buzz

Even ignoring the total tactical ignorance of it he did it so early. Grant came on in the 77th minute lol. How can you possibly see out 15 minutes or more in that sort of system

Has he done that 4-2-4 thing again he used to do here when desperate? No surprise they're wide open State of the Hawthorns. Bloke is like a joy vampire

Apparently he turned down Harry Winks and van de Beek in Jan, both of whom were keen on moves - mad when you think they're now relying on Adam Forshaw. Do think he'd have turned it around with returning Phillips/Bamford though.

Looked like we changed from a 4-3-3 to a 4-2-3-1, him and Shelvey as the two, Joelinton on the right and Willock central.

Personally think the old Bielsa method would've clicked with Phillips and Bamford back - but sticking is probably just as risky as twisting at this point.

It's actually beggars belief how bad they are defensively - individually a lot of their players are really poor (old Championship remnants and new signings alike, particularly Firpo who is horrendous) but the Bielsa system used to cover for them because they were so unified at pressing together high up the pitch. Leeds will be tempted to make a change surely just to halt the freefall although I'm not convinced any other manager will have any luck trying to change this really idiosyncratically tailored Bielsa squad.

Individually their players aren't very good barring Philips and Bamford, both of whom are missing. Bielsa values the system more than the individual but it's come badly unstuck this season. Not sure anyone else could do much better with what they've got in fairness. He'll walk away at the end of the season regardless.

Printing money.

Moving Joelinton from the one position where he actually works absolute madness.

Norwich, Brentford, Leeds

You're basically asking "What message are we sending to our potential signings next summer if we carry on winning games?" The continuity of Willock-Shelvey-Joelinton is a massive part of that. Disrupt the dynamic and there's a good chance the team stops functioning the successful way it currently is.

Dennis, King and Sarr is a really dangerous front three and basically tailor made for Hodgson's counter attacking system. They look pretty good

Do we?

Any option is better than Krafth at this point. Murphy RB, Fraser RB, whatever. Utter utter shit.

Remind me again why everyone was trying to rehabilitate Krafth's reputation pre match?

You'd hope every possible inventive engineering solution would be looked at before considering moving. Pitch rotation, digging down, even the (ridiculous) brick by brick relocation of the G1 buildings etc. Not like we can't afford it The impact & appeal of the stadium where it's placed rn should never be taken for granted. Tbh I'd say expand it to 60k, squeeze in however many more you can with safe standing and then just take the L on matchday revenue losses and appreciate what you gain culturally/geographically from staying.

Man Utd look absolutely terrible. They remind me of us under Bruce

I'd be happy to have Dummett as the emergency backup local boy in theory but you just can't rely on him actually being fit to fill in.

Taking the worst case scenario and assuming this is effectively the last we see of him this season, we've basically paid £12m for 9 points. Think we'd all have done that if possible. Massively lose confidence in repeating any of those performances without him though because his leadership and composure have been absolutely essential. Not to mention the obvious fact he was on track to becoming our top goalscorer too.

Howe's big on continuity so I think he'd be reluctant to change systems, but it must be tempting to go to a 3-4-3 ish shape in Trippier's possible long term absence. Allows Lascelles to slot back in perfectly between Schar as the RCB and Burn left as well. Personally I'd be all for it because I think Trippier's influence has been huge and Krafth cannot replicate what he does in any way.

First half we bullied them physically and our press was really impressive. No disrespect to Wood who is serviceable but exciting to imagine a more physically able striker leading the line in that system. Second half we got pretty lucky but no surprises with that makeshift defence. To hold on to the win shows a huge change in attitude and application from December.

If the stories about Howe being concerned about the dressing room being upset by new signings/new highest earners in Jan then I think it's clear he knows how important it is to keep the bulk of the squad on his side. Not disrupting a winning team and giving the likes of Shelvey & Willock a confidence boost plays into that.

Howe won't disrupt a winning team. Only changes will be the enforced ones of Manquillo for Trippier and Burn for Targett.

Konsa suspended for our game is excellent