Cjay wrote: ↑Sun Sep 26, 2021 1:21 pm
Imo the simple facts is the club got complacent.
They recruited minimally and poorly with off the ball skills at the front of their mind and neglected the tactical and technical needs of the team.
Those stats Leon posted are symptomatic of a fading limited team who perhaps are running out of steam, tired minds and tired bodies get turned over and concede a lot more than fresh ones.
It also highlights the neglect of our midfield, we have 2 30 year olds in it and one of them isnt a proper midfielder really lets be honest, he has done a great job as a utility man but you dont get creativity from Dallas you get energy and when that is gone he offers very little.
Imo maybe what we are seeing is evidence that MB has never been a club manager for a long time ? This is ny a distance his longest spell at one club.
He has never had to rejuvenate a squad, he has never had to slowly evolve a squad.
He has his core group and he will use them for aslong as he can, after all why wouldn't he? They have served him well for years?
Well performances levels can drop over time, energy levels drop over time, many of our squad are pushing 30 with almost no top flight experience, they are where they are because they have played out of their skin for years in a style that suits them because it doesnt necessarily require them to be technically better than their opponents just much fitter.
It effectively requires them to be at 100% of their ability and fitness 100% of the time, 100% sharp and on it.
And they have been for MB hence why he trusts them.
But that was never going to last indefinitely and that perhaps is where MB's analytical and logical mind has a blind spot?
Where his lack of experience in this situation shows?
Excellent post CJ
When you keep squeezing an orange it becomes dry, and the goodness and vitality is completely gone.
That's where Leeds as a first team are at now.
I think Radz, Orta, Kinnear and MB, especially, had it in their heads that the guys who got us here could continue performing at this level for many years and they had lots of time to rejuvenate the squad. But it seems like that belief and loyalty has been misplaced, in that they've not seen the reality of the limitations of these players.
Other then KP, we're now seeing that energy, skill and confidence needs to be injected into this team/squad. That has happened in the shape of Meslier, Raphinha, Struijk, Cresswell, and Shackleton. Due to the injuries and unavailability, we're still unsure whether Koch, Llorente and Rodrigo can be considered as successful upgrades. James and Firpo might be improvements but it's too early to tell.
Due to a number of factors we've stagnated, and teams that do that at this level invariably get relegated.
All we can hope is that our players get fit again, find form and confidence and MB has the insight to see that he needs to start placing faith in our youngsters, rather than waiting for the next injury/unavailability crisis to force his hand.
We're in a pickle and it needs fixed very quickly, or we're heading for a long and painful relegation battle.
The next 4 EPL fixtures will give us a true reflection of exactly where we're at, but even if we get maximum points that will not mask the fact that this squad needs to be overhauled, an opportunity that was spurned in the summer.
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