Cardiff City v Leeds Utd Match Thread - Bamford Starts Up Front

[Irish Ian]

Our board only took full control last August, but by October/November, they should have been looking at the long term picture & planning ahead for the January transfer market, maybe they have a couple of defenders in mind as it was rumoured they would be bringing in two loan signings. I truly hope so, or else we will be winging it, as the championship is a long old season.

Its easy to say that Leon but how do you plan for Ayling moving on, Spence being sent back and Cresswell not being considered an option?

None of those issues became apparent until recently?

And we still a couple of weeks to bring in a couple of players, but even if they do, they wont be walking straight into the first team, for all the reasons that Farke mentioned the other day.

They will either be comimg from a lower league and will need to step up or they will be horribly short of game time and match fitness.

[malcolmw]

We have the luxury of only having to play one game a week for the next month or so, so a bit of patience is required with regards to incomings, which I'm sure will happen

Except now for the cup game against Plymouth, same week as Norwich.

[Kennyb41]

Our board only took full control last August, but by October/November, they should have been looking at the long term picture & planning ahead for the January transfer market, maybe they have a couple of defenders in mind as it was rumoured they would be bringing in two loan signings. I truly hope so, or else we will be winging it, as the championship is a long old season.

So you FULLY understand LUFC's position ffp/money wise yes? And do you fully understand what will happen in the future with ALL the current that are out on loan around the world yes ? And have you got a crystal ball that has told you which division we'll be in next year so we can buy the players needed for that division ?

I agree we could do with 2 additions currently if not 3, but do we buy for the Prem ? What if we don't get promoted ?

What happens next season with the likes of Wober, Rasmus, do they return, can DF use them, where will we be, could he use them in the Championship, can we afford to pay them in the Championship? What if we're in the Prem and he can't use them ?

There is soooooooooo much up in the air.

To me, ideally we will bring in 2/3 loan players to better equip us for promotion now, then reassess in the summer dependent on which league we're in and with a better understanding of everything that is up in the air.

DF is slowly bringing our house in order whilst basically 'treading on eggshells' trying to keep the right balance of a promotion chasing side and juggling the likes of who he can and can't use, whilst most likely trying to balance the books ?

I'm pretty sure he and the boardroom know exactly what he needs, and under no circumstance are they trying to 'wing it'

Finding it is another matter.

DF has clearly shown me with his 3 keepers on the bench at the start of the season that he can judge his players level well, he is casting off those not good enough as we speak. WE are all FULLY aware of what we need, do you seriously think he isn't ?

Of course HE IS, and, THEY will be, i'm 100% certain it will be under discussion, finding the right player/s and whether their parent club will play ball is another matter.

Like Bert so perfectly pointed out - "Only if they're better than we currently have"

We need to wait and see, we are in a very tricky scenario all round especially not knowing what the fck will happen with all our current players that are abroad.

[White Riot]

Point is, Rodon first card at the KC was never a yellow, you'd have thought Farke would have backed him up on that one. It backfired on him though as we conceded three goals at the St Mary's, something we haven't done since, yes we have lost games by the odd goal, but we've never looked like we concede a hatful.

There you go Leon

But first shot concession Meslier walks right back into the team.

[1964white]

Its easy to say that Leon but how do you plan for Ayling moving on, Spence being sent back and Cresswell not being considered an option?

None of those issues became apparent until recently?

And we still a couple of weeks to bring in a couple of players, but even if they do, they wont be walking straight into the first team, for all the reasons that Farke mentioned the other day.

They will either be comimg from a lower league and will need to step up or they will be horribly short of game time and match fitness.

Those departures didn't occur overnight, I'm sure they were in Farke's mind for a considerable time.

Spence clearly has an attitude problem, it's obvious the coaches he's played under don't fancy him, as he has only made 15 appearances (some of those as subs) over the last two seasons. Now he's on loan to Genoa. No other championship clubs came in for him, Leicester, Ipswich & Southampton didn't need him as they are covered with decent experienced RBs, we required him, but he obviously wasn't right for us!

Ayling hardly featured since our early games this season, similarly with Cresswell too.

So the issues have been apparent for months.

I do reckon Farke is keeping his cards close to his chest & won't be happy with his back four atm, and I suspect we'll bring in a couple of defenders in the next couple of weeks

Let's face it, he's not going to openly criticise our full-back weaknesses, even though Shackleton & Firpo made Peterbro's wingers look like world beaters as both got rinsed a few times by League One forwards.

[1964white]

So you FULLY understand LUFC's position ffp/money wise yes? And do you fully understand what will happen in the future with ALL the current that are out on loan around the world yes ? And have you got a crystal ball that has told you which division we'll be in next year so we can buy the players needed for that division ?

I agree we could do with 2 additions currently if not 3, but do we buy for the Prem ? What if we don't get promoted ?

What happens next season with the likes of Wober, Rasmus, do they return, can DF use them, where will we be, could he use them in the Championship, can we afford to pay them in the Championship? What if we're in the Prem and he can't use them ?

There is soooooooooo much up in the air.

To me, ideally we will bring in 2/3 loan players to better equip us for promotion now, then reassess in the summer dependent on which league we're in and with a better understanding of everything that is up in the air.

DF is slowly bringing our house in order whilst basically 'treading on eggshells' trying to keep the right balance of a promotion chasing side and juggling the likes of who he can and can't use, whilst most likely trying to balance the books ?

I'm pretty sure he and the boardroom know exactly what he needs, and under no circumstance are they trying to 'wing it'

Finding it is another matter.

DF has clearly shown me with his 3 keepers on the bench at the start of the season that he can judge his players level well, he is casting off those not good enough as we speak. WE are all FULLY aware of what we need, do you seriously think he isn't ?

Of course HE IS, and, THEY will be, i'm 100% certain it will be under discussion, finding the right player/s and whether their parent club will play ball is another matter.

Like Bert so perfectly pointed out - "Only if they're better than we currently have"

We need to wait and see, we are in a very tricky scenario all round especially not knowing what the fck will happen with all our current players that are abroad.

I fully understand everything Kenny boy & I agree with your post

Bringing in a couple of full-backs on loan possibly won't affect FFP.

Farke & our fans will be expecting a couple of additions to bolster up the back-four, which looks extremely vulnerable right now.

[1964white]

There you go Leon

But first shot concession Meslier walks right back into the team.

Klaesson has surprised me, he's appeared confident & has done very well, even though he hasn't had a lot to do, made a couple of decent saves.

[Sean_Nile]

my team selection and formation

Sent from my Redmi Note 8 Pro using Tapatalk

[Kennyb41]

I fully understand everything Kenny boy & I agree with your post

Bringing in a couple of full-backs on loan possibly won't affect FFP.

Farke & our fans will be expecting a couple of additions to bolster up the back-four, which looks extremely vulnerable right now.

So how much do we have to spend on 1. Buying a player, and 2. Loans ?

[Kennyb41]

my team selection and formationIMG_20240113_120159.jpg

Sent from my Redmi Note 8 Pro using Tapatalk

I like that team apart from the obvious, but even he wouldn't bother me that much as long as DF's watching him like an Hawk.

I was wondering myself yesterday if Piroe could play in the 2 DM role with Kamara, with either one of them that best reads the play in the anchor and the other pushing into the 4-1 upfront like Kamara has been doing.

It's yet another option that the blind rigid people don't see coz they expect a player to just be put in the role the internet says he MUST fit into and absolutely nowhere else must he be tried, not even in training thus being readied for a live game.

[Kennyb41]

I fully understand everything Kenny boy & I agree with your post

Bringing in a couple of full-backs on loan possibly won't affect FFP.

Farke & our fans will be expecting a couple of additions to bolster up the back-four, which looks extremely vulnerable right now.

Do you also still think they'll be 'winging it' on purpose and a lack trying if nobody suitable is found ?

[Kennyb41]

my team selection and formationIMG_20240113_120159.jpg

Sent from my Redmi Note 8 Pro using Tapatalk

Sorry i didn't notice you'd left Gray out, nobody should 'need' a rest now, our upcoming games are weekly.

The option could be Gray/Kamara or Gray at RB.

Then again LC could start.

Decisions, decisions.

[pjm2019]

Our board only took full control last August, but by October/November, they should have been looking at the long term picture & planning ahead for the January transfer market, maybe they have a couple of defenders in mind as it was rumoured they would be bringing in two loan signings. I truly hope so, or else we will be winging it, as the championship is a long old season.

Yes, the board has lots and lots of ambition. We were told the squad has room for 2 LOAN players in January.


WOW they really know what they are doing OR as it is the 13th and no incomings and knowing the real extent of injuries to players we are needing to move our best player from midfield to centre back. DF said Pascal would be back for the FA match against Posh _ Lie
He should of told Ayling he will play centre back and keep his place if he plays well.

Surely we had identified players we wanted in jan Window and had already talked to their agents and even the clubs to gauge their opinion as to whether they would let the player go this month. We should of been in a position to bring in players on the 1st Jan

[Kennyb41]

Maybe we should have 5 players for each position yes ? Just a thought.

Anyhoos :

Leeds striker Patrick Bamford says it took him "three and a half, maybe four" days to recover from his first start of the season against Birmingham City on New Year's Day.

The 30-year-old has been struggling with a groin injury for much of the campaign but scored an incredible goal against Peterborough in the FA Cup on Sunday.

"It was strange over the Christmas period because the games were every three days," he told the My Mate's A Footballer podcast.

"The actual training period - we never had a block of proper training. It has its ups and downs but considering I hadn't played for the whole season really, after Birmingham it hit me.

"It took me days to recover from that. After the Birmingham game for three-and-a-half, maybe four days, I was still feeling it.

"Then, we had the week's training, played the FA Cup game where I played more minutes, ran more distance, did more sprints, and it's day two after that and I feel fine again. The recovery is back to normal."

[pjm2019]

I like that team apart from the obvious, but even he wouldn't bother me that much as long as DF's watching him like an Hawk.

I was wondering myself yesterday if Piroe could play in the 2 DM role with Kamara, with either one of them that best reads the play in the anchor and the other pushing into the 4-1 upfront like Kamara has been doing.

It's yet another option that the blind rigid people don't see coz they expect a player to just be put in the role the internet says he MUST fit into and absolutely nowhere else must he be tried, not even in training thus being readied for a live game.

OMG suggesting Piroe could play a midfield anchor role.

[Kennyb41]

I think there's certain people on here that think it's ALL down to the manager to make his players do EVERYTHING right, i think i've commented enough that you can only lead horses to water, a manager can't think for the fckers, can't make the right passes for them, can't make important split second crucial decisions etc etc etc .....

Speaking of split second decision making....

Leeds United striker Patrick Bamford has been discussing his FA Cup wonder goal on the My Mates A Footballer podcast: "As a striker you always know where the goal is from wherever you are on the pitch. As soon as the ball came over I wasn't thinking 'oh I'm going to chest this down and smack it'. As it came to my chest and I chested it, it was in a perfect position and when it was there I thought 'I'm hitting it'.

"It goes so quickly because it is in a split second you make that decision. You just know when you connect with it, you know straight away. It was such a good connection I thought 'that's going in'.

"I've made the run with the idea in my head that I'm going to receive it running through on goal, take it down to my feet or whatever, but I'm already passing defenders so I've already ruled them out of the equation, which is the ideal scenario for a ball like that.

"At the time of bringing it down, I knew I had to get across the defender, who actually ended up slipping and I didn't realise until I'd hit the ball that he was on the floor. So I had to jump because I thought he was going to challenge me for the ball.

"It's really hard to explain. I can't pinpoint the exact moment I decided to shoot."

[Kennyb41]

OMG suggesting Piroe could play a midfield anchor role.

Sorry ?

No i'm not, i was thinking that in training a good manager could spot other potential roles in players if needs must.

What some people crudely refer to as square pegs/ things that for one reason or another could be thrust upon ANY manager, at any given, and to compensate for every outcome you'd need to be Citeh.

[Kennyb41]

“In the summer we came here to create new values, a new culture.. and our demands are very, very high” Farke said in the pre-Peterborough news conference.

This demand for the right attitude had an impact on Wilfried Gnonto earlier in the season when the Italian was sent to train on his own. And for Djed Spence, the demands were too high and his loan was cancelled.

Farke is ruthless in his pursuit of a positive club culture. For him, attitude is the equal of ability. Spence's ability could not save him, and now the rest of the Leeds squad are on notice.


What is there not to like on what DF is trying to achieve ^ ?

[1964white]

So how much do we have to spend on 1. Buying a player, and 2. Loans ?

Quality loan signings would be adequate at this stage of the season.

It's no good spending big money on players who may not be good enough should we go up.

We spent £16m on Piroe, personally I don't think he is good enough to play in the Premier League, I maybe wrong!

[Sean_Nile]

Sorry i didn't notice you'd left Gray out, nobody should 'need' a rest now, our upcoming games are weekly.

The option could be Gray/Kamara or Gray at RB.

Then again LC could start.

Decisions, decisions.

You can pick your team and formation here.
But I suspect Frarke will spring a few surprises that will get us all talking. His team selection always generates debate cos they don't conform to what the majority of the fans think is our best team and formation should be.

https://experience.azzuu.com/LUFC-Gamed ... ctor_23-24