Good Morning, here are the latest headlines from Elland Road...
It’s unfair to expect too much too soon from Marsch
Delivering his latest podcast, Leeds Utd journalist Phil Hay believes it's far too early to expect too much from Jesse Marsch. The American arrived at Elland Road six weeks ago, and to his credit has delivered ten points from the last four outings. Whilst the points are most welcome, the team has been criticised by some Leeds fans for showing a lack of quality, contrary to his predecessor's reign. Whilst Hay accepts that Marsch needs transfer funds, and time to be able to put his stamp on the squad, he feels it's important to give the likes of Greenwood and Gelhardt more game time, though bringing a centre forward to the club, should also be a priority.
It’s unfair, I think, to expect too much too soon. You do see a lot of that discourse about how good has the team been so far and how good the performances have been. I did ask Marsch on Saturday, ‘the results are there, how do you go about putting more quality into this team?’.
And I think the answer, from his point of view with that, is time. I think it’s recruitment as well, I don’t think anybody can deny that and I don’t think anybody should. If you want an example, we spoke afterwards about needing to use Sam Greenwood more and [Joe] Gelhardt and players of that ilk.
“And I totally agree they should but in this summer coming up, of all summers, that should not be allowed to distract from the fact Leeds are short of centre-forwards and do not have another proven option there.
Supercomputer predicts Leeds safety
Data experts at FiveThirtyEight, have predicted that Leeds will comfortably avoid the drop this season, and will also finish above Everton. FiveThirtyEight are the hosts for the Supercomputer, which calculates data based on probability. They have calculated that the Whites should gain a further five points between now and the end of the season, leaving them 16th in the table on 38 points.
Although they rate the chances of relegation at only 11%, Leeds remaining fixture list doesn't look particularly favourable. They face Citeh, Arsenal and Chelsea, two trips to London (Palace and Brentford), and a tricky tie against Brighton. They estimate that the bottom three will remain the same, with Burnley occupying the final relegated place on 33 points.
How different would this season have been...
When looking back on the achievements of last season, and compare them to where we are now, it's surprising to see how small some of the margins actually are, especially when you take into consideration the injury crisis we've endured this season.
Being without our most influential stars like Phillips, Bamford and Cooper for two-thirds of the season has definitely destroyed our chances of repeating a top half finish. Every team will have their fair share of ailments over a gruelling nine-month campaign, however, for such a small squad to have had 31 injuries (to date) totalling 1,284 days missed or 10.1 injuries per 1,000 minutes is still difficult to digest.
Prior to Bielsa's departure, Leeds conceded 24 goals over a six game period. Had Leeds not endured such a torrid glitch, their goal difference would certainly be more favourable, and perhaps Bielsa would still be in a job! Where would Leeds be in the table if it wasn't for their injury crisis?
...That Ayling goal and "You couldn't script it 
" - Dirty Leeds B@stard.
