Cronky

Have I got this right? There's a big row between Bruce and two players, which leads to them being absent from the club for a number of days. Then the club agrees with the players to spread a false story that they're still suffering from the long term effects of Covid? Okay.

Yeah, I'd agree with all of this except that 'very, very poor' bit. They do have similar strengths, but Lampard had a maturity about him from an early stage. Longstaff often looks a bit nervous and unconfident, like he's still the kid amongst men. At some stage, and I hope it's soon, he'll develop that self-assurance that a player in that position really needs. And he probably needs a really good midfield anchor man behind him to free him up.

This sort of thing is happening a lot, but not just with Longstaff. The primary aim seems to be to keep behind the ball rather than challenge and risk getting beaten. Overall, we don't press teams. It's amazing how much time and space we give to the opposition to knock the ball around in our half. The issue with a press is that even if the first player doesn't get the ball, the opponent may get rushed into a hasty pass, and then the second player may have a better chance of getting it. So you need everyone to press collectively, or it's barely worth bothering. And we have too many slow players to make that work, so we opt for caution. Longstaff is the last midfield player that I would drop, because he is still developing, can pick a pass, and he does get into the opposition box. But he would benefit greatly from players with pace around him.

Shelvey is quite nimble enough to switch the direction of the attack, he does it every match. He'll get the ball and switch it from the left side to the right, and sometimes from the right side to the left. Somehow that doesn't often lead to goal scoring chances. Weeell - not quickly or under pressure. He usually operates from deep.

We were very slow in attack. Almiron has genuine pace, Wilson is not bad in that respect, but Joelinton, Longstaff, Ritchie, Hayden and Shelvey are all slow. We don't seem to have a central midfielder who is nimble enough to switch the direction of the attack easily. They seem to play the way they're facing because if they try to turn, they risk losing the ball - as happens a bit with Longstaff. Young Matty seems to have disappeared without trace. I can remember only one sub appearance this season, and he really struggled. But he's a player who can switch direction. And PS - I thought we improved a lot when Fraser came on. He has that pace that we generally lacked.

I suppose when you haven't got the ball 70% of the time that's a lot of pressing and shadow chasing to maintain. The players did look lethargic. We have a defensive mindset anyway, and there may have been some reaction to Covid in some players, but Leeds's energy levels were considerably above ours. The telling incident for me was in the lead up to their second goal, when Clark tried to clear with something of a vertical header which landed about 5 yards outside the penalty area. Hayden and Longstaff were both in a position to challenge for the ball, but they both just stood there and allowed the Leeds player to bring the ball down and move it out wide. We made it far too easy. No way would Leeds have let one of our players do that. Because of our defensive tactics, the players often seem to concentrate on getting behind the ball and don't always put in for a 50-50 challenge in case they get beaten. We've been grinding out results like this for the last few years - it didn't begin with Bruce, I don't care what anyone says. On Wednesday, of course it didn't come off. We are limited by the players we have, but I do hope we manage to build a side that can get on the front foot more. And the issue there is the finance, not the manager at the present time.

He forgot this one - Points - Leeds 14 NUFC 17 Sorry, couldn't resist.

Bobby Murdoch. Yep. Didn't take long.

Two European Cup winners in that photo. No prizes for Souness. Who is the other.

David Armstrong with hair at the back. John Craggs and Alan Foggon too. Is that David Mills top left ? I think so. Good spot.

David Armstrong with hair at the back. John Craggs and Alan Foggon too.

This is an absolutely amazing story - https://www.bbc.co.uk/news/uk-england-55220140

Well, apart from the fact that we actually won.

I've said this before, but the only time I watched Joelinton play for Hoffenheim, he was in central midfield, with two strikers ahead of him. In order to assess this player properly, you have to accept the idea that out-and-out striker is not his best role. We all thought he was a replacement for Rondon, but clearly he isn't.

We'll get men behind the ball and try to hit them on the break, as per. The longer it stays at 0-0, the better our chances. I saw a bit of Leeds-West Ham, and the longer the game went on, the more ragged Leeds looked.

Of course it's annoying, yet again, to see a team that's below us in the league, pass the ball much better than us. But ultimately games are decided by what goes on in the two final thirds of the pitch, and Bruce is finding a way of winning games. It's not all down to luck.

He has a very dodgy first touch, but when he does have the ball under control, he often uses it well and opens things up. Difficult player to assess. But his overall contribution is getting better.

There were promising signs of a partnership between him and Wilson. Gayle is a clever player who reads the game well. As does Wilson, of course.

Lewis has been disappointing. Too many times, when he gets the ball his entire body language looks like he only wants to play it backwards. West Brom are winning most of the 50-50 balls, and are getting some chances. We need another goal.

With Owen, at every club it all seemed to end badly. It's interesting that he's now revealed that he suffered from long-term fitness issues from a quite a young age, which curtailed that lightening speed that built his early reputation. Every club after Liverpool thought they were buying the original model, and ended up disappointed. He became something of a national institution very early on, and a lot of people were blinded to his decline as a result.

Linked with Brandon Williams in the Chronicle. https://www.chroniclelive.co.uk/sport/football/football-news/exclusive-newcastle-transfer-manchester-united-19383434 Good young player IMO.

He seems to have recovered confidence a bit with his passing. There were occasions last night when he was releasing the ball quickly and accurately. I think this often happens with emerging talents. They make a big impact, then take a step back when the pressure mounts and opposition players suss them out a bit. Then hopefully they toughen up and learn to impose themselves again.

It's the 0 tackles that gets me. Not only did he make no tackles, I don't think he ever got himself into a position where he could make a tackle. Seeing he's there primarily for his defensive qualities, that's quite an indictment. He just seems to be in a nervous mindset all the time, and rarely makes things happen, even when it comes to stopping the opposition.

Perhaps it's not saying much, but that's the best I've seen him play for us. Generally, he played with intelligence and did a good job linking up the attack. He's not at all sharp in his movements, so he's never going to be a great finisher.

Apart from getting behind the ball, I don't know what he contributes. Even then he stands off by at least 5 yards and doesn't attempt to pressure an opponent, intercept or make a tackle. I've also never seen him communicate with his team mates.