Wolves!

This topic contains 10 replies, has 4 voices, and was last updated by tsm tsm 6 years, 11 months ago.

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  • #1464577
    tsm
    tsm
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    • :

    Greetings Dear Friends

    No injuries concerns reported, thus far. The big talking points are the midfield options and, of course, the Pontus situation. Somehow, I’m trusting Monk’s judgement on what to do in these circumstances; to rest or not to rest this charismatic and talented defender.

    Somebody, on another forum, suggested the ideal scenario: Pontus puts away a bullet header and then runs towards the kop waving his shirt in joyful celebration. Then out comes that yellow card…

    Can’t wait for Monday. We shall wait and see.

    Have a blessed Easter with your families.

    #1464580
    Phoenixunited
    Phoenixunited
    Participant
    • :

    1.1. It is all getting a bit tight there at the second level, accepting that Brighton and Newcastle are all but home & hosed and Huddersfield have a sliver of clear water and perhaps certainties for the play-offs although they have Derby up next away and that ain’t going to be easy .They somehow have conjured up a game in hand.

    Next up, Reading have Rotherham at home (home win?), we play Wolves at home (must win!), Wendies away at QPR (draw?) and finally Fulham at home to Aston villa (away win?). As for the rest from Derby on down we are 11 points or more to the good and none of those are catching up with us. The pressure for the next set of games is really on Wednesday and Fulham – both have must win games.

    I am looking forward to Easter Monday. Bring it on! I keep telling myself that this is very unexpected and most welcome near season end excitement and trying to curb my expectations. IF we reach the Playoffs I think I might just lose it.

    Also agree that Jansson must collect a yellow somehow – shirt off, kick the ball away, pull faces at the ref – whatever! There is no point in resting him.

    There was a point in the last match where the TV commentator was musing about the unavailability of Calamity Cooper and how had he been available Pontus might not have been in the team! Just shows how little these so-called experts know. Cooper is a below average League 1 player on his best day and need to be kept the hell away from the first team.

    Keep the Faith. WAL

    #1464730
    drew
    drew
    Participant
    • :

    Happy Easter to all!!

    I am quietly confident that the top six will stay as it is! any of the teams below Fulham have no chance with only 12 points available and 10 points adrift!
    Fulham is the only potential late gatecrasher to the play offs party… has anyone checked their last 4 matches, certainly a few tough matches…

    Fulham fixtures

    Newcastle & Brighton will battle it out for the league title and what will be interesting is the 3rd to 6th positions, who will finish where?

    Enjoy Easter and looking forward to tomorrow’s match.

    MOT

    #1465397
    Phoenixunited
    Phoenixunited
    Participant
    • :

    Damn and blast!

    Oh well, we are where we are. We’ve been in far worst places. Heads up boys and girls. We are not out of this yet.

    Roll the dice. Bring on Burton on Saturday.

    Keep the Faith! WAL.

    #1465489
    tsm
    tsm
    Participant
    • :

    The TSM household is, “Bleak House” this evening. We had Great Expectations, going into today’s game, but have to contend, instead, with Hard Times. Yes, Phoenix, we have been in far worst places, to be sure. Yes, there IS hope but only – only – I believe if Monk is willing to throw the dice and depart from the tried and rusted!

    Desperate times call for desperate measures. Monk himself has mentioned that the next three games are cups finals. He used the phrase, “we would have to be on the hunt …”
    We have one of the strongest defensive units in this league. Why then do we need to persist in playing two defensive-minded midfielders (Bridcutt and Phillips) and one lonely striker despite the same predictable and ineffectual performances. The warning signs have been there for all to see. A more creative and attacking formation, re-thought of and re-imagined, is critically needed if we are to make the playoffs – if we are to chase like hungry hunters and ensnare our prey.

    We were roared on by a fanatical crowd at Elland Road this afternoon but were absolutely limp and lifeless in the worst first half seen this season. We were unable to string together two decent passes and failed to muster a single shot on target. As the home team, with everything to play for, this was shocking. Wolves came to the game riding on the back of two successive defeats and had nothing, really, to play for. The manner in which they set up against us and foraged into our half would have suggested to an outsider that it was them, instead of us, desperate for the points.

    I’m keeping the Faith. But Faith without works is dead. I’m praying that Monk comes up with a refreshing set of new tactics in the remaining games. Clearly, quite clearly, we are going to go nowhere if he refuses to change his mindset. This is not about experimenting at a critical point in the season. This is about desperate measures. I’m viewing the Burton game with trepidation. Ominously, it has shades of Sutton about it. With their tiny ground crammed to the rafters and their partisan crowd sure to be right in our faces, we could so easily be intimidated and led into panicking ourselves into losing focus and giving the ball away cheaply. They could nick an early goal and then frustrate us. I am therefore, repeating: Monk needs to pull something different out of the hat. Sometime that will surprise Burton and enable us to attack like hounds unleashed and smelling blood.

    #1465646
    Phoenixunited
    Phoenixunited
    Participant
    • :

    And therein lays the problem my dear TSM. If we are serious contenders we should not be concerned about the also rans of this season like Wolves and the relegation scrappers like Burton. We should be expectant and to be brushing these opponents aside but we are not.

    I am obviously unhappy about what happened this weekend and where we have ended up as regards the table. My heart might tell me something different but my brain continues to underline that we are an over-achieving team – top 10 material alright but not necessarily top 6.

    What we have is a single layer of a solid defence and a striker who has had a terrific season. We have lacked creativity and goals from midfield all season and have been without any alternative resources in attack. All that and no second string back up. I suggest we have the foundations of a very decent team with the main support up but the house needs more fabric all around to become a more complete structure.

    So I say roll the damn dice and see where we get. The owner has his work cut out in the close season come what may.

    Keep the Faith,

    #1465724
    judy
    judy
    Participant
    • :

    As a Leeds fan I suppose I knew, in my heart of hearts, that we wouldn’t make it. If we can’t win the next 3 games then we would have had no chance in the play-offs anyway. Burton need a win to ensure they stay up, Norwich have now found their form and would love to beat us just to get even, and Wigan could still be needing that final day win to stay up also. They will all be tough games and on yesterday’s showing the team do not look equipped to deal with it. I hope Monk proves me wrong and we get the three wins.

    I have my tickets for the Norwich game, but if we have lost to Burton in the previous game it will not be the joyous atmosphere I was expecting when I bought the tickets.

    If the season does end like a damp squib (spelling?) all we can hope is that Cellino sells up and Radrizzani is prepared to invest in some decent players for next season.

    It will prove very expensive for the club if they have to honour their pledge to reimburse season ticket holders if the team does not finish in the top 6!

    How lonely does that 7th place seem now? Norwich and the rest cannot overtake us so that is the lowest we will finish, but who can say that we will have a good season next time? Aston Villa, Norwich are now doing better and Birmingham have got Harry Redknapp as manager so they could be in with a shout (if they stay up this season of course). There will be 3 more teams with mega bucks coming down to add to those already getting parachute payments. The playing field is very uneven!

    Come on, lads, win on Saturday and I might start to feel a bit better again.

    #1465973
    tsm
    tsm
    Participant
    • :

    Phoenix, Judy: I hear what you’re saying and know where you’re coming from. After a 7 point cushion we’re suddenly clutching at the proverbial straws. And this is realism personified, indeed!

    Our inadequacies have been there for even a blind man to see. It’s been the same head-heart conflict that so many of our fellow faithful have been wrestling with. The excitement and anticipation that I have been describing in recent posts is beginning to melt away. This is cruelty, personified!

      I keep saying to myself that it would have been better had we maintained consistency and remained in our accustomed mid-table position rather than come so close only to miss out

    These thoughts, unfortunately, are products of the my divided self. When it comes to Leeds United, I’m an enigma – not only to myself but to my friends and loved ones as well. I’m something of a divided personality vacillating between diametrical poles of optimism and pessimism. There’s another voice chastising and reminding me that there is still hope.

    To make it or not to make it; that is the question? Whether it’s nobler in the mind to nourish the mind with dreams and end in despair or face reality and abandon all hope -thereby retaining sanity?

    #1465990
    judy
    judy
    Participant
    • :

    How many times have we “abandoned all hope”? Countless times over the last 13 years. I really thought this season was the one that was different. I thought maybe all our hopes and dreams were going to, finally, be fulfilled. I suppose there is still a chance – if we win the next 3! The form the team have been in recently makes this seem an impossible task. Our fate is in the stars. My heart says we will still make it, my head says we have no chance!

    #1466027
    Phoenixunited
    Phoenixunited
    Participant
    • :

    Come, come now everyone! There is no abandoning anything here. A bit of soul-searching is all fine and good. Who am I to say but perhaps it serves to make us whole again.

    We must not despair. Consider where we were at the start of this season and how much we have grown. It gives me more than a little respite. We are not out of anything yet. Whether we are good enough to feature in the play-offs or not is a question yet unanswered. The others have to do their business as well.

    This time last year we had a rubbish defence, could not find the back of the net easily and there was an away defeat at Rotherham and a home loss against Charlton. Steve Evans was in charge hankering for a new contract and wittering on about the players he wanted to bring in and musing about the possibility of managing Glasgow Celtic. We had no idea what on Earth the barmy Italian was going to do next or if he was going to get had up for this alleged dodge or that involving cars, boats and stadia. We ended the season on 59 points around the top of the bottom half of the table. In April 2016, our season was as dead as a dodo and the new season did not bode well.

    If we can make half the progress of this season in the next 12 months I shall be happy as Larry.

    Anyway, the two lowest points ever for me as regards Leeds United was the FA Cup loss to Chelsea at Old Trafford in the 1970 replayed final and then five years later when Bayern Munich and a dodgy referee conspired to rob us of the European Cup. Now that is something to get depressed about!

    But then WE ARE LEEDS! Come on. Roll the damn dice. It ain’t over yet. Keep the Faith.

    #1466067
    tsm
    tsm
    Participant
    • :

    Our recent posts show that we are deeply concerned family members holding court over a matter that is absolutely close to our hearts.

    Phoenix, I shall never forget (in addition to ’70 and ’75) that disastrous Monday evening in the Spring of ’72. We defeated the Gunners at Wembley to lift the FA Cup and then had to travel away and earn JUST A POINT to claim the league title over Derby County (and attain the double) 48 hours later. As it turned out, we lost that game. And which team put the spanner in the works. Yes, it was Wolves of Molineux.

    Incidently, the FA insisted that we play that game on the Monday evening after the cup final despite desperate appeals. Sorry, just going back in time. Yes, we’ve been kicked in the teeth many times before.

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