Liam Cooper

[1964white]

How many more mistakes ?

Cost us quite a few goals this season even though he hasn't played many games

Pontus/Bartley sets the standard if we are looking at a promotion place

If you want a mid-table finish Cooper is your man

[weasel]

A bit harsh as prior to the penalty he had a solid game. Don't forget that Bartley also inexplicably gave away a penalty v Brighton with the only difference being we were already losing.
For me the main difference to last season is that we have cut out conceding cheap/silly goals and as such yesterday was disappointing. However given how well Monk has done to improve a lot of the players at the club I would not be surprised to see a big improvement in Cooper who is still young for a defender. Yes Bartley and Pontus are the undisputed first choice pairing but I would be surprised if we would be able to get someone in that is better than Cooper but also happy to just sit on the bench. I liken Cooper to Tom Lees as neither have particularly standout attributes but Lees showed how good he could be - whether that was down to good management, good centreback partners or simply self improvement I don't know.

[1964white]

A bit harsh as prior to the penalty he had a solid game. Don't forget that Bartley also inexplicably gave away a penalty v Brighton with the only difference being we were already losing.
For me the main difference to last season is that we have cut out conceding cheap/silly goals and as such yesterday was disappointing. However given how well Monk has done to improve a lot of the players at the club I would not be surprised to see a big improvement in Cooper who is still young for a defender. Yes Bartley and Pontus are the undisputed first choice pairing but I would be surprised if we would be able to get someone in that is better than Cooper but also happy to just sit on the bench. I liken Cooper to Tom Lees as neither have particularly standout attributes but Lees showed how good he could be - whether that was down to good management, good centreback partners or simply self improvement I don't know.

Not harsh whatsoever !

There's always a crucial error in Cooper's game even though he maybe having a good game as was the case again last night. Yes Bartley made errors at Brighton but that was one bad game in a run of superb performances, Cooper is totally the opposite one decent game without a clanger in a glut of matches littered with mistakes.
We've cut out silly/cheap goals in the main purely because we haven't got the likes of Bamba, Bellusci & Cooper at the heart of our defence this season

A new solid error-free centre-back required in the January window a must for me as Bartley & Pontus will no doubt pick-up injuries/suspensions between now & the end of the season

[gessa]

A new solid error-free centre-back required in the January window a must for me as Bartley & Pontus will no doubt pick-up injuries/suspensions between now & the end of the season

Honestly not sure where you're going to get one of those that is happy to wait for his chance off the bench. TBH, no such thing as an error free footballer.

[1964white]

Honestly not sure where you're going to get one of those that is happy to wait for his chance off the bench. TBH, no such thing as an error free footballer.

In that case we are probably f***ed then if we have to make do with calamity jane too many times

Pontus was down on the ground injured as our fans held heads in their hands realising the consequences had he been unable to continue, he was holding his thigh throughout the 2nd half & was still as immaculate as ever, don't be surprised if he is rested v Rotherham & Cambridge. I envisage Jansson may miss a few more games between now & the end of the season so it is vital whoever replaces him doesn't chucks points away needlessly if we are looking at a play-off position. The other top championship clubs have CB's in their ranks who don't c**k-up when asked to step up to the plate. Believe me we need one urgently, i've seen enough calamities already & we're not even out of 2016 yet !

[gessa]

In that case we are probably f***ed then if we have to make do with calamity jane too many times

Pontus was down on the ground injured as our fans held heads in their hands realising the consequences had he been unable to continue, he was holding his thigh throughout the 2nd half & was still as immaculate as ever, don't be surprised if he is rested v Rotherham & Cambridge. I envisage Jansson may miss a few more games between now & the end of the season so it is vital whoever replaces him doesn't chucks points away needlessly if we are looking at a play-off position. The other top championship clubs have CB's in their ranks who don't c**k-up when asked to step up to the plate. Believe me we need one urgently, i've seen enough calamities already & we're not even out of 2016 yet !

We do need an improvement on Cooper I agree, but who of the quality you want is going to come and sit on the bench, those sort of players don't exist, if we're in for an improvement then it has to be someone who is going to come in and put Bartley or jansson on the bench, you only improve by replacing your first team with better players and then in turn the bench gets better and we have a squad that can challenge the top 2.

[gessa]

cooper had a decent game up to the penalty, he got punished for it, Phillips made 3 awful errors and got away with them all.

[weasel]

You could also look at the save that Green made near the end where the Aston Villa striker went past Pontus extremely easily. All defenders make mistakes and if Green hadn't made the save I am sure people would have been commenting on how Pontus went to ground too quickly and allowed the Villa player to run past him and into the centre of the goal.
I think Cooper is different to Bamba and Bellusci as they were both better defenders than Cooper but both couldn't just concentrate on defending. Cooper can be a steady centreback if he learns from his mistakes and until the penalty had had a very decent game against a decent side.

[1964white]

cooper had a decent game up to the penalty, he got punished for it, Phillips made 3 awful errors and got away with them all.

Don't go there with Phillips mate I know he's only young but he a liability waiting to happen, some of his short passing is woeful in dangerous areas as well.
I nearly had a thromie three times in the space of 20 minutes, no good for a little 'ol man he was so so casual on the ball. Tbf to the lad his game picked up in the 2nd half, he does some of his best work off the ball. Ultimately it's players like Phillips & Cooper that could wreck our end of the season show if they continue to make so many errors !

[weasel]

Could just as easily say that Sacko cost us the points with the glaring miss at the end - I dare say Cooper could have finished that. If all our players were perfect then they wouldn't be playing for us and the last thing we need is for the boo boys to get on the backs of players such as Cooper or Phillips and ruin them. Too many Leeds players in the past have been the target of boo boys and then gone on to be decent players elsewhere.

[gessa]

Don't go there with Phillips mate I know he's only young but he a liability waiting to happen, some of his short passing is woeful in dangerous areas as well.
I nearly had a thromie three times in the space of 20 minutes, no good for a little 'ol man he was so so casual on the ball. Tbf to the lad his game picked up in the 2nd half, he does some of his best work off the ball. Ultimately it's players like Phillips & Cooper that could wreck our end of the season show if they continue to make so many errors !

Not sure why he got the nod ahead of Veira in the last 2 games, who had been excellent over the last half dozen games before.

[1964white]

You could also look at the save that Green made near the end where the Aston Villa striker went past Pontus extremely easily. All defenders make mistakes and if Green hadn't made the save I am sure people would have been commenting on how Pontus went to ground too quickly and allowed the Villa player to run past him and into the centre of the goal.
I think Cooper is different to Bamba and Bellusci as they were both better defenders than Cooper but both couldn't just concentrate on defending. Cooper can be a steady centreback if he learns from his mistakes and until the penalty had had a very decent game against a decent side.

Pontus played the 2nd half carrying a injury, he was struggling which concerned me particularly when we kept sending him up for set-pieces when we were 1-0 up & even at 1-1 when we should have just accepted the one point

As for Cooper he doesn't learn from his mistakes end of. Players around him can get him out of trouble but when the daft sod sticks his hand on the ball you are doomed unless Green pulled off another wonder save

Coops would make a great L1 centre-back or assist clubs in the bottom half of the championship however becoming a top-six CB is simply out of his depth

I remember when fans on here use to rave about Jason Pearce & look where he is playing his football now

[1964white]

Not sure why he got the nod ahead of Veira in the last 2 games, who had been excellent over the last half dozen games before.

Many travelling fans were saying the same thing last night mate

We need Bridcutt/O'Kane back as our defensive combo + the classy/clever Hernandez to replace Roofe, the babies have done their job & were never Monk's long term first eleven plans, they have done well

[1964white]

Could just as easily say that Sacko cost us the points with the glaring miss at the end - I dare say Cooper could have finished that. If all our players were perfect then they wouldn't be playing for us and the last thing we need is for the boo boys to get on the backs of players such as Cooper or Phillips and ruin them. Too many Leeds players in the past have been the target of boo boys and then gone on to be decent players elsewhere.

No booing the players last night, something I despise during a game, just sheer despair with some of the glaring errors from a few which ultimately cost us two points

This is a forum where we can share our views/opinions. I wish I could report glowing reports on every player on the pitch, sadly not the case !

[Gandalf]

I thought you might have enjoyed that second half performance. Rather than lambasting our own players, why not celebrate what Monk is doing with this squad. He has us set up brilliantly, we are very difficult to broach, and we played some lovely stuff going forward. We started that match with five regulars out / on the bench, and we should have won it, but it is a long time since I have seen a Leeds team with so much fight and organisation.

As Ges says, good luck in finding a centre half that doesn't make mistakes, and is willing to sit on the bench. Monk has faith in Cooper and that is good enough for me.

[YorkshireSquare]

Very harsh on Cooper. Come in twice recently and done a good job. Yes his mistake lead to their penalty but Bartley and Pontus have both been guilty of mistakes too this season, especially when over playing.

He clearly isn't one of the starting eleven but he's done ok when he's come in. But of course if we want to improve we need to improve the squad and another centre half would certainly be on the list.

[weasel]

No booing the players last night, something I despise during a game, just sheer despair with some of the glaring errors from a few which ultimately cost us two points

This is a forum where we can share our views/opinions. I wish I could report glowing reports on every player on the pitch, sadly not the case !

The trouble is now that booing players on the field is just the start of it. Forums etc like this and other social media are all ways where players can get lambasted and players will be aware of it and it puts them under pressure. Obviously the worst problem is booing at the stadium but players will not be oblivious to the rest of the criticism.

Instead of lambasting Phillips, he and Monk will be aware of the misplaced passes etc and will no doubt we working on them, lets celebrate the fact that Phillips has been a key part of the team that is doing extremely well. If we get promoted it will be because 16 to 20 players have had good seasons.

[1964white]

I thought you might have enjoyed that second half performance. Rather than lambasting our own players, why not celebrate what Monk is doing with this squad. He has us set up brilliantly, we are very difficult to broach, and we played some lovely stuff going forward. We started that match with five regulars out / on the bench, and we should have won it, but it is a long time since I have seen a Leeds team with so much fight and organisation.

As Ges says, good luck in finding a centre half that doesn't make mistakes, and is willing to sit on the bench. Monk has faith in Cooper and that is good enough for me.

I did enjoy the whole game Gandi even though i was suffering with a lot of pain on a very cold night......I do hear where you are coming from & to be fair I have been praising our efforts for much of the season. Last night we chucked two points away due to hapless errors no matter how anyone tries to dress it up

Monk has done a fantastic job & needs to be offered a long term contract too !
Garry has faith in Cooper because he is the only option he has so he is not going to be openly critical about Cooper or any of his players. He was centre-back himself & I suspect he is shrewd enough to realise Cooper is only a back-up CB, it wouldn't surprise me if has someone in mind to improve the situation in the January window as we clearly cannot continue with just three centre-backs for the rest of the season. Had Pontus not recovered from that injury just before half-time we'd have come away with nothing so a 4th CB is essential for me.

[1964white]

Very harsh on Cooper. Come in twice recently and done a good job. Yes his mistake lead to their penalty but Bartley and Pontus have both been guilty of mistakes too this season, especially when over playing.

He clearly isn't one of the starting eleven but he's done ok when he's come in. But of course if we want to improve we need to improve the squad and another centre half would certainly be on the list.

I can't recall Pontus costing a goal. I know he has saved his team mates on many occasions. Since Pontus arrived Bartley has had one stinker down at Brighton

The pair have been awesome, the rock of our side

[rab_rant]

Yes Bartley and Pontus are the undisputed first choice pairing but I would be surprised if we would be able to get someone in that is better than Cooper but also happy to just sit on the bench.

I can't count the number of times I have seen Pontus sitting on the ground
stretching and holding his toes after a hard tackle, and I am concerned that
he might have injured himself and I am always relieved when he gets to his
feet and continues to play.

Perhaps it is his style of play since he goes to ground so often and makes some
tremendous blocks but I think one day it will cost him, therefore we definately need
more cover in central defence besides Cooper, who by the way played well and the
penalty was more of an accident than deliberate... remember how many penalties
Sam Byram used to give away... being a defender it comes with the territory, and
attackers will try every trick in the book to get a penalty.