The #LUFC Breakfast Debate (Thursday 25th August) Sinisterra stars as Leeds ease into 3rd round of Caribou Cup

[Ellandback1]

Good Morning. It's Thursday 25th August, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road...


Sinisterra stars as Leeds ease into 3rd round of Caribou Cup

Leeds eased into the third round of the Caribou Cup with a comprehensive 3-1 victory over local neighbours Barnsley Jesse Marsch didn't take the game for granted; seven of the starting line up participated in Sunday's 3-0 drubbing of Chelsea (to some degree).

Leeds took the lead on 21 minutes. Luis Sinisterra opened his Elland Road account in style with a 25 yard thunderbolt, which gave Tykes keeper Jack Walton no chance. The hosts doubled their lead ten minutes later, with Sinisterra turning provider. The Columbian winger's pace was too strong for the Barnsley defenders, and was bought down in the box by Conor McCarthy. The man in black had no hesitation, other than to point to the spot. Cool as you like, Klich sent Walton the wrong way to double Leeds lead.

Barnsley didn't give up, and were rewarded a few minutes later for their dogged hard work. Cooper and Drameh were caught napping as Andersen steered his diving header beyond Meslier following a well executed free kick from Benson.

The visitors should have been level at the break after Forshaw was adjudged to have bought down Styles in the area. The Hungarian International stepped up himself, but Meslier managed to get a hand on the ball, and it ricocheted off the woodwork to safety. Leeds continued to dominate for large periods of the second half, and restored their two goal advantage ten minutes into the second half. Gelhardt robbed a Barnsley defender of the ball, combining well with Sinisterra to set up Summerville. Marked by several defenders, the Dutchman rolled the ball back in the path of Klich, who curled the ball into the corner of the net.

Leeds had opportunities to extend their lead further as Barnsley began to tire, but a combination of fine saves and last gasp defending kept the scoreline respectable for their Yorkshire rivals. Leeds face a trip to Molyneux in the third round; let's hope Bruno Lage behaves himself this time around.





Should Cooper walk back into the starting line up

Liam Cooper is on the comeback trail. The 30yo played for 45 minutes last night in Leeds 3-1 win over local neighbours Barnsley; but should he walk back into the Whites starting line up? Leeds have had a wonderful start to the season, with two wins and a draw, and whilst the Leeds Captain will be itching to get back onto the pitch, it could affect the dynamics of the team.

Stats show (from Whoscored.com) that Diego Llorente's performances this season have been very strong. He is currently rated as Leeds fourth-best player, behind Harrison, Rodrigo and Struijk, whilst Koch is not far behind in 6th. As the season progresses, we will of course need Coopers experience, but whilst the team is settled, should Marsch make changes to the starting line up?





Hwang relishes opportunity to work under Marsch

Sky Sports News journalist Kaveh Solhekol has reported that Leeds are keen to sign South Korean forward Hwang Hee-chan before the transfer window slams shut next week. The 26 year old only signed for Wolves earlier this year, after they agreed to activate his £15m buy out clause, whilst on loan from RB Leipzig last season.

Conflicting reports suggest the West Midlands outfit are looking to make between a £5m - £10m profit on their versatile forward who has netted 5 times in 33 appearances for Bruno Lage's team. Hwang is believed to be keen to work under Marsch, having worked under him at LB Leipzig and RB Saltsburg.

[1964white]

Leeds making a great start to the season and fair play to Barnsley, who made a proper game of it.
It seems ages since we had a good cup run, hope we beat that Wolves lot in the next round.

No Coops shouldn't start as we are witnessing a decent Koch/Llorente partnership in our first three PL games so far! Coops is nowhere near match-fit anyway.

Should we sign Wung Wang Chang (whatever his name is) he needs to cut out his feigning injury antics we saw at ER if he wishes to play in Jesse's gang.

[Byebyegeegee]

I couldn’t watch or even listen to the game last night but from reading the game thread and watching the highlights it seemed to be a fairly comfortable win, although slightly worrying that they could have come back from 2-0 down to draw level had Meslier and the post not saved their penalty. But it was a good run out for a lot of the squad and recently injured players and it’s another win under our belt.

Regarding the centre back situation, I think Marsch should leave well alone and stick with Koch and Llorente, at least for the time being. They seem to be developing a nice understanding with each other and the more they play together the better they will get. I know Cooper is captain and all that but even so imo he will have to bide his time.

£20/25m for a one goal in six and a half game striker seems like poor value to me. I can’t say I know much about Hwang but going by that conversion rate I don’t think I’d bother.

[Kennyb41]

Cooper won't walk straight in, Jesses finally revealed his hand and shouldn't disturb that team for the time being, if he's got them all now on the same page, there's a case for half time subs like Sinisterra, but i'd wait until 60th minute or signs of tiredness in whomever, same with Klich unless he needs tactical replacements, this is gonna be another cracking game if same outfit turn up again.

If this Wolves Ooh Flung Dung guy has caught Jesses eye and he knows him maybe it's time to trust Jesses eye, but need him cheaper.

[Madron]

Coops is 4th best CB at the moment, so to start him would be folly.
Sinisterra is going to create real problems for defenders ,especially coming on as a sub (for now).

[MarchonsTousEnsemble]

Hate to say it, but under Bielsa there was no consistency in the back four selection and Koch and Llorente must have wondered who was a first team player at times. We've started with the same back four for three straight games and the players all know their roles and have looked comfortable as a unit (even the supposed makeshift left-back). Coops must bide his time, as must Forshaw, Klich, Sinisterra, and the others (who all looked excellent against Barnsley). It's a very long season and the whole squad will get their chances.

[Jaydog]

I’m being naive here but why do Wolves activate this Twangs buy out clause and then almost immediately sell to us.
Was it just an Arthur Daley move. Nice little earner.

[BGwhite]

Exactly what I thought JD. We've been had by them before, leave well alone imo.

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[lufc1304]

Saw the highlights, decent performance and through to the next round. Job done.

No way Cooper should walk back into the team, neither Llorente nor Koch have done anything to merit being dropped. Coops will get his chance, but he'll have to earn it.

5 goals in 33 appearances last season, no thanks. And he's a diving little prick

[John in Louisiana]

Scoring goals doesn't seem to be our problem at the moment and will be even less of a problem with a healthy Bamford (who, like Cooper, should not walk into the starting lineup when he's fully healthy).

Rodrigo has been scoring goals for fun of late. He seems to have found a spot in Marsch's system that allows him to flourish. Don't think we really need a striker now that we have Rodrigo, Bamford, and Gelhardt in the mix.

We certainly don't need Hwang. 1304 put it perfectly: "5 goals in 33 appearances last season, no thanks. And he's a diving little prick."

[Leeds1000]

Sinisterra stars as Leeds ease into 3rd round of Caribou Cup.

The new Rod Wallace...? Don't expect him to be tackling too much but when he got on the ball to take someone on he looked lethal.

Should Cooper walk back into the starting line up.

I am with the majority no. Coops will be the first to tell us you don't change an unbeaten side.

Hwang relishes opportunity to work under Marsch.

I must admit i thought he was lively enough and at £15m he could be a good addition???? First he must confess whether he eats dogs or not......

[BGwhite]

Scoring goals doesn't seem to be our problem at the moment and will be even less of a problem with a healthy Bamford (who, like Cooper, should not walk into the starting lineup when he's fully healthy).

Rodrigo has been scoring goals for fun of late. He seems to have found a spot in Marsch's system that allows him to flourish. Don't think we really need a striker now that we have Rodrigo, Bamford, and Gelhardt in the mix.

We certainly don't need Hwang. 1304 put it perfectly: "5 goals in 33 appearances last season, no thanks. And he's a diving little prick."

The same can be said of the whole of that fkn team in general.

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[BlackHillsPaul]

I listened to the Radio Commentary of the Barnsley match. And I also saw extended highlights. I thought the team looked mostly good. The set piece goal we conceded was reminiscent of last year when Cooper was in the starting eleven. We have been good defending set pieces this year. So reason enough to keep Coops on the bench.

Klich and Sinesterra both looked fantastic. Albeit against lesser competition. Someone in the match thread said that Klich had found his level and that's not too far off. He was always a terror in the Championship. But he's been good in his role coming off the bench in the Premiership this season. He earned the start in the Cup match and took it with both hands. Great performance!

Sinesterra just coming off injury. He needed this runout. It was nice to see his talent shine a bit. Look for him to start getting more minutes with the first team. I'm very curious how JM will fit him into the system. Dan James is the weak link in our starting eleven so that is the natural place to look. But Luis has not been very effective playing on the right during the course of his career. So the question is can he play effectively in a central position. Which would allow Aaronson to move to the right. Brenden can play in any of the 3 attacking midfield spots.

Just say no to Hwang! This is a guy that wasn't even the main man when he was in Salzburg. He has scored exactly 5 goals in 53 appearances over four seasons playing in the Bundesliga and Premier League.

[AylingFlop]

Agree with most comments.

Coops is going to be a good back up off the bench.

Sinisterra could start in the way that BHP has suggested.

I've said this a couple of times & felt JM got it totally wrong against Southampton. With the increase to 5 subs, IMO we're now looking at a 16 v 16 game, & timing of substitutions is very important.

James could become a very useful supersub to come on & use his pace for 20 minutes - anyone else remember David Fairclough's reputation at Liverpool?

Likewise Klich can be very good for 20 & based upon JM's press conference now accepts this role. He could create a useful role that I'm sure Poland would be happy to replicate in the World Cup.

[andrewjohnsmith]

Milk Cup (or whatever)
Solid performance last night. Nice to see the quality of reserves we can field now. The squad looks to have quite a bit of quality depth. It's like we upgraded from Roberts to Sinisterra. Hope Klich is happy because he's also going to be really valuable for us. Not getting carried away with a cup run. Finishing top half in the table would be better.

Cooper
Always said he's our 4th best center back, but our defence is better whenever he plays. Not so sure now. Koch and Llorente are looking better playing together consistently. They are our two best center backs and now look to be our best partnership. Cooper will have to wait for his chance - I'm sure that will come either through injury or a drop in form.

Wang Chung
No. And it doesn't seem like we're in the market for that kind of transfer fee. Sell James to get him? Hah! The one caveat is that Jesse Marsch knows him better than any of us.

[John in Louisiana]

Wang Chung
No. And it doesn't seem like we're in the market for that kind of transfer fee. Sell James to get him? Hah! The one caveat is that Jesse Marsch knows him better than any of us.

Don't think Jesse wants him after the way he flopped right in front of Marsch a couple of weeks ago.

[Kennyb41]

Cooper is not a good defender, he was good for what Bert wanted in a CH, he is not our best for what Jesse wants.

And in response to our new French Ensemble, Bert would've preferred to have the same back 4 week in week out, he did not want to keep swapping and changing his selections, needs must etc.