Cjay wrote: ↑Fri Oct 27, 2023 2:00 pm
It isn't just that (and I'm sure I will be accused of being negative here).
But it's the players in wrong positions not getting the best out of them. It's the tactics away from home which directly contribute to that (and are backed up by stats).
It's the slow starts against teams like Norwich, Stoke, Southampton, QPR.
We've played 6 teams in the top half and beaten 1.
I am just re-reading Hay's book on Bielsa.
Leeds thought they had no chance of getting Bielsa. They made contact and didn't hear anything for a few days. Then Bielsa returned the message and said he was interested in talking as he was intrigued by
"the project".
From the moment the in-person conversation started down in Argentina and Bielsa, in his brilliant way having done all his research, gave a list of players he wanted to stay and players who must leave, and the changes and improvements he wanted at Thorp Arch, every reference he made was to
"the project".
After the fiasco of the last 2 seasons, Cjay, you need to understand this too is
a project. It is in fact, a multi-year project in my view.
In my humble opinion, I don't think it would be good for us to be promoted this year - we are not ready! I know you think the longer you stay in the this league, the harder it is to get out of it - and there's truth to that - but to me the far, far larger danger is going up and then coming straight back down in 2 or 3 years. We are going to see this again this season. It already seems high flying Burnley from last year, could well be relegated. As may at least one of the other promoted teams.
I still maintain Farke inherited an absolute train wreck (which BTW started long before Radz and Orta).
In many ways it was way worse than what Bielsa got handed. Worse because so much more was out of his control. Bielsa demanded his immediate improvements to training facilities - which cost Leeds over a million pounds before Bielsa was even in England. Do you for one moment think Farke could have made similar demands, which would have been agreed to? We didn't even know who was signing the club's cheques in July ffs!!
There's a tip often given to large company CEO"s -
"its easy to manage short, and it's easy to manage long. The tough thing to do is manage short and long."
I, like you, want the best for our club. Where we differ is that I want stability before anything else. I don't want a revolving door of managers, staff or even players, like the last 20 years or more. (i'd rather keep Ayling, Coops and Co. on the payroll ... purely for stability).
The first phase of
this project then, in my view, is to stabilize the squad, the relationship with club leadership and the Board, and then get all this starting to fire on all cylinders. What we are seeing now - a fantastic performance followed by an absolutely dismal one (done that 3 times already!) is of course frustrating as hell. But its absolutely typical of an unstable situation. It's the same in a football club as it is in any organization.
There's a great saying in aviation - when a pilot has a sudden major calamity like a lost engine or a fire to deal with, the rule is "Aviate, Evaluate, then Communicate". Keep the goddamn plane in the air first, then evaluate the problem and lastly communicate to everyone who needs to know what's happening and what you're doing.
I think Farke has been keeping the LUFC plane limping along in the air, while he's evaluating - will take a bit more time - and then I believe he can start making Bielsa type demands for resources. But spending and changing stuff now, simply will create more instability. Let's just keep putting one foot in front of the other. We are doing just fine!!
My last point and then I'll get off my soapbox - you said Falke is closer to Marsh than Bielsa. To even put Farke on the same planet to Marsh is downright ridiculous.
MOT!
...That Ayling goal and "You couldn't script it 
" - Dirty Leeds B@stard.
