Leeds Utd v Burnley Match Thread

[paddy parrott]

Phew! What I take from today's game is in many ways ,the trust Bielsa has in his players .Yes he changes a little 2nd half but he puts complete trust in himself& team
Easy especially afterwards ..ie I'd do this or that and the other thing.
T'was a long second period and a much better side than Burnley would have cashed in.We did not complete to a satisfactory level our passing game nor figure a way to hold up Burnley .The former is certainly adjustable ,the latter not so much obviously.
Well done Leeds United and Marcelo we got over the line with this win.
Of course we have & need improvement for sure ..though as many many believe you gotta win ugly & show both belief& fighting spirit for Bielsa and us Leeds fans are truly witnessing that for sure after many a earlier Leedd United side wouldn't turn out for the second half.Huge win and roll on next one.

[1964white]

For all their shots on goal, if you watch we defended really well, covering the angles and trusting Meslier to defend the near post which is exactly what he did. Considering Burnley were best suited to exploit our Achilles' Heel, and they certainly tried, we kept them out.

Today we've seen a type of Leeds we haven't witnessed all season. Backs against the wall

That's how to defend, excellent Leeds

[1964white]

We should have been out of sight after the first half

Should have been 2 or 3 up at half-time, our forwards have much to answer for the reason why our defenders had to work their butts off today

[Fridge]

There will be a few Leeds fans out there who were unhappy with that performance offensively, but that was just what the team needed in my opinion!

Proof to themselves and everyone else out there that they are capable of grinding out an ugly result in this league. A clean sheet will do the team wonders.

Just goes to show that Struijk offers a lot, he was excellent on headers today! Should be a CB choice ahead of Ayling IMO - keep Bill in RB where he performs best.

[1964white]

This was going to be our toughest test of the season and we came out of it well.

Some discipline & fight in our team at long last, we gave the clarets nothing

[1964white]

Thought it was bit odd Rodders and Raph were taken off.

Would have gone for Harrison (poor again) and Paddy myself for Rodders pace on the break?

Rodrigo was ineffective today Cjay

[Fridge]

I was impressed with Bielsa’s substitutions today.

Three clever, positive changes at sensible times. Great job of rotation before the next game.

[Fridge]

Thought it was bit odd Rodders and Raph were taken off.

Would have gone for Harrison (poor again) and Paddy myself for Rodders pace on the break?

Think it’s a bit of time management for them, a bit of rest will make all the difference for Tuesday

[1964white]

Take the two extra points from today, if you feel it should have been a draw, and add it to the two extra points we should have had against Arsenal = 20 points - no difference.

15 points away from the 35 points safety net & we are not halfway though the season yet Finn

[SG90]

Looked like a bullying lump to me

Had all the skill coached out of him by Dyche. Would be level with Bamford with Bielsa coaching him.

[SG90]

Good thing is MB won't be happy tonight and they will be pumped up for Tuesday.

[Mick Jones shoulder]

Short memories on here re Wood, especially the Monk season. Was always a lump an effective one i recall.

[1964white]

He's always complaining and whining.

Ashley Barnes is a knob too!

[Finnatic]

15 points away from the 35 points safety net & we are not halfway though the season yet Finn

Another bonus

[Boo Radley]

There will be a few Leeds fans out there who were unhappy with that performance offensively, but that was just what the team needed in my opinion!

Proof to themselves and everyone else out there that they are capable of grinding out an ugly result in this league. A clean sheet will do the team wonders.

Just goes to show that Struijk offers a lot, he was excellent on headers today! Should be a CB choice ahead of Ayling IMO - keep Bill in RB where he performs best.

Have to agree on just digging in and winning dirty today. We out Burnleyed Burnley and that’s what pissing Dyche off.

That was a six pointer today so the win was critical. They came in with very good form and fancied knocking us about and scoring from set pieces as everyone told them they would.

Philips was excellent today with his key interventions but also the out he offered his team mates when we were under pressure in defence. I thought that a Dallas was also excellent today.

Our defence of corners was a step up at last. Ayling jumping into his man, Meslier coming out to punch/catch/flap/tickle the ball out of harms way, Struijk getting on the end of some crosses too, and also us having a man on each post - all good. Meslier’s flapping improved as time passed.

I know Klich played out of position but he is only shadow of himself currently. He’s falling over, messing up simple passes, shooting 20 yards wide from 20 yards and his pace is gone - none of which is linked to being played out of position. He needs a break.

Anyway, I’m thrilled with that win. It wasn’t deserved based on possession, number of corners, etc.etc., - welcome to our world Burnley. We finished that job today with our Championship team, minus Cooper and White! Brilliant stuff!

And I do like that new referee!

[1964white]

Does that excuse the shocking shooting?

Kevin Sinfield shots, glad he didn't take the penalty today

Klich bottled it today, he looked lost without Phillips, Dallas or Pablo alongside him

Klich & Rodrigo does not work in the heart of our midfield

[White Riot]

Hopefully he can but the warning signs were there when we signed him, just a google shows he has struggled with injuries last few years and they are generally muscle injuries apparently.

Just think some players cant take BielsaBall and the training.

Yeah i agree i think another cb is essential in the summer, great servants Berardi and Coops (although both divide opinion) but far to slow for the Prem long term imo. Koch and new guy with Llorente and Cooper as backup would be my choice.

Maybe retrain Struijk as a dm only?

Agree on last paragraph mate.

Yeah, that's worrying with Llorente mate. Bielsa just said postmatch that he broke down in training last week. You could be right that certain players can't cope with Bielsas requirements either for fitness, tactics or quality. All those boxes have to be ticked. We have hardly saw Llorente be available since he was signed. I do feel that rushing him back at Chelsea was daft, but MB seems to have learned from that.

Maybe with a settled defence Struijk will be better at DM, but he'll struggle to get ahead of KP unless he's injured or suspended. Struijk has done okay for me at CB, despite a lack of matches.

We also need a LB.

[The Subhuman]

I'm not sure he was greedy.

He was one of the best players in a side that for the most part pissed the Championship last season, and was probably on League One wages.

Brighton were able to demand silly money for him and when it didn't come in... he probably wanted a salary close to what he was worth.

Brighton were greedy...

[1964white]

Agree. Rodrigo is a class player. But that position is a tough one for him. Its worked against teams that sit back and give us space. But it doesn't work against teams that pack the middle. He needs to figure out how to get in better positions and dictate the game. I was looking for Pablo at HT. Rodrigo didn't play bad. He was just ineffective.

I was looking Pablo long before half-time, sadly we are not the same without Hernandez

[Ron Swanson]

Yeah, that's worrying with Llorente mate. Bielsa just said postmatch that he broke down in training last week. You could be right that certain players can't cope with Bielsas requirements either for fitness, tactics or quality. All those boxes have to be ticked. We have hardly saw Llorente be available since he was signed. I do feel that rushing him back at Chelsea was daft, but MB seems to have learned from that.

Maybe with a settled defence Struijk will be better at DM, but he'll struggle to get ahead of KP unless he's injured or suspended. Struijk has done okay for me at CB, despite a lack of matches.

We also need a LB.

I don't see Struijk making a DM in the top flight.

Too ponderous with the ball.

He is a work in progress and definitely worth sticking with, as a defender, though.