Leeds United vs West Ham United Match Thread

[The Subhuman]

Out of interest, who did SKY give the MOTM to?

Rodon

[White Riot]

Surely, it's up to his teammates to win the second ball & support him, we are so slow to react at times!

That's it Leon, the long ball to DCL is pointless if nobody is bothered to fight for the second ball.

It's probably his best attribute and puts the effort in to win the header, but nobody reacts, so effectively the opposition don't even need to jump for the header as they know they're getting the knock down.

Weird tactics.

[pandagirl]

So as somebody who moaned and moaned when we don't do well it is only fair I give deserved credit when due.

Absolutely delighted I did not see this coming a million miles off yes West ham are not great but again neither were Burnley so this is good and it stops us from going into a rut

If other results in the premier League do not go the way of other teams we will be at 13th which is very good considering everything

Only slight downer is their goal back I know in the scheme of things it means nothing but if they had clawed back a second goal then the whole result would have seen completely different. It would literally have felt like a loss

But it did not happen 3 points is all that matters and I could not be any prouder, let's do this

Onwards and upwards

[1964white]

Rodon

SKY must have been watching the same game as me.

[1964white]

Rodon
25 Excellent/very good actions.
02 Errors.

Aaronson
14 Excellent/very good actions
04 Errors

Says it all.

[pandagirl]

anyone else on a high with us winning?! i am!

[1964white]

That's it Leon, the long ball to DCL is pointless if nobody is bothered to fight for the second ball.

It's probably his best attribute and puts the effort in to win the header, but nobody reacts, so effectively the opposition don't even need to jump for the header as they know they're getting the knock down.

Weird tactics.

Winning the second ball in football is important, especially the way we play.

[1964white]

So as somebody who moaned and moaned when we don't do well it is only fair I give deserved credit when due.

Absolutely delighted I did not see this coming a million miles off yes West ham are not great but again neither were Burnley so this is good and it stops us from going into a rut

If other results in the premier League do not go the way of other teams we will be at 13th which is very good considering everything

Only slight downer is their goal back I know in the scheme of things it means nothing but if they had clawed back a second goal then the whole result would have seen completely different. It would literally have felt like a loss

But it did not happen 3 points is all that matters and I could not be any prouder, let's do this

Onwards and upwards

Good to read positive vibes, Panda.

[DDB220]

Winning the second ball in football is important, especially the way we play.

I think in the last 25 -30 mins DCL was isolated. We had dropped 10 yards as team. But we persisted with the long out ball to alleviate pressure. But let’s put a lot of those long balls into perspective in the last 30 mins they were just humped up the field in his general direction as quite a few players did not have time to place it with any real guile. But it does occupy the opposition defence and it only takes a mistake and he could be through on goal. In the first half we won a fair number of second balls and quite often when they won it we quickly regained possession.

It isn’t perfect, but it is working to a degree and if this method of play gets us 17th then it will have been a success.

[1964white]

I think in the last 25 -30 mins DCL was isolated. We had dropped 10 yards as team. But we persisted with the long out ball to alleviate pressure. But let’s put a lot of those long balls into perspective in the last 30 mins they were just humped up the field in his general direction as quite a few players did not have time to place it with any real guile. But it does occupy the opposition defence and it only takes a mistake and he could be through on goal. In the first half we won a fair number of second balls and quite often when they won it we quickly regained possession.

It isn’t perfect, but it is working to a degree and if this method of play gets us 17th then it will have been a success.

Good point.

[1964white]

Jaka Bijol numbers

Most notable actions 16 in all
5 x defensive headers
3 x defensive clearances
3 x interceptions
2 x good defensive actions
2 x passes
1 x tackle

Best moments
Commanding in the air, 8 defensive headers/clearances

[1964white]

Bijol not effective on crosses - too slow. Going to have to go back to Pascal. No sign of Bornaauw, so assume he's another Schmidt??

5 x defensive headers.
3 x defensive clearances.

[1964white]

[Sean_Nile]

So as somebody who moaned and moaned when we don't do well it is only fair I give deserved credit when due.

Absolutely delighted I did not see this coming a million miles off yes West ham are not great but again neither were Burnley so this is good and it stops us from going into a rut

If other results in the premier League do not go the way of other teams we will be at 13th which is very good considering everything

Only slight downer is their goal back I know in the scheme of things it means nothing but if they had clawed back a second goal then the whole result would have seen completely different. It would literally have felt like a loss

But it did not happen 3 points is all that matters and I could not be any prouder, let's do this

Onwards and upwards

And Sunderland do the dirty on Chelsea, and I am happy for that for it puts one more nail in the coffin that newly promoted sides are doomed for relegation. They sit second in the league and are laughing at the doom and gloom merchants.

They don't play possession based football (42.5% average, third-lowest in the league), that's breaking another rule, all the best teams are possession based. They play low block just like Farke did with West Ham in the second half and gets castigated for it, because fans want to see attacking football, and lament the fact that we take the boot off the neck of our opponents.

Sunderland invested wisely with a £161m outlay on 15 new signings, a record for a promoted side.,. 10 of these were completed by August 1, giving Le Bris a full pre-season to bed them in,

Standout is 33-year-old midfielder Granit Xhaka (ex-Arsenal and Bayer Leverkusen), who's played every minute, topping the league in assists (3), chances created (11), successful passes (397), and duels won (56), providing the experience and steel missing in past yo-yo clubs.

They have found their El Mago, and I am glad for their success so far, because it is a two fingered salute to all the pundits and supercomputers that have predicted otherwise.

The football Gods are 'aving a laff.

[malcolmw]

5 x defensive headers.
3 x defensive clearances.

I cant argue with the stats 64, but we were very vulnerable to crosses - throughout the game. Marking in the box was slow and tentative - against a relatively poor team. We nearly paid for it early, but for a good reactive save from Perri.

It was indeed good to see Bijol starting. We cant just keep players on the bench. The fact that he'd played for Slovenia during the break and so was likely more sharp than Pascal, made it even more of a good selection.

But I felt either his pace or his reading of the game was not up to Pascal's recently. Perhaps it was just the linking of the 2 CB's - after all Pascal and Joe have many minutes together.
I wasnt there but as much as I was pleaaed to see his name on the team sheet, I just had concerns.

You're right though that he has likely earned the right to keep his place for next weekend. Time to gel into the defensive line up will mean he can only get even better.
He'll be up against a more formidable attack this time, so it will be interesting.

I do hope Guds is fit. He and Okofor were impressive down that left side. Perhaps Tanaka added to that flair as well in the first half
Its a good feeling to be able to have a player as good as Stach "pushed" to the bench.

[CUSSIE01]

Aint that the truth, supporting N.I. teaches you a lot about football and reality

It also teaches you the value of a win no matter how you play or how much better the other team were.

[whiteinfrance]

Aint that the truth, supporting N.I. teaches you a lot about football and reality

So you support the idea of National Insurance?

[Cjay]

Was pleased with the changes and felt the players who came in justified the selection.

Tanaka gave us more control but control with purpose.

Perri was a safe pair of hands and Okafor gave us a threat we lacked offensively in his time on the pitch.

Bijol was a proper defender willing duels and making tackles which is what's important, not pass accuracy

The 1st half was a very good and assured performance which showed a level of flexibility from Farke which was pleasing and one Nuno hadn't anticipated.

Felt we would win comfortably at that point woth possibly some more goals to come as West Ham were struggling with our intensity and setup.

Unfortunately a combination of Nuno adapting and our own loss of momentum and focus on slowing the game down and sitting back allowed West Ham to grow into the game and in the end what should have been a comfortable win became a narrow and slightly nerving affair.

I don't understand our 2nd half setup much of the time as I don't think we are good enough off the ball or individually to contain the opposition in that manner safely for too long.

I felt BA had his best game for a long time with his dribbling and driving runs and hope it is something we see more of.

And James Justin proved an able deputy for Gudmonssen.

A vital 3 points though with our upcoming fixtures looking extremely daunting.

[Jammy 07]

We now need to take leaf out of Brentford's book and realise that anyone is beatable when they come to ER.

[pandagirl]

And Sunderland do the dirty on Chelsea, and I am happy for that for it puts one more nail in the coffin that newly promoted sides are doomed for relegation. They sit second in the league and are laughing at the doom and gloom merchants.

They don't play possession based football (42.5% average, third-lowest in the league), that's breaking another rule, all the best teams are possession based. They play low block just like Farke did with West Ham in the second half and gets castigated for it, because fans want to see attacking football, and lament the fact that we take the boot off the neck of our opponents.

Sunderland invested wisely with a £161m outlay on 15 new signings, a record for a promoted side.,. 10 of these were completed by August 1, giving Le Bris a full pre-season to bed them in,

Standout is 33-year-old midfielder Granit Xhaka (ex-Arsenal and Bayer Leverkusen), who's played every minute, topping the league in assists (3), chances created (11), successful passes (397), and duels won (56), providing the experience and steel missing in past yo-yo clubs.

They have found their El Mago, and I am glad for their success so far, because it is a two fingered salute to all the pundits and supercomputers that have predicted otherwise.

The football Gods are 'aving a laff.

I know!
My God im buzzing this weekend
Scousers put in their place
We won friday
What a weekend - JACKPOT!