The #LUFC Breakfast Debate (Tuesday 1st February) - Deathly silence at LS11 as the clock struck 11:00pm

[Eireleeds1]

How many points are needed?

34 is normally touch and go.

Normally 37 is safe, though Newcastle were relegation in the 16/17 season with 37 points and during the 10/11 season Birmingham / Blackpool were both relegated with 39 points

Hope its not close to 40 as can't realistically see us crossing that mark unless a serious run of luck with injuries and big improvement in form

[SG90]

Hope its not close to 40 as can't realistically see us crossing that mark unless a serious run of luck with injuries and big improvement in form

It won't be 40. It'll be 30/32 I'd say. But I don't want us to nervously be looking over our shoulders last couple of games. Sooner we get to 35, the better!

[SG90]

If Bielsa's telling the club we don't need signings because of the u23s, they should be asking him why he doesn't play them then!

[Eireleeds1]

If Bielsa's telling the club we don't need signings because of the u23s, they should be asking him why he doesn't play them then!

Great point in fairness. Ill probably get pelters for this but Bielsa clearly a fantastic coach and getting the maximum from players. However there's an aspect missing to his cv which probably explains why he has so little silverware in his career. Maybe he's not such a great manager or great at scouting talent. I don't know

[1964white]

It won't be 40. It'll be 30/32 I'd say. But I don't want us to nervously be looking over our shoulders last couple of games. Sooner we get to 35, the better!

30/32 fir me, too.

I love a slim waistline

[hector]

30/32 fir me, too.

I love a slim waistline

Sizeist!!!!

[White Riot]

As the clock struck 11 Radz, Kinnear and Orta were stood around like one o'clock half struck

[onemoreslogan]

I understand the disappointment with the lack of signings among fans, but I don't think standing pat is a bad strategy. When a team starts throwing money at players willy nilly just to bring in someone, anyone... that kind of desperation doesn't often lead to desirable outcomes.

I think Bielsa and the board have a vision for the squad and the type of players they need in each position. It makes no sense to overspend in January for a player who is a bad fit. Being patient and spending wisely for players who will actually improve the squad is the only way for a club of limited means to progress in the PL.

I share everyone's concerns about the depth of our lineup and our vulnerability should key players get injured. But it is what it is. I think Bielsa is correct in his view that we have enough to stay up. And that is all we really need to do this season. Now go and do it.

[Byebyegeegee]

But it is what it is. I think Bielsa is correct in his view that we have enough to stay up. And that is all we really need to do this season. Now go and do it.

Is that what we are going to have to get used to saying every season, is that the best we can hope for, for Leeds United? I hope not!

[CanuckMightyWhite]

I think we have more than enough quality to stay up, even comfortably. There is no way the injury situation in the back half of the season be worse than the first half.
The myth about standing pat last summer has been blown out of proportion, we did sign Firpo and James. Sure a CM or two would be nice, but we didn’t stand pat.
We tried to sign Aaronson and didn’t get an alternate CM this January, and that surely can be considered a risk, but it is a calculated risk. It will be very hard for Watford, Burnley, Norwich and even Newcastle to overtake us. Then there are the likes of Crystal Palace, Southampton, Brentford who are around us and in almost an equal amount of danger.
No point in bringing someone in for the sake of it, wait for them to get trained up in fitness and Bielsa tactics and play 2 full games when we can use Gelhardt and Bate a bit more and their development payoff will be huge next season and beyond.

Likewise, the next summer window doesn’t need a massive overhaul either as long as we:
Retain Bielsa (I dread an alternate Manager)
Add a Young RB to push Ayling (Drameh is done)
Add another highly rated u23 RW (to replace Summerville as he is done too)
Sign Aaronson or someone of the same ilk to play the 10 role
Sign another 20-30M rated CM for depth and rotation
Ward off interest for both Raphinha and KP (unless they sign new contracts and release clauses met)
If we can have a bench that comprises of Gelhardt, Rodrigo, Klich, Cooper, Hjelde, Cresswell, Bate, we don’t look too bad.
Add more highly rated U23 to keep the conveyer belt strong
Improve fitness regimen so we don’t get a repeat of the same amount of muscle injuries
The only first team player I would get rid of is Tyler Roberts

Don’t need:
Backup GK (as Klaesson will get better and will improve)
Backup Striker to block Gelhardt as we only play one striker in the Bielsa system

So we are looking at 2 first team signings at most and 2-3 highly rated youngsters. ~60-80M spend. This is a good enough squad to be in the same tier as Villa, Leicester, West Ham …. I.e. the tier below the scummy six.

[Finnatic]

Is that what we are going to have to get used to saying every season, is that the best we can hope for, for Leeds United? I hope not!

Don’t knock it.
Our average league position since 1919 is nineteenth or twentieth in the Premier League as of the start of last season.
Because we finished ninth last season, we might now average seventeen or eighteenth.

[onemoreslogan]

Is that what we are going to have to get used to saying every season, is that the best we can hope for, for Leeds United? I hope not!

No. I don't think so. Look, last year we finished 9th then we dumped Alio and added Firpo and James. This summer I can see Rodrigo going out and a new striker coming in along with a couple of mids. But they have to get the signings right. They can't overspend and there isn't the luxury to make mistakes.

Had we stayed healthy we might have surpassed last season but we didn't and now it's about survival. None of the mid-table clubs could suffer losing their best midfielder and best scoring threat for as long as we have without consequences in terms of results. The good news is we've managed to pick up some points and help should be on the way. Stay up and keep building brick by brick.

[DDB220]

Not having strengthened is a concern for most. On a positive note, we have done better in the 2nd half of the season for the last two years. Hardly a trend to hang your hat on …… but there you go.

[onemoreslogan]

The way I see it, at this stage of the game we should be adding cornerstone players not slinging mud at the roster trying to fill holes. Especially if buying mud cuts into our budget for cornerstones.

And the thing about January is there are very few clubs willing to part with cornerstones.

[John in Louisiana]

Can't really fault ownership for the lack of movement during the window, at least not too much.

There's no point bringing anyone in who doesn't represent a significant improvement over what we have. When Kalvin and Forshaw are healthy we're quite strong. Both are out now, but both will be back in a few weeks, and even if Kalvin is out until March, he'll miss only four more games. Unless we can bring someone in who's better than either of these guys it would be irresponsible to spend millions on someone who represents no improvement and won't even learn Bielsa's system fully until it's time to hit the bench.

Same thing with a striker. Unless there was one out there who was better than Bamford, what would be the point?

Where we had the opportunity to upgrade significantly was in the attacking midfield and ownership did make a serious attempt to do so. It was a bit pollyannish to put all our eggs in the Aaronson basket, but who knows? Maybe there were things going on behind the scenes of which we're unaware.

In any event, we're a better side than pretty much any team in the lower half of the table when healthy. Our biggest concern is getting our best eleven on the pitch. Getting Paddy, Kalvin, Forshaw, and Firpo healthy will do more for us than any transfer signing.

[White Riot]

Leeds put the dead in deadline day