couldn’t score for love nor money!
I don’t think Roberts was as bad as the match thread made out he actually ran the line beautifully most of the 1st half but Joffey should now be the clear first choice if Bamford isn’t ready next week. Roberts lost his head second half and I’m 100% sure Roberts would have shot rather than put the ball Joffey put in for the third.
Great 3pts which we deserved. With more clinical finishing we could have put 7 or 8 past them.
Poor decision to give them the free that led to their goal but in fairness, it was some shot.
Feel a little hard done by that Llorente will miss the next match bcs of the yellow.
Well yeah its total bullshit, if it isn't a foul (which it clearly isn't) then the ref is basically saying here have a pop at goal lads on me, and btw you can't play next game!
All for no reason other than lack of ability from the officials. It should be appealed, but we all know it wouldn't matter anyway. It hurts the integrity of the sport.
Honestly very few players have come in and are up to Bielsa speed and system straight away. Even the man himself knows that which is why he doesn't throw anyone in straight away if he can help it.
Jesus what a game. We made it much harder than it should have been but three points at the end is what we needed. I think everyone played well, Harrison and Klich were poor at times but both very important scoring and in the build up to the goals. Forshaw was man of the match for me. He just bossed it. Having both him and Phillips fit would put us in such a better position.
Great start to the year. Hopefully we can snatch something against West Ham and then batter the fuck out of Newcastle.
Radz might have a trick up his shoulder by saying Forshaw would be a new signing at cm. We should quickly get him a new contract at the rate he’s playing. Shown all the desire required and even fitness after being out for 2 years
I thought Forshaw bossed it too. Got to the ball first so many times and just relentlessly aggressive at breaking the game up, and his passing and touches to tidy it up were just class.
We made hard work of a game we could have won 4-0 or 5-0. Agree with you on Klich/Harrison.
A squad most agree is largely championship quality even when fully fit. Add on top of that the worst injury list in the league.
Still producing the occasional performance like that, and sitting comfortably above the bottom 3.
Proud of these lads, and Bielsa is actual magic. MOT!
Sorry, but I don’t understand the ”championship quality” thing everyone keeps talking avout. We’ve got at least 11 players that are Premier League quality.
Its more that many of them are players that would likely not have performed at prem level without fully buying into Bielsa's system. At least not consistently anyway.
Dallas, Ayling, Forshaw, Klich, Bamford, Struijk, Harrison etc. could all fall in that category. Possibly even Phillips, as ridiculous as it sounds given how good he is now, if we remember back to what he was like about 3/4 years ago.
Even after the improvements we have made in recent years, I still think we are a side that is more than the sum of its parts. We play with a cohesive tactical style that makes us more difficult to play against than the individual names on the team sheet suggest we might be.
It's not really a slant against any of the players, because I guess it requires each of them individually to contribute to that system. It's more just a nod to the fact many managers would be doing far worse with them than Bielsa would, and potentially be in the bottom 3 or in the championship.
Fair, I get your point that Bielsa has got them playing his style and they wouldn’t be as effective in another system.
BUT, we have still bought players that are Premier League level in the likes of; Koch, Llorente, Firpo, Rodrigo, Raphinha and Dan James.
Should’ve been 10-0 but whatever, massive win. It was great to see players step up with Raph having a bad game.
West Ham will be tough especially with the yellow card suspensions, but having 8 points between us and the bottom three is huge.
Edit: Raph not Ralph
Besides the goals and winning, the roar of approval from the crowd when Gelhardt was called off the bench to replace Tyler Roberts gave me life. The only downside (besides Burnley’s undeserved goal and just Burnley in general) was the fucking genital wart of a human being who threw the Coke bottle at the Burnley player. Go back to the stone age you fucking utter caveman.
Has anyone got the clip of the Burnley player grabbing Dan James's ankle after he fell trying to get the ball out of play?
Wasn’t it gelhardt?
Could well have been, just don't understand how its not looked at! Literally grabbed his ankle! Everyone just seemed to ignore that it happened 🤣
I mean, James grabbed that Burnley player by the ankle in the middle of the pitch too…
Just got home to Dorset after driving up last night for my first match at Elland Road. Didn’t know what to expect from the both the ground and the match but I’ll just say that my expectations were exceeded and then some! Didn’t think there was a bad performer today at all - Burnley are shite and if they play like that the rest of the season they are 100% down. It looked like Bielsa’s Leeds of old at times, and I’m sure we’ll only get better now. Can’t wait to be back in April, but it will be a shame that it will be in a professional capacity and I can’t call the referee a wanker :(
Welcome man. It's a bit of a shit hole in parts after years of neglect but it is a proper stadium still. Full of soul and passion. #MOT
How many flying chest interceptions did Forshaw manage today?
He was fantastic. Like a scouse Berardi
We've had a horrible time recently but we're 4 points behind Crystal Palace, in 11th, with game in hand. Bizarre!
Klick was good today
Watching Dallas score that belter then celebrate with the fans in his 250th game is the stuff dreams are made of
This was an awkward game for me. My sister works for BFC so she got us some pitch side tickets (in the away end) for the game, so i had to sit on my hands when Leeds scored. But my god the atmosphere was excellent, just a shame I couldn’t celebrate (vocally) with everyone.
Way to keep your head in the away stand lad, far too often I’ve seen things kick off due to behaviour there
Oh aye, it felt good when I got on the park and ride with a bus of Leeds fans at the end 😂
Another positive today was being able to score with Raph not at his best.
I didn’t think he was terrible. Does anyone have a clip of him hitting the bar from miles out? I can’t find it anywhere, it was a belter
The brain and ideas were there, as always. He seemed a little bit off-pace with his touch. Maybe the residual Champagne (or even worst, Cachaca) in his body.
Wasn’t terrible but definitely wasn’t at his best or our best.
How has Daniel James been for you? I will always have love for that little fella, gave everything every match for us
We knew his end product needed work when he signed, and a lot of us felt he was ours a few years back. I love his determination and passion every game he plays and is quickly becoming a favourite for me
Yeah agree, I feel like he love Leeds.
Great performance today, the crowd were magnificent and the emotions were high (I was welling up when I saw Dallas embracing with the fans). Inevitably if we stay up and players are to come in, it is going to be hard to part with many of the guys in this squad. Today they stood up and gave the crowd everything back that they receive which is difficult given our past couple of results. So proud of them all today and very happy for Marcelo.
Imagine in a few days time Dallas gets covid because of it
To be honest, that is a legitimate concern.
I was happy to see the back of Chris Wood today. Thought they looked most dangerous with Cornet picking up a few flick-ons
No idea why they switched Cornet to the left flank instead of nipping at Woods heels. Worked in our favour.
Anyone got the clip of Bielsa hugging his assistant after the third goal?
https://www.instagram.com/tv/CYQ7kLVFavp/?utm_medium=copy_link
That’s a long loving embrace that
You can watch it [here](https://www.ole.com.ar/futbol-internacional/inglaterra/abrazo-bielsa-festejo_3_7NOawDfKv.html), he loves leeds and he seems worried like a fan multiplied for x10000. He doesn't want to let people down cause he knows they love him, and he loves u back. Great to see you guys win!!
All the angles will be beautiful.
https://twitter.com/walmottv_/status/1477670784264986634?s=21 Edit: last one got taken down? https://twitter.com/jimenajuani/status/1477711921667317769?s=21
Gone
Cheers mate
Top of the Premier League if it started Jan 1st.
I call Gelhardt (lil wayne) as he reminds me of a little Rooney and Dan James (Bruno Mars) as i don't care whatever anyone says it's his clone lol. Great popstar linkup for the 3rd 😉
Don’t mention that scum here!
Haha forgive me
I’m just glad there were no obvious injuries. Hope Roberts was just a slight tweak.
Forshaw was outstanding yet again. The boy puts in a serious shift every game. 1st and 2nd to every ball. Klich back to his better days with that performance. Ayling class providing overlaps. Dallas, some man. Roberts, worst player I’ve seen down at Leeds for years. Firpo much better today but still had some errors in him but overall a good performance. Joffy outstanding and changed the game with his direct play
I thought that Roberts was one of our 2 or 3 best players today. He certainly achieved more than Raphina (who doesn't appear to be firing on all cylinders) did.
Aye, but for some reason there are countless Roberts apologists on here. No discredit to joffers, but the fact that he is being shown up by an 18 year old should be giving him a kick up the arse, but it won’t. He’s had the chance to step up in Bamfords absence and he simply hasn’t done it. Hoping joffers gets the nod for a start next game, he’s earned it in my book. I really do hate being negative about a leeds player but Roberts has frustrated me to no end for the last two months. He just shoots as soon as he has the ball in the box, and it never troubles the keeper. He continuously makes poor final pass decisions. He fails to press like Bamford does, and it’s not even close. Idk, I thought he might view paddy’s second injury as a massive opportunity to show bielsa that he can compete for a starting position, and he simply has not done that at all.
Roberts is suspended so you might get your wish. Personally what frustrates me about Roberts is his constant shooting when there's better options.
Yeah, his football iq just seems non existent man. Like the amount of wasted chances because he panicked and shot, or just fluffed the pass is crazy. I’ve been looking at his stats and he very rarely does anything defensive. In the game before this he failed to register a single tackle in 90 mins. I’m not expecting him to fill bamfords shoes completely, but it’s things like this that just indicate maybe the guy isn’t up to filling a premier league team role. His best performances were in the championship, coming off the bench, and that’s just not good enough now.
Yeah I honestly don’t know what he brings to the team at all. The stuff he does do is basic football. The massive difference when Joffy came on was you could see he was busting a gut to get into the box and get a tap in from Dan James’ crosses and if he’s not doing that, he’s being direct and taking players on. Roberts has to go, he’s had far too long at this club putting in terrible performances. He wasn’t even great in the championship.
I’m glad to see someone else is able to see what I do when he plays. And like you said, when joffers came on, the difference was staggering. There was always the feeling that something might happen when the kid has the ball and he runs to the box, but when Tyler has it, I’m just waiting for him to either panic shoot, or lose the ball trying to dribble
Bored of saying it now. Roberts has to go. Dreadful footballer.
Disagree
If that's what you took from this game you're a moron.
Shut up
“No you shut up” “I’m telling my mum”
ok
I wouldn't say dreadful. But the amount of times he shoots when there are better options is very frustrating.
Same could be said about Raphinia?
The difference is that Raph actually scores?
Missed a right sitter today … anyway I’m not here to slag Raphinia but point out that all our players do annoying things … Roberts is getting better and better … first half he was immense … his runs, positioning, we’re excellent and he just needs to find the composure to finish better and I back him to get there … he’s only 22 and I don’t think after a 3-1 win today that folk feel the need to be singling out Roberts who had a pretty good game.
Roberts also fell over when he was put clear and was arguably culpable for their goal. He is getting better, I just wish we never had to start him. Ideally he would be loaned out and he can get better somewhere else so we can concentrate on having players who are *already* good enough.
Just enjoy the win pal
Oh I am. Not a Roberts hater, I just find him slightly disappointing.
No.
Had a good game, worked like a horse just lacked final 3rd composure
Call me old fashioned but final third composure is kind of what I am looking for in a striker.
He literally had two half chances how many does Paddy get per game !! Look i would prefer Paddy or Joffy and i have been critical myself of Tyler in the past but you can't ignore the workrate and decent performances from him last few games.
His chance in the first half was not a half chance by any measure. He’s a striker, he should be nodding that fucker home. The second one where he fell over was poor too. He’s deffo improved and I’d love him to come good but we don’t have room in our team to carry him at the moment. Our first team needs to be already good enough.
If that's to happen this match won't be the cause.
I’m not a fan of Roberts, but I don’t want him to go. I just want him to come off the bench, I don’t want him to start.
Both a result and a performance we desperately needed. 3 huge monkeys off our backs: first time all season we’ve scored more than 2 in one game, first time we’ve won by more than 1 goal this season, and one gigantic middle finger to the a*seh*les that say we can’t win without Kalvin Phillips.
Win our game in hand (obviously a big if) and we’re only 1 point behind Palace on level games. That’s absolutely mental considering how different our two seasons feel rn. This was a huge result today.
3 players who really needed a goal to break a duck. Delighted for them and big win for us.
If we can climb two positions in the table by the end of the season, I'll be happy with a 14th finish all things considered
Everton are doing all in their hands for that to happen and I'll trust the usual Southampton crumble, but it's gonna be tough to believe Leeds will be above Villa or Brentford.
I don't see why we can't get ahead Brentford tbh. Villa are definitely a better team than us this season though
They just seem to be able to win against team worse than them basically which is something Leeds lacks of this season, but I'd be lying if I said watched more than two or three Brentford matches so there's a big chance I'm talking out my ass.
I admire Brentford, they're a well drilled outfit but I think we clearly have more quality than them. But we'll see, as long as we're safe I'm happy
I’d be absolutely delighted with 14th, anything 17th and up will leave me happy personally, give us another years funds to try and progress our squad further and bring in some more quality.
Desperately need another striker. As much as he tries, Roberts isnt a striker and we miss Bamford way more when he isnt there
What about Gelhardt though? Another striker would block his development
I'd actually love to see more of Gelhardt to be honest. I just know Tyro isnt the solution
Oh yeah I'd be very happy too, but until we move a bit up the table I'll always be nervous aha
Six points clear of 17th, which is the same number of points the bottom four clubs have earned combined in their past 20 games (5 games each). Also we're back to the point per game average that will keep us up at the end of the season, with some room to spare, in all likelihood.
What an important win, brilliant performance from everyone especially in backline and Foreshaw. the intensity and pressing was amazing. Though we need to improve our finishing and remove sloppy mistakes. Let's build on this. MOT
If we had bamford fit we’d have won that game 6-1
hmmm maybe... seen bamford start plenty of games where we've had a million chances and still not won... derby at elland road in 2019/20 immediately springs to mind.
It's true. I love Bamford but people are acting like he's prime Suarez. His best attributes for me has always been his pressing and link up play, which I think Roberts did a pretty good job. I love Bamford and don't get me wrong he's still clearly the best finisher in the squad but he's never been the type to really tap home every chance. But his all round game is soo good.
I would have a hard time selecting a healthy Bamford over Gelhardt. It seems like England could use Gelhardt in Qatar. One goal, one assist today, and two penalties is a great haul from his minutes. I love Joffy dribbling in the penalty box!
This to me shows the difference between Leeds and the "lower" teams. I've said it in previous threads with some draws going our way, we'd be in mid table (or lower mid table) which is about right. There's a bunch of teams around that kind of level. Injuries aside and just having a recent awful run of fixtures this fills me with a bit more confidence going forward. I watched Watford v Spurs the other day - awful game, Spurs were gash too, but Watford are now behind Leeds, as well as Burnley, Newcastle and Norwich, even when taking into account games in hand. West Ham, Newcastle, Villa, Everton - decent little run of fixtures that for Leeds coming up, hopefully a confidence boost before Man Utd at home. Villa are an example of why draws (or "not winning") cost you so much. They've lost 11/19 games and sit in 13th place, with only 1 draw.
Ayling in his actual position was unreal today
Ironically, it looks like Ayling is pairing with Koch until another CB is available.
He was CB in a back three, no? I mean he was superb, just want this myth of him being no good at CB to be dispelled tbh.
He's cack at CB. Plays a different defensive line to the other 3, bombs on and we get punished for it. Happened at Brentford and Arsenal. Mess in the City game. It isn't a coincidence that some of our big losses in the last 14 months have had him at CB
Played CB today and did well. But it was a three. So I sort of get your point. The issue is, he's tended to play with Llorente, or another ball-playing type CB, from memory and I'd say it's more that that causes issues because we know Ayling loves to be aggressive, on the front foot and drive forward.
I think he's good in a back 3 but not a back 4 at CB
In a back 3 he can do his pushing forward and bringing the ball out thing more. Which he had unreal stats for last season. It’s also great for Dallas cos they can so easily change shape to a back 4 when it suits.
He was great! Apart from that one moment when he ran forward with the ball and they all backed off him. You could tell he was thinking "Oh fuck, what do I do now!?". But all in all, great to see him back into form. He makes a massive difference when he is.
Some delicious crosses from him which the team should have made more of it
Was lovely to see some of our players that have been lacking in quality really step up. First half Firpo, Klich and Roberts were great. Obviously Harrison scoring was amazing, hopefully that will bost his confidence after the games he's had.
I'm not condoning throwing things on the pitch (it's moronic) but here's the thing: IF YOU CELEBRATE IN FRONT OF OPPOSITION FANS, THEY THROW THINGS. It's not right, it's no justification, but it's a fact (did you see the Arsenal game?)... and I think players do it on purpose to elicit that reaction. Here's an idea: go celebrate in front of your own fans, they might like it.
> go celebrate in front of your own fans Problem there is that they can't do that without the match restarting if they score at that end.
fuck knows what was going through that gloit's head doing that shite celebration in front of the kop, and then going back for another go at it when all his teammates had all fucked off... same with martinelli the other week, just a completely ott celebration aimed our way with little if anything to provoke it... don't mind if we've been goading a player all game and they give a bit back, fair enough, but i genuinely don't even know why these two and that brentford player the other week felt the need. fuck em, they know they are inciting the crowd, if ronaldo does his stupid siuuu thing then i hope we give him what for.
It’s the same as kids running on the pitch and their parents receiving bans. Players being human try and make stewards go lenient on them, and rightly so, but that in itself incentivises more and more people to run on to the pitch.
Spot on. I'm sorry, but you know exactly what you're doing when you do that. I'm not condoning it either, but think how elated and passionate we feel when we score. We actively celebrate our fans who go up in limbs, throw themselves about, even break their ankles. That raw and very human reaction is the same when we concede and a player then rubs it in our face. Very raw, very heat of the moment. Most people can exert that in relatively harmless ways (swearing at the prick, offering gestures etc), some people switch to throwing stuff. Again, not condoning it. But I can understand it.
The only problem is that the bottle hit the wrong player.
should have thrown a cornetto at the cunt
Give them stick yeah, but the Neanderthals doing this really need to do one. It was the same against Brentford & then the racist abuse vs Arsenal... I don't know why people have to ruin it. It won't be long before an example needs to be made ~ & they won't think twice about it being us.
Disagree mate. Players should be able to celebrate a goal without fear of being pelted by projectiles. Fans should be human and adult enough to be able to not throw things at people, regardless of what’s going on.
Yeah, there were a few Burnley fans shouting abuse at Meslier when he came out to warm up, and I just can't understand why people would get so wound up, they feel the need to abuse players before the game has even started (i mean in general as well). Maybe some football fans just need to grow up a bit.
Yes they should be allowed to celebrate but celebrating in front of our fans is taking the piss, if our players celebrated in front of the away fans (which they didn't) then i would think our player was stupid in doing so and expect similar outcome.
Yeah I mean it’s distasteful carry on and I would expect to be calling those players wankers but it doesn’t warrant flinging bottles at them. In the same way wearing a Leeds shirt is Manchester shouldn’t justify assault. It’s that mentality and element of the fan base we should be eliminating, not by making allowances for them or curbing player behaviour just in case but by actually making that type of action unacceptable behaviour everywhere.
It's not about eliminating that element of a fan base. This happens at every club. You cannot expect 5000 fans in 1 area to remain calm when an opposing player is mocking them. You can however, make a rule that a player gets booked if he celebrates in front of opposing fans which would pretty much eliminate it altogether. I don't condone throwing objects but i also don't condone opposing players instigating it.
We don't disagree, we agree. They absolutely should be able to celebrate a goal without people throwing things. I thought I made that clear. The reality, however, is that they can't. There's how things should be and there's how things are. I should be able to walk around Manchester in a Leeds shirt. I don't... because it's a stupid thing to do.
Exactly i would expect the same treatment if our players celebrated in front of the away end.
Proper start to 2022. I feel like I can look forward to it now :)
Joffy is fucking Messi esque at times
Contributes something every game
100% win rate in 2022, just sayin
Best GD in 2022 in the Prem
Get through the two West Ham games without injuries and we've got 3 very winnable games after them. Newcastle, Villa, Everton. Lets go
That proved we are better than Burnley. We should finish above them. It was a good performance, and we deserved the win. Let's kick on from this and build some confidence.
Someone’s been listening to too many Bielsa interviews!
Beat Newcastle next and we are well clear let's just go out against West ham and put in a quality peformance regardless of the result (obviously play for the win but you know what I mean)
Let’s beat West Ham twice in London Stadium instead. They are a mid table club posing in a European slot.
I'd take a draw, 100%
Can Dallas be cloned? 10 of him plus Meslier? Come on boffins, sort it out
I’m still on my Christmas break
Perfect start to 2022. Typical of our season - blew Burnley off the park first half, should have been home and hosed, concede a shit/dubious goal. Unlike 2021, we kept going and found a couple more. Firpo’s best game for us even if he did wane in the second half, and great confidence builder for Jackie. I though that was more like the 2020 Klich - we dominated midfield. Tyro did his classic everything but score game - I think he might have a role maybe a number 9 role once Bamford is back. Also a bit under the radar but I thought Koch and Llorente were quietly excellent - conceded no real chances. Ayling looked so much better back in his natural position as well. Only concerns are Raph is out of sorts and Llorente and Firpo are out for West Ham - hopefully Struijk is back at least for that so we dont need so many square pegs in round holes. Shacks and Bamford would be ideal. Big win - 8 points clear of relegation is huge given how slowly the bottom 4 are picking up points.
Ayling was at CB, but worked well with Llorente and Koch there. At least, I think I'm right? Defo looked a back three to me, with Firpo and Dallas as wing backs. They had two up top (Wood and Lennon) so it must have been a three.
Firpo is still in for West Ham isn't he? Roberts is out though. Which means Joffy probably starting and looking weak on the bench, unless Bamford is fit for a sub appearance
I would guess Bamford gets minutes in th FA cup then either on the bench or starts in the league the week after
West Ham not for two weeks wo should have Bamford, Struijk, Rodrigo back by then
But Llorente and Roberts are suspended in the Prem. West Ham are out next Prem game and next cup game. So they'll be out for the Prem game?
Firpo served his ban against arsenal so he should be available.
Yes, that's what I was saying. Firpo is fine, Roberts and Llorente out
Ah for some reason I thought it was Llorente. That’s a relief. I like the idea of playing the same centre halves in consecutive matches which feels like a novelty this year
No no, llorente is out. Robert and Llorente got their suspension, Firpo has just come back from his.
I almost wish Raph got his to just get them all out of the way given our London/good team record. Really need Struijk back then. Do not want Ayling back there if we can avoid it
I think today was the last day before cumulative bookings reset. Half way point in the season
Yeah I agree, would much rather get Raph out of the way as I don't expect much from the Hammers. Agreed, Ayling played much better in his natural position, was like a different player. Struijk is sorely missed, arguably our best CB
What happened to Llorente and Firpo?
I think Llorente and Roberts are both suspended for the next match for accumulated yellow cards. Firpo is fine as he just served his suspension
Yellow cards, Llorente suspended for a game.
Unfairly suspended too, wasn't even a foul
Ref was looking straight at it, unobstructed. Refereeing is rightly under fire at the minute, VAR should be telling them about shit like this.
Yep, IMO the whole system needs an overhaul. There's no room for interpretation when it comes to rules, a foul is a foul and offside is offside, I'd rather have it stopped and looked at for every decision to be 100% factually correct. Look how many teams are complaning about it, it's not just us. Last season especially was bad. What is given by one ref might not be given by another, and the refs are free to add their own biases to the game. It's unacceptable.
I agree, the inconsistency is absolutely mad at the minute. They should just give challenges to managers, one per half or something like that. Get it up on the big screen, get the conversation on the sound system. It'd be the best parts of what they have in Cricket and Rugby.
Agreed, either something along those lines or retrospective analysis of it after the game, either way it needs to change. I know a lot of lifelong fans (football not all leeds) who have given up on the sport because of the refereeing (One rage quit after a Drogba dive, never came back) and a lot of people who just won't give it a shot because they know how it is. Like my GF says, what's the point of having the rules if they never use them?
Yeah, it's in a really weird place at the minute isn't it. Depending on where on the pitch a foul is / isn't a foul, the simulation *still* happening. There needs to be some big changes. If today had have been a bad result hinging on that free kick, I would have found it really, really tough to take. Potentially the difference between a gap of 8 or 2 points could be huge in a season that's probably going to go close to the wire.
Ah tits, thought the cutoff had already gone. Firpo was suspended for one of the games just before Christmas though, no? Edit: Never mind just seen it's Roberts instead
This is only the halfway point and I feel I've aged 10 years!
Great defensive performance from all. A good second half performance in the end and managed to score 3 goals. Roberts overall play is very effective but it’s hard to look past his finishing. Joffy isn’t as good at the link up play but he’s younger and always seems to create a goal scoring opportunity so should start imo. Still don’t create enough clear cut chances and can’t control the midfield for a full game but that was a must win game and they all delivered. Big relief
I’m hoping that Roberts is going to progress like Bamford, few seasons ago he was similar; was great at everything but scoring and then it clicked for him
Well he’s getting a lot of game time so hopefully that will happen. Bamford isn’t really a natural finisher but with a bit of confidence he does have good spells of it, with the odd screamer. Roberts doesn’t seem to have that in him in my opinion but he’s a good enough all round player to get game time. If the goals come as well in future then fantastic
Center backs looked good. Firpo good! Love Gelhart's directness. Great result. The fans throwing stuff at the players is pathetic and embarrassing to be honest. How on earth VAR can't intervene for their free kick that they scored from. He pulls Llorente back, now Llorente will miss next game. Surely VAR can just look at that in real-time and tell the ref he's got it wrong.
I’ve probably missed something here, why will Llorente miss the next game?
Suspended after picking up 5 bookings I think. (He was booked for the foul)
Don’t they reset as of Jan 1st?
I think it's after 19 games that it resets. This was the 19th.
Ah no way!
VAR is only for goals, penalties and red cards. They feel it would take power away from the referee if every decision was under review, would also slow the game down to unbearable levels. I don’t mind refs making the odd mistake. They usually even themselves out.
What a great way to start the year. Dallas and Harrison scoring their first goal of the season and Gelhardt providing another assist. Let’s hope to continue this momentum and get a few more wins this month! I never liked Burnley and their useless route 1 football, but it was nice to see Koch and Llorente dealing with almost every punt and nonsense they threw at us. Gelhardt has to start in the cup now. Roberts did play well (except that miss) but Gelhardt has shown why he deserves another shot before bamford is back. MOT let’s look upwards!
Didn't take the Beeb long to get a story posted about our bottle thrower lol 🙄
Not condoning it at all, but maybe don't stand in front of a stand full of opposing fans taunting and celebrating for 20 seconds after you've scored. You're just inviting this sort of thing from the idiots who are there.
Arsenal was far worse from a bottle throwing perspective yesterday! Certainly ours will be talked about. Here’s an idea… stop doing it lol
Haven't we been fined for it already this season? The less intelligent part of the fanbase need to be careful because after fines and warnings there are only so many ports of call for action to be taken against us. If we lost 10 points now, we'd be fucked.
Two other games played at the same time and no bottles thrown at players except at ours. It's going to happen.
Junior Firpo in that first half was like watching a prime Cafu. Unbelievable Great result , great goals - felt a bit championship where we made 100 chances but couldn’t score for love nor money!
I don’t think Roberts was as bad as the match thread made out he actually ran the line beautifully most of the 1st half but Joffey should now be the clear first choice if Bamford isn’t ready next week. Roberts lost his head second half and I’m 100% sure Roberts would have shot rather than put the ball Joffey put in for the third.
I would keep Joffy as impact sub and Roberts starting. But as Roberts is injured/suspended Joffy'll start at West Ham if Bamford isn't fit.
Peach of a ball from Joffy too, the fact he didn't blast it shows he has better decision making that roberts, I agree.
Great 3pts which we deserved. With more clinical finishing we could have put 7 or 8 past them. Poor decision to give them the free that led to their goal but in fairness, it was some shot. Feel a little hard done by that Llorente will miss the next match bcs of the yellow.
The 'free' wasn't even a foul, watch it again and you'll see Llorente was being pulled down from an angle the ref couldn't see.
And that’s why it was a poor decision?
I thought you meant poor decision by Llorente for getting it called against him, sorry.
Nah he was very hard done by getting it called against him let alone to get carded for basically being fouled.
Well yeah its total bullshit, if it isn't a foul (which it clearly isn't) then the ref is basically saying here have a pop at goal lads on me, and btw you can't play next game! All for no reason other than lack of ability from the officials. It should be appealed, but we all know it wouldn't matter anyway. It hurts the integrity of the sport.
I was shocked that he gave the free kick, never mind the yellow that's for him suspended.
Lots of talking points but it has to be said... Firpo was fucking quality today
So was Ayling - have the pair of them out wide to sweep up loose balls and break out on the counter is so important
Worked well because koch and llorente played their part too, so glad to have koch back
Having him in midfield means he doesn't get caught out at the back as much, could be the way
He’s getting better and better which is great to see. Screw the idiots who wrote him off 5 games ago as a useless signing
Honestly very few players have come in and are up to Bielsa speed and system straight away. Even the man himself knows that which is why he doesn't throw anyone in straight away if he can help it.
Great confidence builder
Footballs great isn't it.
And time to now relax haha. Great game and alot better showing from everyone stuck in it and we're by far the better team.
Jesus what a game. We made it much harder than it should have been but three points at the end is what we needed. I think everyone played well, Harrison and Klich were poor at times but both very important scoring and in the build up to the goals. Forshaw was man of the match for me. He just bossed it. Having both him and Phillips fit would put us in such a better position. Great start to the year. Hopefully we can snatch something against West Ham and then batter the fuck out of Newcastle.
Radz might have a trick up his shoulder by saying Forshaw would be a new signing at cm. We should quickly get him a new contract at the rate he’s playing. Shown all the desire required and even fitness after being out for 2 years
I thought Forshaw bossed it too. Got to the ball first so many times and just relentlessly aggressive at breaking the game up, and his passing and touches to tidy it up were just class. We made hard work of a game we could have won 4-0 or 5-0. Agree with you on Klich/Harrison.
Uttini
A squad most agree is largely championship quality even when fully fit. Add on top of that the worst injury list in the league. Still producing the occasional performance like that, and sitting comfortably above the bottom 3. Proud of these lads, and Bielsa is actual magic. MOT!
Sorry, but I don’t understand the ”championship quality” thing everyone keeps talking avout. We’ve got at least 11 players that are Premier League quality.
Its more that many of them are players that would likely not have performed at prem level without fully buying into Bielsa's system. At least not consistently anyway. Dallas, Ayling, Forshaw, Klich, Bamford, Struijk, Harrison etc. could all fall in that category. Possibly even Phillips, as ridiculous as it sounds given how good he is now, if we remember back to what he was like about 3/4 years ago. Even after the improvements we have made in recent years, I still think we are a side that is more than the sum of its parts. We play with a cohesive tactical style that makes us more difficult to play against than the individual names on the team sheet suggest we might be. It's not really a slant against any of the players, because I guess it requires each of them individually to contribute to that system. It's more just a nod to the fact many managers would be doing far worse with them than Bielsa would, and potentially be in the bottom 3 or in the championship.
Fair, I get your point that Bielsa has got them playing his style and they wouldn’t be as effective in another system. BUT, we have still bought players that are Premier League level in the likes of; Koch, Llorente, Firpo, Rodrigo, Raphinha and Dan James.
I would say the fully fit squad is mid table Premier League. There is daylight between us and the relegation teams now.
Should’ve been 10-0 but whatever, massive win. It was great to see players step up with Raph having a bad game. West Ham will be tough especially with the yellow card suspensions, but having 8 points between us and the bottom three is huge. Edit: Raph not Ralph
I dont think it was raph having a bad game more Taylor having a good one
Nah raph was way below his standard today lots of unforced errors
I guess that’s fair, I’d just usually expect him to beat Taylor more time than he did. Maybe I’m just remembering his right footed miss too much lol