The #LUFC Breakfast Debate (Tuesday 4th February) Redknapp questions training methods, Augustin has quiet debut for U23s

[Ellandback1]

Good Morning. It's Tuesday 4th February, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road....


Augustin has quiet debut for U23's

Jean-Kevin Augustin made his first appearance in a Leeds United shirt yesterday as the U23's were held to a 2-2 draw against local rivals Sheffield Wednesday at Hillsborough. The 22 year old former PSG hitman started the first 45 minutes for Carlos Corberan’s side before being substituted following an injury concern in the dying minutes of the first half. Fortunately it was nothing to worry about, and it was always planned that Augustin would only participate in the 45 minutes.

Its fair to say that the former French Youth International had a quiet game which disappointed a lot of fans hoping he would hit the ground running!





Redknapp questions whether Bielsa's training will lead to burnout!

Soccer pundit Jamie Redknapp has questioned Marcelo Bielsa's training sessions are too “intense” and whether that is having a detrimental affect on the Leeds players.

Is Bielsa’s training too intense? We hear stories about how intense Marcelo Bielsa’s training sessions are, so has that played a part in Leeds’ poor form?” Redknapp said. “This is not the first time this has happened, of course. Last season Leeds were top of the table on Boxing Day, six points clear of third. Then they went on to miss out on automatic promotion. Their players will be desperate to avoid the lottery of the play-offs again.

You may recall that during Leeds pre season tour of Australia, several Leeds players including Captain Liam Cooper confiding in former player Michael Bridges expressing their fears and concerns that burnout, come the second half of the season. The other thing Leeds struggled with last year (as well as the injury to Kemar Roofe)…

I was speaking to a few of players, including Liam Cooper the captain… they just felt after Christmas they’d almost run out of energy, the way they’d been playing football. It's not one game a week, some of the boys are playing three a week. They just felt they didn't have enough rest and didn't feel quite right going into games. And I think Bielsa's learned a lot from last season and the boys will be a lot fitter and fresher this year.

The style of play, like I say, is absolutely superb to watch. And they're running teams into the ground, not only with the ball but without the ball, they close them down, there's a high press and I think that it all comes down to the work that is done off the park and keeping the boys as fresh as possible to play this brand of football.

Astonishing, after 30 league games only 14 players have played 5 games or more! Thoughts?

[Irish Ian]

Morning folks.

Redknapp will be pilloried by some for stating what some others see obvious.

From this forum we could even name who does and doesnt accept the theory, it has been debated so much.

Leeds history of collapsing AND Bielsas sides tailng off performance wise in the second half of the season being well documented. What a combination...

Those lads have been flat the last few Saturdays after mideeek games imo. Owls and Wigan we were well off, especially as the game wore on.
But Feb will be so busy we have to rotate? Dont we? Pablo cant keep it up, Klich? Dallas? White, those guys need a rest at some point.

Otherwise

There is only one answer

Bielsa needs to vindicate his methods with a promotion. Nothing less.

Nice to see JKA get a chance to stretch his legs.
Those U23 games are played with such a lack of intensity it was hard to judge anything really. He had a nice chance though. And it was even on target!!!

[rrfierce]

Who am i to question bielsa, but he seems to focus everything on fitness, high press, possession, murder ball techniques etc etc. Does this mean that he sacrifices, dare i say it, the basics? Set peices at either end are pathetic - do we even practice these? Also do we practice shooting and hitting the target, because whatever they are doing in training clearly isn't working.

This is the championship against big phyiscal teams. Sometimes i worry that we're simply not equipped to get out of this league, in terms of players, the mental ability and the type of system that we're playing.

Playing flowing football is all well and good, but if we don't actually achieve anything then is it actually worth it?

[Irish Ian]

Who am i to question bielsa, but he seems to focus everything on fitness, high press, possession, murder ball techniques etc etc. Does this mean that he sacrifices, dare i say it, the basics? Set peices at either end are pathetic - do we even practice these? Also do we practice shooting and hitting the target, because whatever they are doing in training clearly isn't working.

This is the championship against big phyiscal teams. Sometimes i worry that we're simply not equipped to get out of this league, in terms of players, the mental ability and the type of system that we're playing.

Playing flowing football is all well and good, but if we don't actually achieve anything then is it actually worth it?

Good post. how many times have we lost and played the worst football?

How many times have we been chasing a game against two banks of a well drilled defence sitting deep in the box waiting to hit us on the break?

Last season
Brum
Blunts
Brentford
Forest
Wigan
Ipswich

Same this time.

Unfortunately Anti Football rules in the Championship.

[weasel]

I see it is the time of the season where pundits who have never managed spout their usual nonsense - probably having not even watched Leeds play this season apart from maybe the Arsenal match.

Our form boils down to the 1 basic thing - not taking chances. No fitness issues, no burnout, no poor squad rotation etc - put the ball in the net at the appropriate rate for the chances created and all the nonsense talk goes away. Did Harrison miss a glorious chance because he was tired? Did Costa, Hernandez, Bamford, Klich etc all fail to hit the target due to tiredness?

If we were getting over-run by the opposition then yes fitness/burnout is a concern but that hasn't happened this year or last year. We are just suffering as a team because players are panicking in front of goal. That is the only issue so perhaps we should be doing more training on finishing. If we score the 3 or 4 goals in a match that we should be doing then we win the title at a canter.

I don't see us as being tired v Sheff Wed or Wigan. If we'd got an equaliser against Wigan then I would have thought we'd have absolutely battering them at the end to get a winner. I feel it was more frustration than tiredness that may have lead to us 'looking flat.' If you get to a point in a match where you just feel like you'll never score, as a team, then your energy levels are going to drop - that is human nature rather than any fitness issue. You also then have the additional problem that you might switch off mentally for a split second, whilst feeling sorry for yourself, and suddenly in that split second you make a mistake that leads to a concession of a goal.

As a player I used to hate matches where you just couldn't see your team scoring. You could dominate the match, miss great chances, the opposition keeper would make great saves etc and you just knew that at some point the opposition would probably score a really scruffy goal and win the game.

[SG90]

It's not training, it's the lack of rotation that is the problem. To have only used 18 players all season is madness. Klich, Dallas, Harrison, White and Kiko have started every game. There has to be a point where they need a rest.

[weasel]

How many times have we been chasing a game against two banks of a well drilled defence sitting deep in the box waiting to hit us on the break?

Last season
Brum
Blunts
Brentford
Forest
Wigan
Ipswich

Same this time.

Unfortunately Anti Football rules in the Championship.

Again though it boils down to taking our chances. Against Sheff Utd Tyler Roberts hit the post just a couple of minutes before we conceded. We'd had other chances too. I think it was the Birmingham game where we hit the post and Birmingham went straight down the other end and scored.

Wigan we were in front and against 10 men, should have controlled the game but we went to gung ho and unbelievably left ourselves short at the back against a team with a man less. For me that was all down to the players getting too excited at the thought of smashing Wigan and wiping out Sheff Utd's goal difference advantage over us.

[Mick Jones shoulder]

Our forms boils down to one thing we've lost more than we've won over the last ten games,wrap it up how you like until that changes the players and everyone else involved with the club leave themselves open to criticism. Basic enough!

I hope everyone gets their shooting boots on quickly along with being able to deal with set plays.

[mothbanquet]

“We have operated all season in a certain way, and if we’re going to end the season in the manner in which we deserve, we’ve got to keep on playing like that.”

- Howard Wilkinson, 1992

[SG90]

No clean sheet since Hull. We need to do the basics first.

[Chilli D]

Morning All,

This is the first time I have posted since Saturday, I was so upset following the Wigan defeat i couldn't bring myself to write anything.
I did however, read all the posts in the aftermath of the game.
Water under the bridge now, time to move on to the next game.
Am i worried by our recent results? Yes a little bit but we are still in the driving seat so I remain confident.
How confident the players are right now, who knows?
I said it before, when Liam Cooper said in Australia that the players were burnt out after Christmas, if the players feel they are being worked too hard it is up to them to collectively speak to Bielsa about it.
I personally don't think they are, it's pure and simply about them not taking their chances.
I honestly don't think they are playing badly, Wigan's goal was a complete fluke and had Harrison's shot that hit the post gone in we would have settled and won the game comfortably. That's how I saw it.

Way too early to judge JKA's performance / fitness levels after 45 minutes for the U23's.
Was I shocked that he wasn't on the bench on Saturday? Yes, but Bielsa obviously didn't think he was ready.
A few good days training and I think he will make the bench on Saturday.

Chilli

[BGwhite]

Take the chances that come around and the game becomes easier, the confidence flows and the energy levels remain high.
Keep fluffing the chances and conceding goals and suddenly it's all gone flat which is followed by the old drop in confidence then everything becomes much more difficult. That sums it up basically but I still maintain that if Leeds don't get some decent results this month I can't see them getting autos and even the playoffs will be asking a lot. It's a marathon and yet again Leeds are showing signs of not lasting the distance.

Sent from my XT1032 using Tapatalk

[rab_rant]

Our forms boils down to one thing we've lost more than we've won over the last ten games,wrap it up how you like until that changes the players and everyone else involved with the club leave themselves open to criticism. Basic enough!

I hope everyone gets their shooting boots on quickly along with being able to deal with set plays.

And what does everyone have to do leave themselves open to PRAISE?
The thing that worries me is the incessant chip chipping away at the reputation of Bielsa. It is worse an the drip drip drip of the Chinese water torture.

I can understand the schadenfreude of the TV pundits who take pleasure from any misfortune that befalls Leeds. It is their business to stir up controversy, just as it should be our business to stand against it.

If you have a positive attitude then you get accused of wearing rose coloured glasses and that you have lost grip on reality. I really do believe there is a propaganda war going on, and the sad fact is that on forums, Twitter, and Facebook many fans are acting like fifth columnists who undermine the larger group from within. We seem to take our ques from the vocal periphery and not from the source. (And there we have another bone of contention for the rabid dogs to get their teeth into... why does Bielsa always give out is team sheet in advance?)

The fear that everyone has, is that of history repeating, and fear is the main source of superstition, and one of the main sources of cruelty. People say cruel things because they are fearful that we are once more fated to fail. They look for signs and portents, that are warnings of momentous or calamitous misfortune that is about to overtake them. Football results feul their superstitious beliefs, and they speak out in fear... and are spiteful in their conjectures.

To conquer fear is the beginning of wisdom.

Sent from my SM-T515 using Tapatalk

[YorkshireSquare]

I never saw physical burnour last season, nor do I this season. We still compete, dominate the ball, create chances.

If anything it's mental.

[Irish Ian]

Speaking of his experience playing at Newells.

Juan Manuel Llop said, “provokes a certain level of tiredness. Not just physical tiredness, but also mental and emotional tiredness because the competition level is so high that it’s difficult to keep up with it after a period of time.”

Is he alone in his beliefs?

Perhaps that contributes to some of the missed chances, the poor defending.

Things can get stale working with the same group, doing the same thing, especially when results go contrary to expectation.

I thoroughly believe Leeds have the better of every side in this league. At the same time, anyone could beat us as has been demonstrated.

Bielsa would do well to mix it up.

He has 4 more players at his disposal now, Poveda JKA Roberts and Shacks, 6 more after Saturday if Berra is fit and we see KP return.

No reasons not to give a few a rest and bring the others up to speed.

[weasel]

I said it before, when Liam Cooper said in Australia that the players were burnt out after Christmas, if the players feel they are being worked too hard it is up to them to collectively speak to Bielsa about it.

Have a think about Liam Cooper. When was the last time Cooper played a full season? Most of his Leeds career he has been the third choice centreback so he isn't used to playing 46 matches in a season. Would he be tired playing for any other club, I think he probably would.

If any other team had produced the stats we had in our last match in terms of chances we had compared to the opposition chances then nobody at all would say that that team was burnt out. If we scored a couple of those chances nobody would be saying we were burnt out. It is burnt out bullsh*t.

[Sara]

Agree with Weasel and Rab.

Why don't we discuss the opinions on something like the Square Ball, which is proper Leeds fans analysing the games in depth, instead of giving credence to these self serving pundits?

[onemoreslogan]

I tend to agree with Rab here.

Of course, I understand we're on a football forum where the object is to discuss the side we all feel passionately about. It would be dull indeed if we were all in lockstep with the club and dissent was non existent.

"Are we great or what?"
"F**cking right mate! We're brilliant!"
"Let me repeat myself for the 60th time- Bielsa's management is flawless. His genius is beyond reproach."
"I really don't see how our roster could be improved. That latest loss to Wigan boils down to bad luck again obviously."
"Obviously."

Etc, etc...

So yeah, criticism of the club should be encouraged here as it sparks debate and contributes to our understanding of and appreciation for the game and the side. However, there is a point where it veers off into irrationality, ax-grinding, and fear-mongering. These are not healthy avenues for so-called supporters to be pursuing because they foster an atmosphere where fear of failure, and failure itself, are reinforced.

I'm a glass half-full guy. I think our roster and Bielsa's management have demonstrated that they have what it takes in terms of system, fitness, and talent to win the promotion we all desire. Leeds' statistical domination of every side in the Championship in every category save one is very well established at this point. The only obstacle remaining in my view is a mental one- the players are beating themselves by not taking their chances and allowing fear and doubt to prevail upon them. If they can only overcome this admittedly extremely vexing hurdle, we'll get where we desperately want to be.

So I feel the best thing we can do as supporters is to try and encourage our club and players. To help instill that missing confidence and belief in them. So rather than harp on all the possible explanations for why they are failing/will fail, I'd prefer to focus on why they will inevitably succeed.

It's time to brush away the self-doubt. If if walks like a duck, quacks like a duck, and looks like a duck. Guess what? It's a f**cking duck.

We are clearly the best side in this league. Time to start acting like it.

[Chilli D]

Speaking of his experience playing at Newells.

Juan Manuel Llop said, “provokes a certain level of tiredness. Not just physical tiredness, but also mental and emotional tiredness because the competition level is so high that it’s difficult to keep up with it after a period of time.”

Is he alone in his beliefs?

Perhaps that contributes to some of the missed chances, the poor defending.

Things can get stale working with the same group, doing the same thing, especially when results go contrary to expectation.

I thoroughly believe Leeds have the better of every side in this league. At the same time, anyone could beat us as has been demonstrated.

Bielsa would do well to mix it up.

He has 4 more players at his disposal now, Poveda JKA Roberts and Shacks, 6 more after Saturday if Berra is fit and we see KP return.

No reasons not to give a few a rest and bring the others up to speed.

All the players you mentioned Ian (apart from KP), played 45 minutes for the U23's yesterday. Do we know if Bielsa saw the game?
If not, he will obviously be reliant on a report from Corberan.
I personally think it's time to make changes, Shackleton coming in, in particular, but we all know how Bielsa works....

[Mick Jones shoulder]

Praise, I think the club in general get that when playing well and getting results.

Since I have watched Leeds even under Don we've been bridesmaids when we should have been the bride far to many times, maybe their are lot of supporters who don't recall that hence the clamour for success. For me it's been a decent watch frustrating at times nothing more.

Fearful not me, Football has no effect on my well being as I'm not financially or personally involved other than watching.

In reply to Rab.