And now Hernandez

[WTF11]

Ok, so first it was "not involved on Friday" to "it's not 100% certain he won't play"......

"MB: “Cooper returns to the group.” Douglas, Berardi, Dallas, Bamford & Hernandez not involved in Friday"

WTF is going on? We all made comments about how many injuries we suffered last season. I think we would all take the number of injuries then as a real positive compared to this. We all know the regime that Bielsa has implemented puts additional strain on players, but soooooo much?

Long may our style of play continue, but if that is to be (and we seek to win more games that lose), the squad needs bolstering (and no, not with "signature" signings, but with the return of some of the youngsters who face lower league opposition in search of game time, which is clearly available in the 1st team)

[Tichi1]

Gulp!

Not looking forward to Friday now....

Got to stop the slide - without our best player and a bag full of other injuries.

Think we might struggle to break them down, and not too sure about our recent leaky defence.

Everything crossed.

[joellufcprice]

This is why we need someone else to play number 10, I feel our season is basically resting on Pablo staying fit for the remainder.


Without him on the pitch I don't think we have good enough players to unlock a defence and create a lot of chances.

[iamleeds]

stop been negative , be positive ffs

[WTF11]

stop been negative , be positive ffs

Not sure what is negative about having concern that a player who has been instrumental in getting us to where we are may have picked up an injury?

I think we're all positive about what has been achieved, with what, and by whom, but that doesn't remove us from reality.

[norfolk white]

The reality is week upon week we have 5 first teamers out with injury, when one comes back another drops out, even Liverpool or Man city can't sustain that, somehow, miraculously we remain top, and by two points, fair play to the players who have come in and plugged the gap.....here's hoping for a good result Friday.

[CLIVETHELEEDSFAN]

maybe we need more faith in those guys who are stepping in when the first teamers arent available

the match where 14 of the 18 are bpf ayling douglas jansson berardi cooper phillips forshaw klich alioski hernandez dallas roofe and berardi, with maybe the other 4 being shackleton clarke roberts and huffer, we can then have no excuses, coz thats our most experienced bunch

i just hope this happens sooner rather than later

however, im really impressed with the efforts of the youths this season

[cress]

Not only that, but Baker was also recalled by Chelsea and sent to Reading, so we lost even him. Our squad is ridiculously thin now. We need at least 4-5 players in before February.

[Flintadore]

You must be a nervous man WTF11! It seems that MB has sanctioned the recruitment of a keeper, No8, and No10...and he's leaving it all in the hands of VO! However, Bielsa has the final say, and any player VO offers up must "improve the team".

Crunch time in the season for us...even crunchier for Victor (and AR), eh?

[WTF11]

You must be a nervous man WTF11! It seems that MB has sanctioned the recruitment of a keeper, No8, and No10...and he's leaving it all in the hands of VO! However, Bielsa has the final say, and any player VO offers up must "improve the team".

Crunch time in the season for us...even crunchier for Victor (and AR), eh?

Err, no, not nervous at all, as anyone who thinks that Bielsa would ACTUALLY leave the identification, selection and recruitment of players to such key positions to the man who brought us Ineguchi, Grot, Anita, and all the other non-entities foisted onto us the supermarket sweep of last season is seriously deluded (BTW, Klich is an exception, one swallow doesn't make a summer).

In Bielsa we trust, Orta I wouldn't give space to in the queue for the gents at ER.

[Ozwhites]

Err, no, not nervous at all, as anyone who thinks that Bielsa would ACTUALLY leave the identification, selection and recruitment of players to such key positions to the man who brought us Ineguchi, Grot, Anita, and all the other non-entities foisted onto us the supermarket sweep of last season is seriously deluded (BTW, Klich is an exception, one swallow doesn't make a summer).

In Bielsa we trust, Orta I wouldn't give space to in the queue for the gents at ER.

Bielsa has created a dilemma for everyone with his recent thoughts on Orta. Everyone has to choose between contrasting opinions on him now. Bielsa or yours. :D

[WTF11]

Bielsa has created a dilemma for everyone with his recent thoughts on Orta. Everyone has to choose between contrasting opinions on him now. Bielsa or yours. :D

Not really. Would it be consistent of the man credited with turning this squad into a REAL team whilst maintaining a discrete approach to criticism we're unused to, for him to create even the appearance of a rift in the senior management team?

And after all, if we get promotion, it won't matter who was given credit and who actually does the work at some mid-point in the season.

[Ozwhites]

Not really. Would it be consistent of the man credited with turning this squad into a REAL team whilst maintaining a discrete approach to criticism we're unused to, for him to create even the appearance of a rift in the senior management team?

And after all, if we get promotion, it won't matter who was given credit and who actually does the work at some mid-point in the season.

So his comments were just a smokescreen? He really thinks he is gash and thinks the same as you? Not saying that is totally not possible...but anything to back up that assessment? Or clutching at straws in hope that it is the case?

[WTF11]

So his comments were just a smokescreen? He really thinks he is gash and thinks the same as you? Not saying that is totally not possible...but anything to back up that assessment? Or clutching at straws in hope that it is the case?

His comments are those you would expect from a member of the senior management team at the club about a fellow member of that senior management team. I have no idea what he genuinely thinks of Orta, or Radrizzani, or any other person at Leeds, including the players and coaching staff, although I suspect his opinions differ depending on who you are talking about, which would hardly be surprising. Everyone who posts here knows what I think of Orta, nothing on that front has changed simply because we have a coach/manager who as been able to get a very small number of the coachload of refugees from the lower divisions of football across the world to actually show quality. I neither know nor care too much about everyone elses opinion of the guy, so hardly "clutching at straws" of any sort

Neither do I care what Bielsas OPINIONS might be. What I care about is the end result, and what I am fairly certain of is that Bielsa is about as likely to leave all those matters relating to new players to Orta as I am to be the next Pope.

[OldWhiteTaff]

WTF11 you are absolutely right. Firstly of course MB's going to remain professional in his comments regarding any other senior member of the LUFC leadership team, so what he said about Orta is borderline irrelevant to what conversations there might be going behind closed doors. And secondly, it really p1sses me off when anyone raises some perfectly reasonable questions and gets immediately shot down for 'being negative' or 'not supporting the lads'. Just because we're top, and just because we're 'ALAW' doesn't mean the club is immune from making questionable decisions, or getting things wrong, and as a passionate fan I think it's perfectly reasonable to call those out when they happen.

I was stating after the run of 7 wins that quite a few of those results were in truth more good luck than top quality performances, and I challenge anyone who watched all 90+ minutes of all those games (like I did) to suggest that they were the performances of a Championship winning side. So maybe all that's happened against Hull and Forest is that our luck finally ran out. And given how things are right now, and reading the vast majority of comments on here and elsewhere, most people are praying for 'good luck' tomorrow evening, rather than expecting us to get the result, which if we are truly serious as a club about getting auto promotion is not the best place to be really is it? How anyone can suggest that a couple of top drawer bank busting signings would not help our promotion push is beyond me, and given the evidence of the last 6 weeks (so including Blackburn and Villa) if that doesn't happen then there is a very real danger that results will start to go against us more and more regularly, and we will slip down the table. And if that is allowed to happen then without doing anything to try and mitigate against that likelihood then personally it would be an absolute crying shame. This is manifestly our best chance of going up for years, and if we blow it now then it could take who knows how long before we get another chance this good.

[CLIVETHELEEDSFAN]

berardi is so good i mentioned him twice, the 2nd berardi is supposed to be bamford lol

[asturianblanco]

i have a sneaking suspicion that Hernandez will play tomorrow.
Dont think we will be lucky tomorrow, im expecting aquality, fluid performance and comfortable win.
some proper ****in doomongers on here sometimes, dont you just wish we were top of the league or sommat?

[WTF11]

i have a sneaking suspicion that Hernandez will play tomorrow.
Dont think we will be lucky tomorrow, im expecting aquality, fluid performance and comfortable win.
some proper ****in doomongers on here sometimes, dont you just wish we were top of the league or sommat?

I do hope you're not lumping me in with other "doom-mongers"? 😉

Happy with where we are, but alarmed (even Bielsa has said were short of players), at how many injuries we have suffered and the burden placed on those who remain fit.

For the record, I think we will win (and have predicted as much), tomorrow.

[OldWhiteTaff]

i have a sneaking suspicion that Hernandez will play tomorrow.
Dont think we will be lucky tomorrow, im expecting aquality, fluid performance and comfortable win.
some proper ****in doomongers on here sometimes, dont you just wish we were top of the league or sommat?

I guess it's just the pressure of genuine opportunity, it's been so long since we had something brilliant actually within our grasp I've forgotten how to handle it..........

[norfolk white]

Your previous post, oldwhitetaff was superb and in my opinion spot on, we don't know what goes on behind the scenes but when I read people like Fraser Forster at Southampton is available I always hope we have a chance of getting them in.

[Ozwhites]

His comments are those you would expect from a member of the senior management team at the club about a fellow member of that senior management team. I have no idea what he genuinely thinks of Orta, or Radrizzani, or any other person at Leeds, including the players and coaching staff, although I suspect his opinions differ depending on who you are talking about, which would hardly be surprising. Everyone who posts here knows what I think of Orta, nothing on that front has changed simply because we have a coach/manager who as been able to get a very small number of the coachload of refugees from the lower divisions of football across the world to actually show quality. I neither know nor care too much about everyone elses opinion of the guy, so hardly "clutching at straws" of any sort

Neither do I care what Bielsas OPINIONS might be. What I care about is the end result, and what I am fairly certain of is that Bielsa is about as likely to leave all those matters relating to new players to Orta as I am to be the next Pope.

Of course his comments could well be just business acumen...and I'm not being negative because that was raised by you. But on the same token, they could be his genuine thoughts too! If you don't really know one way or the other (like everyone else), stop trying to justify your hatred of Orta by hinting it couldn't possibly be his 'genuine' thoughts. We win promotion by 10 points and your opinion of him wont change as far as total recruitment. We get it....

[pete1967b]

Hernandez will play, MB has always stated who wont play before a game, Just for the record our last league defeat v Forest, We were down to ten men for the whole of the second half and they scored breakaway goals which they were always going to have them chances, However a tp pundit who has played the game said this, Leeds had ten men for the whole of the second half but they played like they had 13, Now that should give us all hope.

[WTF11]

Of course his comments could well be just business acumen...and I'm not being negative because that was raised by you. But on the same token, they could be his genuine thoughts too! If you don't really know one way or the other (like everyone else), stop trying to justify your hatred of Orta by hinting it couldn't possibly be his 'genuine' thoughts. We win promotion by 10 points and your opinion of him wont change as far as total recruitment. We get it....

No I don't think you do "get it".

I said, and repeat, I don't care about the opinions the guy might have of anyone, only what he does to deliver. And after all it wasn't me who suggested there was a need to have my opinion of Orta, or that of Bielsa, was it?

I suggested, still do, that imagining that Bielsa would NOT have involvement in player selection is pretty far fetched, given ALL his past experience and history. The fact that Orta wouldn't know a class player if his life depended on it is by the by.

[Ozwhites]

No I don't think you do "get it".

I said, and repeat, I don't care about the opinions the guy might have of anyone, only what he does to deliver. And after all it wasn't me who suggested there was a need to have my opinion of Orta, or that of Bielsa, was it?

I suggested, still do, that imagining that Bielsa would NOT have involvement in player selection is pretty far fetched, given ALL his past experience and history. The fact that Orta wouldn't know a class player if his life depended on it is by the by.

If we get promoted though, will Orta have played ANY part in it whatsoever in your book? Or will he be 100% the wrong person for the role regardless? Will there be any credit due for some he may have got right that helped us get there? Or still an overall failure. Yep no doubt he has got some wrong...but so would recruitment people at most clubs on simliar budgets to ours.