Helder Costa

[1964white]

Would rather see Pablo go to the no.10 role, drop Forshaw and have Costa on the right.

I wouldn't argue with that change

[weasel]

Wonder if Costa not appearing for the u23s is an indication that he will start vs Derby?

Or maybe with him playing for the full second half v Barnsley it was felt he didn't need to play to boost match fitness.

[Cjay]

Graham Smyth made an interesting comment.

Basically he said Bielsa was visibly angry with Costa for not keeping the width and constantly coming inside unlike Harrison.

On the one hand given how reliant or style is on people doing what they are told its poor from Costa and probably explains why despite the awful end product (worst crossing accuracy in the league) Jack Harrison is picked over Costa. Jack for all his faults gives his all and seems to follow instructions.

On the other hand though, Helder Costa is a right winger, he made his name as a right winger, he has mainly played as a right winger his entire career. Few years back Arsenal, Chelsea and others were trying to take him off Wolves due to his performances largely on the right.

I know MB likes versatility but when you have a top level Championship player you play thek where they can be most effective imo.

Costa drifts inside because he wants to be involved and prefers playing right and drifting inside to get involved.

Costa never looks comfortable on the left imo.

[Irish Ian]

I read that.

It does raise the big question though, why was he the No1 target this summer if he doesnt fit in with the system?

Is it a case of dropping Pablo for Costa and putting up with Jack no end product Harrison?

What a conundrum

[1964white]

Graham Smyth made an interesting comment.

Basically he said Bielsa was visibly angry with Costa for not keeping the width and constantly coming inside unlike Harrison.

On the one hand given how reliant or style is on people doing what they are told its poor from Costa and probably explains why despite the awful end product (worst crossing accuracy in the league) Jack Harrison is picked over Costa. Jack for all his faults gives his all and seems to follow instructions.

On the other hand though, Helder Costa is a right winger, he made his name as a right winger, he has mainly played as a right winger his entire career. Few years back Arsenal, Chelsea and others were trying to take him off Wolves due to his performances largely on the right.

I know MB likes versatility but when you have a top level Championship player you play thek where they can be most effective imo.

Costa drifts inside because he wants to be involved and prefers playing right and drifting inside to get involved.

Costa never looks comfortable on the left imo.

Costa played on the right v Derby & kept coming inside. Yes the whole team went flat including our midfield which was inept without Pablo on the pitch pulling the strings. With no Hernandez & Forshaw out injured we looked weak in that area hence Costa not receiving the ball. Shackleton & Klich were not doing their job in the final third of the game

[weasel]

That's the big conundrum as we have seen the best and worst of Costa and this is what Bielsa has to judge when picking the team. Harrison gives a disciplined performance and his defensive work and pressing are vital to the team and you would his end product to improve as he gets more understanding with Bamford or Eddie. I made the point elsewhere that it would be interesting to see how Harrison and Eddie would link up and also how Costa and Bamford link up. Eddie is probably more like Roofe than Bamford is and may suit Harrison's crossing more. Costa has laid on a couple of absolute sitters for Eddie to score and we also saw with the disallowed offside goal v Barnsley that Costa and Bamford can combine in the same way as Costa and Eddie did.

8 games is a small sample size to judge players on, same as judging players on just 4 home games is and we need to have patience and let Bielsa mould Costa and Eddie so that they fit his system. If players could just slot straightaway into a system as intricate as Bielsa's then every team would be able to play amazingly. Bielsa is light years ahead of most coaches and it is testament to the Leeds players he inherited as to how many were able to adapt their game and improve beyond recognition.

[YorkshireSquare]

Looks like he will get his first league start on Saturday

[1964white]

“Helder is still in an adaptation process,” said Biesla.

“Teams and players need habits you can get from playing.”

Reflecting on Costa’s roles in Saturday’s draw at Sheffield Wednesday and the differences between the Portuguese international and Hernandez, Bielsa said: “Helder had two kinds of situations: when he was outside close to the line, especially on the right, and when he went to the middle behind number nine.

“Pablo also feels this characteristic. He can communicate passes in the right and we can add with Helder more one against one dribble.


“The central position in the middle, that is one need in our team, Pablo finds this kind of ball more naturally.”

Fourth-placed Leeds are back in Championship action this coming Saturday at home to eighth-placed Queens Park Rangers and Hernandez said before last weekend’s clash at Sheffield Wednesday that he hoped to return in “the next week or next two weeks.”

So why didn't we bring in a alternative replacement for Pablo during the summer especially as our little Spanish magician is no spring chicken?

Once again a lack of forward thinking from our management not having a suitable replacement to fill the boots of one of our star players

[Cjay]

Helder seems to be getting mixed reviews, some think he had a good game some dont.

Personally i think people are getting to hung up on the "oh £15mil player", atm he is a loanee so shouldn't be beaten with that stick yet.

Personally think he is improving, he is learning his role, coming inside more and running through the centre of the pitch like MB wants (not something Costa has really been asked to do before).

Very impressed with his desire to stay on his feet, quite a few times now he has stayed up and kept the attack going when many players would have gone down.

And that run yesterday was a prime example, he even was half down after he beat the 3rd defender and scrambled to his feet to keep going and pass to Harrison.

Harrison scores and people would be raving about how Costa beat 3 or 4 players by himself.

That run imo was a glimpse into the talent Costa has and why we should be patient, no other player we have could do that and from a nothing situation near half way he created a good chance which should have been more.

Personally i think Costa had a good game and is improving and we should stop beating him with the £15mil stick.

Gooo on Mr Frothy

[1964white]

Helder seems to be getting mixed reviews, some think he had a good game some dont.

Personally i think people are getting to hung up on the "oh £15mil player", atm he is a loanee so shouldn't be beaten with that stick yet.

Personally think he is improving, he is learning his role, coming inside more and running through the centre of the pitch like MB wants (not something Costa has really been asked to do before).

Very impressed with his desire to stay on his feet, quite a few times now he has stayed up and kept the attack going when many players would have gone down.

And that run yesterday was a prime example, he even was half down after he beat the 3rd defender and scrambled to his feet to keep going and pass to Harrison.

Harrison scores and people would be raving about how Costa beat 3 or 4 players by himself.

That run imo was a glimpse into the talent Costa has and why we should be patient, no other player we have could do that and from a nothing situation near half way he created a good chance which should have been more.

Personally i think Costa had a good game and is improving and we should stop beating him with the £15mil stick.

Gooo on Mr Frothy

Thought he was a 6/10 yesterday, one excellent run producing one opportunity that our other inconsistent winger should have finished off better is not great in 90 minutes, two men from the flank who produced very little for their teammates. Our lack of creativity is down to the inability of our attacking players & is the main reason why we are not battering teams by 3, 4, 5 or 6 goals. Other teams are knocking in goals for fun.

Costa may need time just as Jack has fortunately had but right now Helder is all froth with no end product.

I sincerely hope he comes good for Leeds

[weasel]

one excellent run producing one opportunity that our other inconsistent winger should have finished off better is not great in 90 minutes

The thing is though if that one run results in a goal that could be the 1 moment that wins the match and that is what you get with flair players. Same with Pablo Hernandez he can do nothing all match but then pop up with a moment of magic that wins the game. I made mention a couple of weeks back about Cantona being like that at MU with the other players happy to do his running, tackling etc because they knew he could create that one moment of magic to win a match. When looking at opposition players all we see is the highlights not the 89 minutes of them doing nothing.

You have to balance a team with the right mix of hard workers and flair players. In recent times we have seen that without Pablo we probably have 10 outfield players working really hard but no one to produce that 1 great chance so instead we create 20 chances but they aren't great chances. Like Cjay says Costa has needed time to adjust as he has had to work harder than he is probably used to, same with Eddie. Bielsa wants all his players to work hard and to fit the system but still needs 1 or 2 of those hard working players to be able to produce some magic.

[1964white]

The thing is though if that one run results in a goal that could be the 1 moment that wins the match and that is what you get with flair players. Same with Pablo Hernandez he can do nothing all match but then pop up with a moment of magic that wins the game. I made mention a couple of weeks back about Cantona being like that at MU with the other players happy to do his running, tackling etc because they knew he could create that one moment of magic to win a match. When looking at opposition players all we see is the highlights not the 89 minutes of them doing nothing.

You have to balance a team with the right mix of hard workers and flair players. In recent times we have seen that without Pablo we probably have 10 outfield players working really hard but no one to produce that 1 great chance so instead we create 20 chances but they aren't great chances. Like Cjay says Costa has needed time to adjust as he has had to work harder than he is probably used to, same with Eddie. Bielsa wants all his players to work hard and to fit the system but still needs 1 or 2 of those hard working players to be able to produce some magic.

We look like a team capable of scoring plenty of goals, thing is we don't as we lack composure & nous in the attacking areas, choose far many wrong options consequently squandering chances left, right & centre

As with many of our games yesterday's scoreline should have represented a battering yesterday, truth is it didn't, am I surprised, not really

Thank god our defence doesn't make so many errors, same few players showing consistency every week

[BGwhite]

We look like a team capable of scoring plenty of goals, thing is we don't as we lack composure & nous in the attacking areas, choose far many wrong options consequently squandering chances left, right & centre

As with many of our games yesterday's scoreline should have represented a battering yesterday, truth is it didn't, am I surprised, not really

Thank god our defence doesn't make so many errors, same few players showing consistency every week

I think the whole team is consistent.... The forwards make the wrong choices, the shots go over the bar , the defence remain solid . .every week is the same

Sent from my XT1032 using Tapatalk

[Gurj]

I thought he had one of he's best games in a leeds shirt on Saturday. Much more to come of course but if he gives this level of performance week in week out, then he will do for me.

[Cjay]

HC fan club

Most chances created (4)
Best pass accuracy (90%)
Clinical (1shot 1 shot on target and 1 goal)
2nd most tackles (3)
2nd most clearances (3).

Seems to be developing a good understanding with his teammates who are looking to get him in behind now to use his pace more.

Doing the hard work and the defensive work to.

Disappointing result but the attack was very good and Mr Frothy is coming good

And how is this not a penalty?

Thats more of a pen then the one we actually got (which was also a pen).

[Cjay]

Vs Hull

76% pass accuracy
54 touches
28/37 successful passes
17/24 successful final 3rd passes
6/6 successful actions in opposition box
4 ball recoveries
4 shots
2 on target
2 chances created
1 assist

[1964white]

Vs Hull

76% pass accuracy
54 touches
28/37 successful passes
17/24 successful final 3rd passes
6/6 successful actions in opposition box
4 ball recoveries
4 shots
2 on target
2 chances created
1 assist

Costa's best game for Leeds yesterday Cjay

[The Subhuman]

Certainly one of them..

[weasel]

Costa's best game for Leeds yesterday Cjay

Game that suited him much more with the opposition coming at us and giving him space to attack them. Definitely seems to be improving every week though.

[1964white]

Bielsa effect on Costa

11 ball recoveries, a personal best for him in a single match this season.

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