 Guest writer from over the pond Þorleifur Ananíasson takes a look at the clubs recent struggles on the pitch and points out what could be going wrong and what needs to happen to sort this issue out.
What is wrong with Leeds United this season? I was almost sure we would get a home win against Birmingham last Saturday, but it ended in a 2-0 win for Birmingham. I honestly believe Leeds have a stronger squad than last season, but there is something missing regarding the teams spirit and fight that existed under Neil Redfearn last season. That said, the trouble really started at the end of last season with Steve Thompson getting sacked for no reason, the strike of the Italian players which ended with the sacking of Redfearn and the appointment of Uwe Rosler. So after 10 league games we are in the bottom half of the Championship even after buying 9 new players and keeping all our best players from last season. The new players have cost the club a lot of money but most of them have not stood up to expectation. The biggest signing is Chris Wood for £3m who has yet to set the place alight and the same can be said of Sol Bamba, the captain that have not played as well as his loan spell last season. A lack of width was obvious last season but this was changed when three wingers have been brought in, including Stuart Dallas, Jordan Botaka and the loan player Will Buckley. Dallas and Botaka seems a good signings and hopefully Buckley will too although he suffered a disappointing first game. The two keepers Ross Turnbull and youngster Charlie Horton like striker Lee Erwin look good signings but have struggled to pick up any game time, Then there is the loan player from Cardiff City, Tom Adeyemi who I think has not stood up to expectation and is not the answer for a defensive midfielder. Making it obvious that only the wingers have began to prove themselves in the early months of the season. Last and maybe the most important is the new manager Uwe Rosler. He is just beginning this new job and I think he started well. But recently I have not been so impressed with him. I believe maybe he is to strict regarding tactics. One up front needs a top striker that I don´t believe Chris Wood is. I for one think 4-4-2 would be much better for the players at the club and my starting 11 would be: Silvestri: Byram, Bamba, Cooper, Taylor: Botaka, Cook, Mowatt, Dallas: Wood, Antenucci/Murphy , with Cook as the midfield general. I also believe Rosler should be more aggressive on his players than saying they learn from the mistakes they make. If that was the case they would have learned so much now that they would never lose a game. Let´s hope the team start to perform after the international break and set their sights on the top six that I think the fans and owner should expect from the players. By Þorleifur Ananíasson
9 Comments
9/10/2015 03:55:22 am
leeds keep buying second rate players, rosler does not have a clue, I think he has lost the dressing room, wood dallas, dakura bellushi, all just playing for there pay packet, we need quality manager , rosler has to go and now before its too late.
gerry watson
9/10/2015 04:03:34 am
this probably the worst performing team i can ever remeber and i have been supporting them since 1965,i used to live in geldered road ,i am struggeling see us win another game whilst rosler is in charge we have no bite in midfield and in defence we are slow and make terrible mistakes .
Wetherby White
9/10/2015 04:40:08 am
Another good article my friend and like you Ive simply no answers! Like you say, everything should be in place and barring the very poor decision not to sign Joey Barton, our current form is dreadful. Lack of confidence and agression makes my blood boil-what is a managers job if it isn't at the very least to instill a do or die spirit when your honoured enough to play for the Championships biggest club? You've got a job to do Uwe and it needs to start happening very soon.
ben richards
9/10/2015 05:54:13 am
This our worst team ever!? You have got to be kidding, some folk have very poor memory's (and grammar). Remember the teams that included Rachubka, or Dickinson... We have a good squad, we have a good manager (in the George Graham mould). Once the team selection settles down and they start gelling we'll be a decent team again; just hope we're not relegated first.
gerry watson
9/10/2015 06:56:38 am
no i am not kidding ,this team has got 4 good kids that will be ruined if the club is not careful ,most will be poached in january anyway when we are in the bottom 3,we are just about to break records for not winning at home that to me,that to me indicates that the present team is the worst or very nearly the worst i have watched in 50 years.
young digger
9/10/2015 07:17:33 am
Many people have been scratching their head over what went wrong or what needs to change including myself. In my own opinion, and its only an opinion before someone starts to rip my head off, is that we have no experience in the championship full stop... The owner, though I can see his passion and his drive does not know today's championship, UR does not know today's championship, and so we are left to the players who are either young and inexperienced, or foreign...so put the combination of the above together and we have little or no experience or knowledge of what it takes to get out of it... We need someone in management and or ownership that understands the English game in the championship, coupled with a few experienced championship players...Fixing just one element alone will not produce the required long term goal... it would be interested to look at what experience the clubs that have progresses out of the championship had in this regard over the last 5 years... in summary, the ideal scenario would be an English owner, and english manager that has managed in the championship and a fist full of experienced championship players to play along side the young talent we have..compare that to what we have now, and I think you have the answer 9/10/2015 10:52:33 am
our players especially the midfield have a lot of talent but I think they are all lightweight - mowatt and cook. other players including byram anteccucci and berardi are also lightweight in stature. We need more physical presence in the team. in my view you cannot play so many players lacking in physical presence and we are losing a lot of balls because we are being bossed off the ball. Think this is one of the reasons that Adrian could never succeed in such a league.
Longers
10/10/2015 01:35:08 am
I want to get behind the new manager but the problems are down to tactics. The team are far too slow to transition from back to front. The back four try to play 'the right way' but pass the ball to death, slowly & sideways. This allows the opposition to re group by which time all the space in attacking areas has gone. It's no coincidence for me that our creative players such as Mowatt, Murphy, Buckley & Dallas are really struggling.
Allan
10/10/2015 04:22:19 am
We have some good players especially young guns with a great deal of potential. Dallas was great for Northern Ireland, Wood has proved he is a good player and Antenucci just needs a steady partner around him to feed off. Recent signing Botaka oozes talent and Buckley is just not match fit. This is not a crap bunch of lads and what they need is a coach that can motivate them, fire them up, make them believe in themselves and their natural ability. Play football, attack their defence, put the opposition under pressure. It's not rocket science. If the opposing side are feeling the heat then their tactics are thrown into disarray. Rosler has nothing to lose by throwing caution to the wind just a little bit instead of boring, defensive play that just is not working. Leave a Reply. |
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