The #LUFC Breakfast Debate (Wednesday 19th August) Is Bielsa spreading our defence too thin?

[Ellandback1]

Good Morning. It's Wednesday 19th August, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road...


Whelan - Sign Duffy or risk relegation

Former Leeds forward Noel Whelan has warned Marcelo Bielsa - Sign Shane Duffy or risk relegation. Brighton have let it be known that they are willing to listen to offers as some of their defenders have become surplus to requirements. Duffy joined the Seagulls in 2016, racking up 122 appearances for club and 33 caps for the Republic of Ireland. The Londonderry born 28 year old stands 6ft 4' and would be available for around £2.5m. Whelan said...

Gaetano Berardi is out for a long time so we don’t really have any recognised centre-halves bar the young lads coming through. “With Premier League football and the players you’re coming up against you’re going to get found out pretty quickly. “We need experience and Shane Duffy has played in the Premier League, he knows what it’s all about. "He’s a competitor, a leader and I’m sure lots of clubs are looking at him.

He’s one player I look at him and think ‘yeah if we can add him to the squad along with another centre-half then we’re covering two positions’. “We do need quality, we can’t get away with average in the Premier League, you’ll soon get found out. “We don’t want to be a one season wonder, working so hard to get into the Premier League. "We’ve got to make sure we buy the right players and don’t overextend ourselves with the money we’ve got.

Who thinks Whelan has a point?





Leeds register interest in forgotten Gooner

Leeds have registered their interest in Gunners centre back defender Rob Holding. A Leeds source revealed that the club have been told that Holding will be made available for a move this Summer. Holding signed for Wenger back in 2016 from Bolton for a fee of 2m. He has made 39 appearances in four years. Do the Whites need better quality than Holden, or could the 24 year old be a hidden gem?





Is Bielsa spreading our defence too thin?

When you see the depth of squads, from the likes of Brighton who have Tariq Lamptey, Lewis Dunk, Adam Webster, Dan Burn, Martin Montoya, Ben White, Joel Veltman, Bernardo, Shane Duffy, Matt Clarke and Leo Ostigard all vying for four defensive positions, and then you see Leeds central defenders made up of just Liam Cooper, you have to ask yourself whether purchasing just one centre back will be enough?

Will Cooper be good enough for the Premiership in the first place? Assuming Leeds splash out on a decent defender, will that be enough to keep the Whites comfortable in the top flight? We are told that Bielsa is looking for just one centre back!

In previous campaigns dating back to the 2010/11, we have seen Leeds fall apart in the second part of the season. Excluding the season we've just had, Leeds have averaged just 10 points from their final nine games over the past nine years. Whilst last season bucks the trend, I cannot help but consider whether the three month break we had gave the Whites a major boost?

[Ratscoot]

Morning EB et all

We 100% need two CBs to come in with a preference that one of them can play a couple of positions to give us cover.

One of those could easily be Duffy but we’d definitely need a ball playing CB as well to suit the way we play, not sure Holding is that man but then who knew how good Bielsa would make Ben White so in Bielsa we trust but please do it soon

[SG90]

We've also got Casey and Cresswell too. They're both training with the first team.

[mothbanquet]

Whelan's only got a point when he reads porn mags. How long will it take a set-in-his-ways (sorry, 'experienced') CB like Duffy to adjust to Bielsa's tactics and requirements? Is he even capable of the fitness Bielsa demands at his age? He won't be anywhere near Bielsa's list.

[SG90]

Why do people listen to Whelan? He is clueless. Duffy does not fit our style of play.

[Ellandback1]

Do we need a first team left back?

[The Subhuman]

Dallas/Douglas/Davis - a triple D threat. Not an area of immediate need.

[Chilli D]

Do we need a first team left back?

We have Dallas Douglas and Davis so I'd say no.
Alioski can also play there although he gives away too many silly fouls in dangerous positions for me.

[Chilli D]

Dallas/Douglas/Davis - a triple D threat. Not an area of immediate need.

You beat me to it faaip

[The Subhuman]

Alio as a fourth plus Harrison is one of the best back tracking wingers I've ever seen

[The Subhuman]

Bielsa is just getting Costa up to speed, his defending improved after the restart and I think he'll do better against finesse defenders of the Prem.

I'd take the Arsenal lad for a mill or so to play CB4 and hopefully by the time we need him he'll be ready.

Still think White would make for a seamless transition to the big league, I'd leave money in the kitty til the last possible second personally.

Wheelan is clueless for some reason he still thinks Colin w**ker is manager

[1964white]

We've also got Casey and Cresswell too. They're both training with the first team.

Two players that haven't even played at championship level let alone the premier league

[Irish Ian]

Morning Folks,

Makes sense to have cover. White needs replaced and maybe another. I wonder how Cooper will fare, especially with VAR.

One thing we dont know is injuries/ suspensions, last season we got off light, but who knows what is ahead?

This is a massive step up in quality.

[1964white]

We have Dallas Douglas and Davis so I'd say no.
Alioski can also play there although he gives away too many silly fouls in dangerous positions for me.

And for me too Chilli, still get caught offside far too often. Good energy player in our squad though

[1964white]

This is a massive step up in quality.

I think a section of our fans forget that Ian, you have to ask questions about some of our first team squad, expecting the young lads to succeed who have barely played any championship football seems unrealistic to me

Blimey we got beat by the likes of Charlton, Swansea, QPR, Forest, Sheff Wed, Cardiff, Millwall, Fulham & Wigan last season (unlucky in three of them) nevertheless we were pretty poor in the majority of those games beaten by average championship plodders.

The premier league is not as easy as some think it is, more quality/experience is required

[Irish Ian]

I think a section of our fans forget that Ian, you have to ask questions about some of our first team squad, expecting the young lads to succeed who have barely played any championship football seems unrealistic to me

Blimey we got beat by the likes of Charlton, Swansea, QPR, Forest, Sheff Wed, Cardiff, Millwall, Fulham & Wigan last season (unlucky in three of them) nevertheless we were pretty poor in the majority of those games beaten by average championship plodders.

The premier league is not as easy as some think it is, more quality/experience is required

I agree, that is why the thought of Ali at LB is a worry.

I do think once the Ben White decision is made final ( either way) that we will see a few more pieces of the jigsaw put into place.

[The Subhuman]

Shocked at the lack of faith in Bielsa, he's going to have these kids better than a lot of also rans in the prem before they even play a game of top level football. Even if we do need them, the longer in the system the better you'll get. New England Patriots (the ultimate system team) have shown that time and time again

Also playing at a higher level should improve the players, also not having teams park the bus, also not having to play scrappy football, also better quality reffing and VAR might work in our favour as well as against Cooper. We'd have quadrupled our pens had there been VAR in the Championship.

We need a better player than Bamford, (I'm fairly sure we have it in Roberts) to start fairly soon after the season has kicked in and we need a centre back or two...

[Leeds1000]

We are massively short in defence imo. Take White out of the equation. We have to bring in another 2 CB get them up to Bielsa speed, is Cooper going to be good enough? I would say he will struggle when we are under the cosh more. Have we got a recognised left back at the club? If we are relying on Barry Douglas god help us. Then we have Ayling who gets caught up field quite a bit so we will need a pacy CB to cover.

Have to agree with Whelan on this. If we want to go up and have some fun like Norwich then that's fine. If we want to be competitive then we need to plug the gaps quickly. Why not take a risk on some lesser known players at cheaper prices and let Bielsa work his magic? We have all seen what he's done with this mid-table Championship team.

I would say Currently Phillips, Klich and Hernandez (at 35) are the only players we have who would get a game at Villa. This season will tell us who got the best deal with Costa, and whether Harrison as a career at City.

Bielsa may be God, but he's no Potter. Harry that is, not Graham.... wouldn't want him.

Edit* And as Ian states above, that's before we factor in possible injuries to key players.

[The Subhuman]

We've upped Stuart McKinstry last day or two, given him a big pay rise and 3 years. We know Bielsa rates him very highly so expect to see him in the starting line up before the end of the season

[SG90]

One thing people will underestimate about us is the fitness levels. Arsenal players were huffing and puffing against us and these were multi-million pound players. English clubs in Europe always look levels behind their European counterparts in terms of fitness levels in UCL, UEL games, so that's something that we will have as an advantage.