Danny 2,200 Posted July 30, 2022 Share Posted July 30, 2022 We’re a week away from the start of the season, pre-season should be in full flow now and ideally most transfers should be getting wrapped up…are your team ready? First game of the season: Fitness concerns: Playing concerns: Transfer concerns: —— First game of the season: Leicester City Fitness concerns: Ethan Pinnock looks to be out for the early months of the season which is a shame as he’s always Mr. Dependable, but we have good cover. Norgaard is playing today but has missed most of pre-season games, but he looks fit. Josh Dasilva is fit and has had a productive Summer, just about easing him into the team and finding form. Transfer concerns: None really. A lot of talk about not replacing Eriksen but a lot of it is pure stupidity as a side like us can’t replace Eriksen. Ben Mee is a great addition, Aaron Hickey looks like he will settle in well, no pressure on Lewis-Potter to succeed with us so soon and he’s a bench player currently. Amazingly he was involved in 85% of Hull’s goals when he was on the pitch last season. We are in the market for Damsgaard from Sampdoria and/or Mudryk from Donetsk, I believe this is the last attempt at adding creative players to the squad but I don’t think they’re players we can’t go without so not the end of the world if we don’t land them. But an attacking midfielder would be nice. Playing concerns: We’ve had an up and down pre-season in terms of performances, got hammered by Wolfsburg 4-0 at one point. Should never pay too much attention to what happens on the pitch in pre-season mind, Thomas Frank has been open about disappointing moments in games but ultimately he’s happy with the pre-season, nearly everyone is fit and also it’s a good time to try different formations and tactics which is why results might not always be great. We’re currently 1-0 up against Betis and have played them off the park, wouldn’t read into that but we’ve been very creative and play really well with good combinations. I think anyone who had us down as relegation fodder will be surprised this season, I think we’ll manage to avoid most of that battle. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Administrator Stan 18,361 Posted July 30, 2022 Administrator Share Posted July 30, 2022 In a nutshell, no . No new transfers, outgoing player speculation is rife. Captain and leader might leave, our best defender is linked with a move away, our most creative midfielder doesn't know if he's coming or going... Fitness concerns - Ndidi picked up a knock last week, but no other injuries so far. Still suffering PTSD from Fofana getting his leg snapped against Villarreal last season. Makes me worried about tomorrow vs Sevilla... Transfer concerns - no players in. Several key and quality players linked with moves away. Not our best summer. Probably missed out on some good additions. Very worried at a) who we might lose between now and end of August and b) the knock on of that is that there's less and less time to get a replacement in... Playing concerns - on the positive, we've looked pretty decent at times in our friendlies so far. Plenty of goals scored. Some players looking very sharp - Maddison, Dewsbury-Hall, Daka, Vardy all look good. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
True Blue 971 Posted July 30, 2022 Share Posted July 30, 2022 First game of the season: Everton away Lost four years in a row (scored 1, condeded 7) at Goodison but in general it is a bad ground for us, we are probably the team that losses the most at Evrton than any other top six club. I hope we can put up a good performance and start the season with a win. Fitness concerns: The team usually is in good shape, currently all the players are available and in full fitness which is nice to have. Also our pre season was mixed, some good games some disastrous. Playing concerns: I usually like the way we play, we create a lot more than it is actually seen on the scoresheet, as our finishing is terrible. If we could improve on that we could really challenge for the title. Transfer concerns: Two quality players in with Sterling and Koulibaly, some talented players back like Gallagher and Broja but don't feel we improved enough squad wise. We still need at least one more center back and hopefully one more striker but that can actually score and isn't dreaming of a new club every season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Chickasaw 28 Posted July 30, 2022 Share Posted July 30, 2022 Spurs always seem to have fitness concerns. Transfer concerns? Only how to offload Ndombele, he just cannot stay and the sooner he goes the better. Playing concerns? I just hope one player fits in. Conte had Spurs playing some good football last season and if that form maintains, no, no concerns at all. Southampton first match..........should win easily. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spike 5,093 Posted July 30, 2022 Share Posted July 30, 2022 Yes! Team are ready. Zinchenko are greatest Ukraine of time, and Jesus golden boot. Thanks! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Reluctant Striker 134 Posted July 30, 2022 Share Posted July 30, 2022 Depends what is meant by 'ready'. No fitness problems in the Villa squad. But, it is still a squad with 3 starting spots for Ings, Watkins, Coutinho, Buendia, Bailey & a few others. This time last season I was up beat & optimistic. This season? It feels like Gerrard is trying to piece together a jigsaw of Villa Park with pieces of other stadiums jigsaws. I'm braced for 10th to 14th again. Complete with alarming periods during any series of matches against genuine Euro contenders & the occasional dismantling of lesser sides, or even a few we shouldn't be beating. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber Dan+ 1,914 Posted July 30, 2022 Subscriber Share Posted July 30, 2022 Hahahahaha. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Blue 1,897 Posted July 30, 2022 Share Posted July 30, 2022 No, we need another 4 weeks of pre season by the looks of it Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Cicero 5,265 Posted July 30, 2022 Share Posted July 30, 2022 Yes and no. We have a strong XI but depth issue remains. Maybe 13-14 players are good enough to be here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber Dan+ 1,914 Posted July 30, 2022 Subscriber Share Posted July 30, 2022 First game of the season: Brentford (h) Fitness concerns: Nothing on top of the usual which is that I'm always a little iffy about the likes of Ricardo, Ndidi, Castagne, Vardy who seem to get niggly injuries - and Ndidi hasn't played a great deal of preseason. Playing concerns: To be honest I thought we were quite poor for a lot of last season. I think we were regularly bailed out by individual quality in attack rather than being particularly cohesive, and I feel with a bit more defensive structure in the side we'd have been able to far better what we did actually serve up. We overperformed on expected goals quite substantially and to say we were as close to qualifying for Europe as we were to 12th place that's really a bit concerning. The hope you have is that we'll not have an injury situation as farcically bad as last time and I do think that should cut some of the points a partnership of Amartey / Soyuncu will cost you over a period of time. But then again Evans' fitness is a bit of a concern. I think we're capable of Europe but we're going to have to go back to basics a bit, and I'm struggling to see how you manage to make us more solid at the back without compromising Maddison's form - maybe we play a midfield trio of Ndidi, Dewsbury-Hall and Tielemans whilst having Maddison hanging in this wide right position, but unsure if it's the long term solution. I think the key error Rodgers made tactically last season was trying to get more from Ndidi than he's capable of. Keep him as a 'destroyer' in front of the back four and we will be better for it. Transfer concerns: The total lack of it. Now I know Rodgers does talk crap on occasion but I do think he's probably been slightly let down this summer regarding this elusive 'rebuild'. It's quite remarkable that we spent a while talking about a rebuild for us to be the single club of the top 7 leagues in Europe to bring in nobody all summer, and I'm at a point where I expect nobody will arrive permanently. I don't believe doing business early makes it good business but it does make it tougher the longer you leave it, and we have spent the summer stuck because we need to chop our wage bill before we can bring anybody in. I think other clubs know this and as a result haven't come in all guns blazing for our players because they don't really need to. For me the two priorities are a centre back who is left sided, and a right winger. Colwill and Madueke would be good but I don't expect either. It's been massively frustrating and it doesn't fill me with much confidence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Subscriber Dan+ 1,914 Posted July 30, 2022 Subscriber Share Posted July 30, 2022 Scratch that on Madueke. Out for six months apparently. Even solely being linked to Leicester crocks you. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Beelzebub 2,508 Posted July 31, 2022 Share Posted July 31, 2022 Shouldn't it be Is your team ready ? another British American split... makes English harder for the rest of us Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LFCMike 3,009 Posted July 31, 2022 Share Posted July 31, 2022 Only concern for me is that Alisson and Kelleher have missed most of pre season. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Devil-Dick Willie 3,253 Posted July 31, 2022 Share Posted July 31, 2022 14 hours ago, Happy Blue said: No, we need another 4 weeks of pre season by the looks of it You lot are always slow starters. Drop 2-3 games to shite in the first 6 weeks then murder the comp for the remaining months. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Happy Blue 1,897 Posted July 31, 2022 Share Posted July 31, 2022 1 hour ago, Devil-Dick Willie said: You lot are always slow starters. Drop 2-3 games to shite in the first 6 weeks then murder the comp for the remaining months. This is true, pep likes to give the players extra rest and starts pre season late for some reason, maybe he just likes a longer holiday himself Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The Palace Fan 3,400 Posted July 31, 2022 Share Posted July 31, 2022 I think so. The pre season was a but of a mess with having to have two separate teams but if the transfer window was to shut tomorrow I'd be content with our squad even though we haven't replaced Gallagher. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MUFC 1,495 Posted August 1, 2022 Share Posted August 1, 2022 Irrespective of everything else that happens in this transfer window it’s absolutely imperative now that we fuck that narcissistic, full of shit, past it twat Ronaldo right off at the very earliest available opportunity. If the horrible cunt hangs around much longer ETH might as well pack it all in now because he will be completely undermined from start to finish, and have even less chance of success than he has now. There was a moment in the first half when ETH called the cunt over for a quick word of instruction and all he got was an arrogant shrug of the shoulders and a look of contempt, he then apparently left the stadium at HT after he got subbed, the ungrateful, arrogant fucktard has now pissed all over his previous ‘legacy’ for me and joined the ranks of my most hated ex players of all time alongside the likes of Pogba and Di Maria. I’d now much rather us finish 8th without the cunt, than 6th with him, simple as that. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
6666 1,310 Posted August 1, 2022 Share Posted August 1, 2022 Been very good in pre-season. Can't put too much stock into that but it has to count for something. In terms of transfers, we'll probably be looking to sell more than a few and maybe just bring in one. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
OrangeKhrush 296 Posted August 1, 2022 Share Posted August 1, 2022 First game of the season: Nottingham Forest (H) Fitness concerns: Jonjo Shelvey Playing concerns: The pre season was optimistic, some good results. Almiron and Willock looked especially sharp this preseason. Transfer concerns: Adding a few more will be nice. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Lucas 3,824 Posted August 1, 2022 Share Posted August 1, 2022 First game of the season: Wolves (Home) Fitness concerns: Captain Liam Cooper hasn't played any friendlies so he will be missing. Luis Sinisterra (Raphinha's replacment) has a minor hamstring and hasn't played many minutes so he won't be in contention. Firpo is out so we will have to play a centre back at left back. Ayling/Dallas also remain out. Transfer concerns: We needed to add to what we had in the Summer and we have made positive moves to do this but losing Phillips and Raphinha negates this progress somewhat, especially the latter. We need a striker. Can't just cross our fingers and toes Bamford stays fit and Gelhardt shouldn't have that pressure on his shoulders either. Left back is needed too. No more square pegs in round holes, besides, Firpo is fucking gash anyway. That position needs upgrading. Other than that, I think we've covered most bases reasonably well assuming no one else leaves (Harrison/Klich) Playing concerns: I've seen four of the five games, last night's being the best performance by far beating Cagliari 6-2. Early observations as follows. Our pressing and counter pressing look good, mind you, we have always had high energy levels. But the sharpness is starting to look there. They have been worked well. We have a bit more steel about us. More organised as you'd expect. We'll be playing a double pivot this season with Roca and Adams as opposed to just Phillips in that 'quaterback' position. Like to think this will close down the space that the better midfields used to just swan straight through us. Look short of goals, despite the win last night. Perhaps goalscoring isn't quite falling as naturally to us as we'd like. Look extremely vulberable to the counter attack, especially in wide areas when our full backs push high up. Big teams will 100% exploit this. All in all, I think we'll be better than last season and stay up but this is a different Leeds United now, and a work in progress. I anticipate more draws than we are used to where as it was either a win or loss with us normally. No inbetween. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Danny 2,200 Posted August 1, 2022 Author Share Posted August 1, 2022 9 minutes ago, Lucas said: First game of the season: Wolves (Home) Fitness concerns: Captain Liam Cooper hasn't played any friendlies so he will be missing. Luis Sinisterra (Raphinha's replacment) has a minor hamstring and hasn't played many minutes so he won't be in contention. Firpo is out so we will have to play a centre back at left back. Ayling/Dallas also remain out. Transfer concerns: We needed to add to what we had in the Summer and we have made positive moves to do this but losing Phillips and Raphinha negates this progress somewhat, especially the latter. We need a striker. Can't just cross our fingers and toes Bamford stays fit and Gelhardt shouldn't have that pressure on his shoulders either. Left back is needed too. No more square pegs in round holes, besides, Firpo is fucking gash anyway. That position needs upgrading. Other than that, I think we've covered most bases reasonably well assuming no one else leaves (Harrison/Klich) Playing concerns: I've seen four of the five games, last night's being the best performance by far beating Cagliari 6-2. Early observations as follows. Our pressing and counter pressing look good, mind you, we have always had high energy levels. But the sharpness is starting to look there. They have been worked well. We have a bit more steel about us. More organised as you'd expect. We'll be playing a double pivot this season with Roca and Adams as opposed to just Phillips in that 'quaterback' position. Like to think this will close down the space that the better midfields used to just swan straight through us. Look short of goals, despite the win last night. Perhaps goalscoring isn't quite falling as naturally to us as we'd like. Look extremely vulberable to the counter attack, especially in wide areas when our full backs push high up. Big teams will 100% exploit this. All in all, I think we'll be better than last season and stay up but this is a different Leeds United now, and a work in progress. I anticipate more draws than we are used to where as it was either a win or loss with us normally. No inbetween. Draws are what keep you in the league tbf Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Spike 5,093 Posted August 1, 2022 Share Posted August 1, 2022 On 31/07/2022 at 02:08, Aladdin said: Shouldn't it be Is your team ready ? another British American split... makes English harder for the rest of us He just fucked up. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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