Thoughts from Wembley

[hopelesslyoptimistic]

Maybe the sun being so clear and blue was a portent for the game. The 2 hours before the game were fun with the majority of Leeds fans seeming to have forgotten or recent history at the grand old ground and singing their hearts between necking down pints.

The Aarsonson miss with hindsight was crucial as after that Chelsea bossed the first half.

It was noticeable from the stands (not so much when I watched the highlights back) how Chelsea set up to win the second ball from DCL or Ofakor knock downs.

We all had a lot of poor first touches or misplaced passes first half and at least 6 times Gaby G was free in space on the left with acres of the Wembley turf ahead of him yet we didn?t hit the ball but just tippy tappyed it around and lost it.

Technically, a lot of their players have a much better first touch.

Fair play to Farke he made changes early and they had an effect. If truth be told neither side really deserved to win.

The time wasting and feigning injuries in the second half was a disgrace and the ref did little if anything about it.

The ref from where I was sat had a very poor game.

The most disappointing thing is we play best when we aggressively press and when we beat Chelsea at home we played with two up top and went for it. It felt like we were present but didn?t turn up if that makes sense.

Hate the way Chelsea cheat all over the out CB so will be hoping Citeh rip them a new one in the final.

Pre and post game their fans didn?t really sing much we on the other hand made so much.noise.

My favourite bit of the day was soaking up the singing and optimism on the tube to get to Wembley. It was loud noisy and funny and I pity the posh Chelsea fans who got onto the wrong carriage so had to ensure it.

Back to the league and a big game v Burnley and club should push to finish as high as they can - each place is worth an extra 3.2m.

MOT

[spaldy]

It looked awesome on TV

So good to see Leeds back in a big time game. The fan support looks as good as any I've ever seen on the tube.

[Pacaman]

Good summary Hopey. Agree with it all. Disappointment yes but in fairness we?re not quite at the level of the top half clubs I guess. On our day we can give them all a game but we were off it yesterday. Aaronson needed to score and so did DCL. Some players were nervous I felt and personally I would have liked to have seen the speed of Dan James down the right flank.
Stach made a difference and hopefully he can start v Burnley

[hopelesslyoptimistic]

Sorry for any typos but I post from my phone 🤣👀

[Rev72]

Doubt we will ever get a better chance to get to an FA Cup final again , well in my lifetime anyway.

Chelsea are nothing more than cheats , absolute fannies , hope City proper hammer them in the Corruption Cup final.

My final thought , they were there for the taking and unfortunately too many of our players were off it/bottled it.

The players will look back on their careers when its over and feel ashamed they let so many of us down.

[norfolk white]

Feel the same rev, at my age this was probably my last and chance to see Leeds in an fa cup final, and also our best chance of ever doing so, unfortunately we never showed up, Chelsea are not a good team, Chelsea were poor but we were poorer, so so disappointing.

[hopelesslyoptimistic]

If we stay up - looking more and more likely - then there appear to be good foundations to build from.

They need to get a wriggle on with the ground redevelopment too to generate extra revenue.

In terms of the squad

GK - both of them are okay - Darlow looks decent with more game time and good at stopping shots.

CB - Rodon, Bijol and Struijk all good but only Rodon has proper pace

FB - GG excellent and James Justin looks better and better with each game - Bogle seems to have a bigger margin between good and less good performances - need at least one more Lab

CM - fairly well served but Gruev probably needs to go and Farke needs to trust Tanaka and Longstaff more - need to sign at least one top quality AM to kick on.

Wide - James quick but lacks in other areas, Ofakor a handful but not the greatest first touch, Gnonto is good but needs to be played. Aaronson - for all his graft which I admire I am not sure he is ever going to be a top top player - he seems to panic when he has time on the ball. Very inconsistent too.

Up front - DCL been very good but needs better back up, Nmecha great industry and huge but needs to play in a two. Piroe - woefully inadequate at this level.

Think that if they got rid of Gruev, James, Piroe, Harrison, Aaronson, Joseph (realistically he won?t play under Farke), Rama, Harrison, Wober, Schmidt and Joffy for whatever money they can get and invest in 4 quality upgrades it would be a good summer window bearing in mind we have some good youngsters also coming through.

Not confident it will happen but they need to prune the shrubs a bit to make them flower better!!

[ozleeds]

If we stay up - looking more and more likely - then there appear to be good foundations to build from.

They need to get a wriggle on with the ground redevelopment too to generate extra revenue.

In terms of the squad

GK - both of them are okay - Darlow looks decent with more game time and good at stopping shots.

CB - Rodon, Bijol and Struijk all good but only Rodon has proper pace

FB - GG excellent and James Justin looks better and better with each game - Bogle seems to have a bigger margin between good and less good performances - need at least one more Lab

CM - fairly well served but Gruev probably needs to go and Farke needs to trust Tanaka and Longstaff more - need to sign at least one top quality AM to kick on.

Wide - James quick but lacks in other areas, Ofakor a handful but not the greatest first touch, Gnonto is good but needs to be played. Aaronson - for all his graft which I admire I am not sure he is ever going to be a top top player - he seems to panic when he has time on the ball. Very inconsistent too.

Up front - DCL been very good but needs better back up, Nmecha great industry and huge but needs to play in a two. Piroe - woefully inadequate at this level.

Think that if they got rid of Gruev, James, Piroe, Harrison, Aaronson, Joseph (realistically he won?t play under Farke), Rama, Harrison, Wober, Schmidt and Joffy for whatever money they can get and invest in 4 quality upgrades it would be a good summer window bearing in mind we have some good youngsters also coming through.

Not confident it will happen but they need to prune the shrubs a bit to make them flower better!!

Well farke on grueev inuury last week ! He will be out for the rest of the season and I cant wait to have him back as he will be back at start of next season! So that's one theory down

[hopelesslyoptimistic]

My thoughts not Farke?s Oz - stop being curmudgeonly it?s supposed to getting colder there 🤣 - point being the club has the foundations to push on whether with or without Farke.

The FA cup outing wasn?t good for his CV as once more the old cautious signs were in play - Wembley outings with Leeds have resulted in two 1-0 losses but where the team didn?t deserve anything.

If the club can upgrade (a big if) the manager then that is something to consider too.

[ozleeds]

My thoughts not Farke?s Oz - stop being curmudgeonly it?s supposed to getting colder there �� - point being the club has the foundations to push on whether with or without Farke.

The FA cup outing wasn?t good for his CV as once more the old cautious signs were in play - Wembley outings with Leeds have resulted in two 1-0 losses but where the team didn?t deserve anything.

If the club can upgrade (a big if) the manager then that is something to consider too.

I was replying to your thoughts with facts lolIt is written like Bielsa we will bring no one new if we do they will be bench sitters and rest on our morals and replace him after we are doomed just like bielsa days. Thats my thoughts the second part hehe As for weather here it's deep into autumn no rain no wind just farking heat 26 degree days and thats down south up top there over 30s which is very worrying as the seasons don't know where they are just like Rev on a soft drinking binge let alone a heavy one! Only one thing has never change is your mate on here god bless him why bother anyway lol

[hopelesslyoptimistic]

What are you on about Willis!

[WTF11]

All the conjecture and navel gazing in the world is just stuff and nonesense unless one thing changes. The manager/coach.

I'd not disagree with most of what HO has written, but if he mentioned "must be played" once he did so several times. I agree, but.....

Farke cannot/will not change. A few bright sparks after the first half against Schitty and the more recent flash in the pan that gave us victory over Scum show that the CURRENT squad can give ANY PL team a run for their money, if the strategy, tactics are right and the coaching allows.

Wembley was a further illustration, if one were needed, of Farkes "can't do" mindset. Even if ALL the changes in personnel GO mentions came to pass (I do think James should be kept, his mere pace scares defences), it will make no difference if favourites continue to be played when better players are available.

There are much better managers out there, we need one.

[WTF11]

That was supposed to be "HO mentions"!

[spaldy]

I?ve seen this script with the 49?s.

They build on a slow and steady basis. A true side before self type of organization. It shows up over time. The hardest step has now occurred. Promotion, staying up first year and complying with PSR. We?ve done it with a win this weekend

I think there is a very good chance we see a cup final within 5 years.

[george_kaplan]

Same boat Spaldy, they does seems to be a buzz back about the place (ER) things are happening. Get this season cemented in. Close season and see where we are come next round. I like to think a few more steps up for us.