Leeds Utd v Arsenal Match Thread - Raphinha, Phillips and Alioski start, Rodrigo makes the bench by

[Leeds1000]

Gary Neville on Leeds United

" Every time you watch Leeds United even when they're getting beat, you marvel at the fact they have a group of players that go out on the pitch that trust each other on the ball, in play. That's why I find it difficult to criticise them because they play with so much courage in possession, out of possession. They stick to their principles and believe in what they do"

I thought it was a touch of class from Gary Swannie. He knows his football.

[Leeds1000]

In the post-game Arteta said they dominated the first half.

He must be taking the same drugs as HPJ

When i watched MOTD i thought the same thing. The editing is shite. They never even showed the Dallas chance where he drags it wide. We battered then better than a good old Whitby Cod. I had a quick look in on Arsenals forum and i don't think there was one mention of how well we played. Infact i didn't see the name Leeds mentioned once in about 4 pages. Charming!

[Leeds1000]

Did anyone else think we were a little bit less gung ho today before the sending off?

Didnt sit back and probably had more possession but we seemed more controll

I may be wrong but i thought the wingers tucked in a bit when we were out of possession? If that was the case that's a good sign for me. Its already been pointed out on here about Dallas offering a bit more protection aswell. I though Dallas had his best game in that role.

[Leeds1000]

Does anyone think we have got the players to counter teams the way we get countered at times? Give up a little possession be staying compact, and then draw teams out and expect them to play around us, and then have a speedy transition on the counter? I think we are more than capable of it. We have done it on many occasion.

It does frustrate me at times the slow build up play at the back, its ok for possession stats but it allows the opposition to get back into defensive shape too easily and then we are left trying to get thru a brick wall most of the time which leads to nothing other then a quick counter attack by the other team.

I also think sometimes when we commit men forward to chase down the ball in the oppositions half when they are playing out from the back. The 2/3 men we commit to that, can leave us out of defensive shape and exposed in the middle of the park and can often leave Phillips on his own.

Yesterday was a fantastic performance - the goals.

[1964white]

I had a peep at the Arsenal main football forum last night

Their Leeds v Arsenal Matchday thread had gone 102 pages, makes our little forum look puny

We do have quality discussion on our thread though

[Leeds1000]

One more from me. From a personal perspective it was great to see O'Leary back at Elland Rd. I know he splits opinion for numerous reasons but in my mind he served up the best Leeds football team of the modern era, and i would include Wilko's title winning side in that.

I would have no hesitation in buying him a few pints should i ever encounter him in a boozer. There is no doubt in my mind at the time he loved the football club for all the right reasons!

[Cjay]

I had a peep at the Arsenal main football forum last night

Their Leeds v Arsenal Matchday thread had gone 102 pages, makes our little forum look puny

We do have quality discussion on our thread though

Quality over quantity here

Besides the biggest LUFC forum is Waccoe, bet that has well over 100 pages on the matchday thread

Here we just have 1 quality post which is equal to 100 posts on those forums

This is for the edumacated posters.

[Cjay]

Does anyone think we have got the players to counter teams the way we get countered at times? Give up a little possession be staying compact, and then draw teams out and expect them to play around us, and then have a speedy transition on the counter? I think we are more than capable of it. We have done it on many occasion.

It does frustrate me at times the slow build up play at the back, its ok for possession stats but it allows the opposition to get back into defensive shape too easily and then we are left trying to get thru a brick wall most of the time which leads to nothing other then a quick counter attack by the other team.

I also think sometimes when we commit men forward to chase down the ball in the oppositions half when they are playing out from the back. The 2/3 men we commit to that, can leave us out of defensive shape and exposed in the middle of the park and can often leave Phillips on his own.

Yesterday was a fantastic performance - the goals.

Me

I think at times for certain teams we should look to do just that. Not Arsenal or Liverpool or Man City, not those teams (although Arsenal arent a very attacking side anymore it seems).

But Palace, Leicester, Wolves, Burnley, the teams who want you to attack them.

Even Man City struggle to break down those sort of teams (not just the crap version of Man City now but the good one). Packed defences usually require exceptional individuals or you just get a flurry of hopeful punts into the box and forced through balls where the pass has to be inch perfect (which again requires usually a De Bruyne, Iniesta, Messi.

If i was MB (and he clearly knows so much more than I) but if it was me i would invite those teams on for the first 15-30mins.

Sit back, make them attack us (which wont be what they have prepared for).

Look to nick the ball in our half and break.

That would be my idea for certain teams.

[White Riot]

I had a peep at the Arsenal main football forum last night

Their Leeds v Arsenal Matchday thread had gone 102 pages, makes our little forum look puny

We do have quality discussion on our thread though

I watched a few of their YouTube bloggers and to be fair they all said Leeds were very unlucky not to get the three points.

Arteta also made the comment that we're one of the best sides in the Prem already.

Plenty of trouble at'mill at Arsenal as they're defending better but not creating or scoring. Lots of discipline issues and seems like cutting your nose off to spite your face to ostracize Ozil.

Points to poor leadership.

We don't have those problems.

[1964white]

Does anyone think we have got the players to counter teams the way we get countered at times? Give up a little possession be staying compact, and then draw teams out and expect them to play around us, and then have a speedy transition on the counter? I think we are more than capable of it. We have done it on many occasion.

It does frustrate me at times the slow build up play at the back, its ok for possession stats but it allows the opposition to get back into defensive shape too easily and then we are left trying to get thru a brick wall most of the time which leads to nothing other then a quick counter attack by the other team.

I also think sometimes when we commit men forward to chase down the ball in the oppositions half when they are playing out from the back. The 2/3 men we commit to that, can leave us out of defensive shape and exposed in the middle of the park and can often leave Phillips on his own.

Yesterday was a fantastic performance - the goals.

It depends on the quality at our disposal & the opposition we face.

Last season we caught many teams out with our counter-attacking play, not so easy at premiership level as footballers in this grade are much more savvy, pacier, quality & a better positional sense.

We have to remember we are still building our squad

I personally thought we got a lot of things right yesterday, just required more composure & needed a bit more luck!

[1964white]

I watched a few of their YouTube bloggers and to be fair they all said Leeds were very unlucky not to get the three points.

Arteta also made the comment that we're one of the best sides in the Prem already.

Plenty of trouble at'mill at Arsenal as they're defending better but not creating or scoring. Lots of discipline issues and seems like cutting your nose off to spite your face to ostracize Ozil.

Points to poor leadership.

We don't have those problems.

Managers face more problems with footballers who think they are gods gift especially at premiership level. Arteta could be well out of his depth

[1964white]

Quality over quantity here

Besides the biggest LUFC forum is Waccoe, bet that has well over 100 pages on the matchday thread

Here we just have 1 quality post which is equal to 100 posts on those forums

This is for the edumacated posters.

Nice comments Cjay

[White Riot]

Managers face more problems with footballers who think they are gods gift especially at premiership level. Arteta could be well out of his depth

Yeah, could be that the job is too big and too soon for Arteta.

We are so lucky to have Bielsa. He doesn't tolerate any egos and has set very clear standards for behaviour and performance that have worked their way right through the organisation.

He will be a massive loss when he goes. But I'm hoping he stays long enough to make us a strong force in the Prem and Europe.

We will cherish these days in the future.

[Carrick Dave]

And i here Alioski is getting slated for on social media for diving? WTF the guy headbutted him what's he supposed to do?

As agreed on MOTD2, if you don’t go down, you get no decision from the officials.

No matter how nervous I am before a game now, as soon as I see the team’s self-belief when play starts I relax. We might not always win or even get the rub of the green, but we have a unique identity I’ve loved watching for the past two seasons.

If we’d won 3-0 yesterday no one would have been surprised, hey-ho, it’s a great time to be Leeds.

Just a note on Raphinha, I got the impression at times yesterday that some of our midfield players were reluctant to give him the ball on the edge of the area in the channel, they seemed to prefer to try to pick out a more familiar face. Anyone else see that or was I just dreaming? I wondered if they felt he hadn’t quite got to grips with the rhythm of the team as yet?

[Cjay]

As agreed on MOTD2, if you don’t go down, you get no decision from the officials.

No matter how nervous I am before a game now, as soon as I see the team’s self-belief when play starts I relax. We might not always win or even get the rub of the green, but we have a unique identity I’ve loved watching for the past two seasons.

If we’d won 3-0 yesterday no one would have been surprised, hey-ho, it’s a great time to be Leeds.

Just a note on Raphinha, I got the impression at times yesterday that some of our midfield players were reluctant to give him the ball on the edge of the area in the channel, they seemed to prefer to try to pick out a more familiar face. Anyone else see that or was I just dreaming? I wondered if they felt he hadn’t quite got to grips with the rhythm of the team as yet?

I thought that to.

Maybe its because the players are drilled to death and the only one that has freedom and they have faith in is Pablo?

KP said in an interview his first instinct is to pass it to Pablo.

I think Raph is certainly capable of receiving the ball in less structured paterns but maybe the players havent quite got used to that.

Raph and Rodders are a step up from the rest and there teammates will need time to get used to that and to trust them maybe.

[mothbanquet]

It depends on the quality at our disposal & the opposition we face.

Last season we caught many teams out with our counter-attacking play, not so easy at premiership level as footballers in this grade are much more savvy, pacier, quality & a better positional sense.

We have to remember we are still building our squad

I personally thought we got a lot of things right yesterday, just required more composure & needed a bit more luck!

All true, it's a difficult thing to quantify. However, even now I think we're a much stronger team overall (with all new signings starting) than the team that won the Championship, so progress has already been made.

I'll say that we have the defence to cope with half the league, the other half is just a wee bit too strong in attacking quality. It's telling that we know where Arsenal lies in that. Get Llorente fit, though? We sign a FB next summer? That half a league we can't deal with will become a quarter. Then something special begins.

[Chilli D]

It depends on the quality at our disposal & the opposition we face.

Last season we caught many teams out with our counter-attacking play, not so easy at premiership level as footballers in this grade are much more savvy, pacier, quality & a better positional sense.

We have to remember we are still building our squad

I personally thought we got a lot of things right yesterday, just required more composure & needed a bit more luck!

Yeah I agree with this.
Lets get through this season (mid table is more than possible and acceptable) and with a couple more signings of the standard of Raphinha and Rodrigo and we could become a force to be reckoned with.
We've already come with a whisker of getting a point against the champions and drawn with two of the so called big 6.

[White Riot]

It depends on the quality at our disposal & the opposition we face.

Last season we caught many teams out with our counter-attacking play, not so easy at premiership level as footballers in this grade are much more savvy, pacier, quality & a better positional sense.

We have to remember we are still building our squad

I personally thought we got a lot of things right yesterday, just required more composure & needed a bit more luck!

True.

To a large extent we're novices at this level and still learning the ropes.

No better fella at the helm to adapt our playing strategies than MB. He'll be absorbing info and improving us with every minute he watches us and our opponents. I'm sure he's also well aware of what our current capabilities and weaknesses are, these can be greatly improved as we get more established at this level.

I do still feel though that when we've drawn our opponents upfield its then that we need to move the ball upfield and counter quickly to take full advantage, or they just all swarm back to their back third and we're then continually struggling to break them down.

[Boo Radley]

Managers face more problems with footballers who think they are gods gift especially at premiership level. Arteta could be well out of his depth

I think he is out of his depth and is bluffing in many of his interviews. Arsenal have no particular style or personality under him. They vary wildly from game to game and that’s down to the manager.

He’s also inclined to throw his players under the bus unnecessarily. Pepe is a massive investment by the club, rightly or wrongly, so he should be careful about damning him in an interview straight after a game. He could condemn the action but say he’s inexperienced/will learn/ blah blah, just to buy time to deal with the lad. It looked like he was glad to have an excuse for his team being so comprehensively outplayed by a promoted team.

[Chilli D]

Meslier
Ayling, Koch, Cooper, Dallas
Phillips
Raphinha, Rodrigo, Klich, Harrison
Bamford

This team is comfortable good enough to get a result at Everton for me. Let's get another clean sheet and push on for that goal

That's probably the strongest team we could put out at the moment but I think MB will keep the same starting line up for Everton.
It would be tough on Alioski if he is dropped.