De første kampene i sommer er i ferd med å bli forhandlet frem.
Scarborough Athletic will host Leeds United in a pre-season clash. The Championship club will send over a team to tackle Steve Kittrick's side on Saturday July 29, kicking off at 3pm.
Read more at: http://www.thescarboroughnews.co.uk/news/boro-set-to-tackle-leeds-1-8556292
LUFC Leeds Cancel Pre-Season Friendly
Leeds United have pulled out of their planned pre-season friendly at Nuneaton Town.
Nuneaton had announced last month that Leeds would be taking a development squad side to the non-league side on Saturday July 15th.
The National League North side have now announced that the game has been cancelled by Leeds.
Leeds are yet to announce any plans for pre-season.
Read more: http://www.leeds.vitalfootball.co.uk/article.asp?a=493798#ixzz4jANVwfdX
Adam Pope
I understand that #lufc pre-season arrangements are being finalised and should be released later this week.
Phil Hay om Preseason
not yet. Delay in finalising a game for foreign tour and also home friendly at Elland Road.
Når kommer kampoppsettet?
PL har blitt sluppet og de starter jo senere..
Quote from: Bjorn on June 14, 2017, 11:06:25
Når kommer kampoppsettet?
PL har blitt sluppet og de starter jo senere..
21/6
Quote from: Runar on June 14, 2017, 11:14:06
Quote from: Bjorn on June 14, 2017, 11:06:25
Når kommer kampoppsettet?
PL har blitt sluppet og de starter jo senere..
21/6
Takk! Alt for lenge til! Har abstinenser! :o
Er det noen som vet noe mere om pre-season kampene i år?
Endelig litt nytt?'!!!!!
Phil Hay
they're looking at two games in Austria in July but again, the schedule isn't finalised.
So according to yesterday’s Kronen Zeitung, Leeds will be based in Fügen, Austria for a week from July 14. #lufc
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DC2xf8cXgAAAHzh?format=jpg&name=large)
Quote from: Promotion 2010 on June 22, 2017, 19:34:44
So according to yesterday’s Kronen Zeitung, Leeds will be based in Fügen, Austria for a week from July 14. #lufc
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DC2xf8cXgAAAHzh?format=jpg&name=large)
Fügen is 50km east of Innsbruck, SV Fügen play in 4th tier Tirol Liga. Huddersfield are due there July 29. #lufc
;D
Phil Hay
Austria. Just waiting for dates, opposition etc.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DDAXcFTXgAAl5gc?format=jpg&name=large)
Hay
Stand out match is v Borussia Monchengladbach in Austria. Second opponents in Austria still to be confirmed. #lufc
Lee Sobot
Leeds United will play Oxford United at Elland Road in final pre-season friendly as part of the deal to sign Kemar Roofe last summer #lufc
Fin artikkel:
https://throughitalltogether.sbnation.com/2017/6/25/15866878/leeds-united-preseason-set-borussia-monchengladbach
Et spansk lag trakk seg like før motstanderne skulle offentliggjøres.
Tre kamper i Østerriket sier Thomas C!!!!
https://www.leedsunited.com/video/87067/thomas-christiansen-first-day-back-26-06-17
Radio Yorkshire
#LUFC are to play La Liga side @SDEibar in pre-season friendly in Austria on 23rd July
Tre kamper i Østerriket:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DDabma1XcAEjiSN?format=jpg&name=medium)
Er litt nivå på preseason i år. Liker. (Kunne så klart vært enda høyere)
Vises kampene på lutv?
Billettinformasjon
https://www.leedsunited.com/news/ticket-news/22015/austria-ticket-details
Borrusia Mønchengladbach
Information regarding our @LUFC friendly in Austria on 20th July: The game will take place in Schwaz and not in Kufstein.
Ute og spiser!
Bonding:
https://mobile.twitter.com/WALM0T33/status/884504645179252738/video/1
Preseason i Austria:
Adam Pope
TC will name his squad for Austria shortly but expects Hernandez, Erwin, Sacko, Klich & Green to be involved. #lufc
Phil Hay
Erwin, Klich and Sacko had minor injuries tonight. Hernandez was rested. Christiansen still to finalise Austria squad.
Troppen til Østerrike begynner å ta form:
Hay
More squad decisions at Leeds: Lee Erwin's been told he can find another club. Toumani Diagouraga won't be travelling to Austria. #lufc
Og ingen Bellusci!!!
Quote from: Promotion 2010 on July 13, 2017, 14:14:27
Troppen til Østerrike begynner å ta form:
Hay
More squad decisions at Leeds: Lee Erwin's been told he can find another club. Toumani Diagouraga won't be travelling to Austria. #lufc
Og ingen Bellusci!!!
Denne setningen har jeg lest i tre påfølgende tråder.
Quote from: Hallgeir * on July 13, 2017, 17:01:03
Quote from: Promotion 2010 on July 13, 2017, 14:14:27
Troppen til Østerrike begynner å ta form:
Hay
More squad decisions at Leeds: Lee Erwin's been told he can find another club. Toumani Diagouraga won't be travelling to Austria. #lufc
Og ingen Bellusci!!!
Denne setningen har jeg lest i tre påfølgende tråder.
Viktig info vet du!
Litt vanskelig å splitte Hays tweetet.
Men for all del.....
Lee Sobot
Expect a somewhat quieter day on the #lufc front today. Squad already flown out to Austria. Leeds obviously on with the hunt for defenders.
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DEsLavJXcAAyMq1?format=jpg&name=large)
Ryan Pinnick
Paudie O'Connor not gone to Austria with the team, neither have Dave or Bellusci, leaving Jansson Ayling and Cooper, Cb imminent? #lufc
Fitness first as Leeds United begin their Austrian adventure
Phil Hay Email 06:00 Saturday 15 July 2017
AUSTRIA is fast becoming the destination of choice for pre-season tours and British teams are spread within its borders but Leeds United’s latest visit has fallen foul of their last. The club were in Austria with Uwe Rosler two years ago, based in Kossen and no more than an hour from the village near Jenbach where Thomas Christiansen set up camp yesterday but the events of that trip caught up with them on Friday as officials in Kufstein ordered the cancellation of Sunday’s friendly against Ingolstadt.
Leeds United head coach Thomas Christiansen Leeds contested one game on Austrian soil in 2015, a 2-1 defeat to Eintracht Frankfurt in Eugendorf, and the violence and arrests which followed that match have not been forgotten. The local mayor promptly announced that Eugendorf would stage no more friendlies and at the last time of asking the judiciary in nearby Salzburg had charged three Eintracht fans with various acts of disorder and were investigating a further 17. Four Leeds supporters paid “administrative fines†in the days after the friendly.
The finger of blame was pointed squarely by local police to a group of Eintracht ‘ultras’ who arrived in Eugendorf an hour before kick-off and, according to an official statement, caused “substantial problems†in Salzburg earlier in the day.
Eugendorf itself was ill-prepared for trouble; a market town with a population of around 6,000 who were unaccustomed to the sight of riot officers using pepper-spray. Kufstein, a short distance to the west, is bigger again but despite the protests of FC Kufstein, the club who were due to host Leeds and Ingolstadt, the plug was pulled on tomorrow’s friendly.
Kufstein’s council has banned what they called ‘risk games’ altogether. In the meantime, Leeds will work and train with a view of the Alps and an insistence from Christiansen that their fitness must be close to its peak by the time they fly home next weekend. The YEP’s Phil Hay Leeds have been here before, albeit 10 years ago when a scheduled match against Dynamo Dresden in Germany was called off at late notice on the insistence of the police. The club reacted quickly to find manager Dennis Wise an alternative fixture in the Czech city of Liberec but United are unlikely to find new opposition in time for Sunday. Ingolstadt have already arranged to play Mainz’s reserves this afternoon.
Leeds hope their remaining Austrian friendlies, against Borussia Monchengladbach in Schwaz on Thursday and Eibar in Jenbach on Sunday, will go ahead as planned and the vice-president of SK Jenbach, Thomas Thallauer, told the YEP yesterday that the meeting with Eibar was not under threat. In the meantime, Leeds will work and train with a view of the Alps and an insistence from Christiansen that their fitness must be close to its peak by the time they fly home next weekend.
The club loaded seven friendlies into July but Christiansen acknowledged himself that their first three, resulting in comfortable wins over English non-league sides, were a warm-up for the hardest part of pre-season. Leeds bullied North Ferriby United on Wednesday but will find more choice opposition waiting on the continent.Speaking after their win at North Ferriby, Christiansen promised hard fixtures in Austria and concerted physical work during United’s tour.
“Austria is important because of the opponents we have there,†Christiansen said. “We can measure ourselves in a better way there than in these friendly games we’ve had. This has been the beginning but physically we aren’t at our level yet.“When we come back from Austria we will be much closer to where we want and need to be. The game against Oxford, the last one before the league starts, is the one where we have to be almost ready.†Leeds will play one-time European powerhouse Monchengladbach in an early-afternoon kick-off in Schwaz, by which time temperatures are due to rise above 30 degrees. Eibar, the last game of Leeds’ tour next Sunday, is a meeting with the team who rivalled United for the £3m purchase of Samuel Saiz from Huesca. Saiz tied up a four-year contract at Elland Road on Thursday and was on the plane as Leeds flew into Munich yesterday. A month ago, Eibar believed he was destined to sign for them.
Leeds devoted themselves to finalising deals for Saiz, Caleb Ekuban and Ezgjan Alioski this week and planned to move onto defensive targets in the days that followed. Owner Andrea Radrizzani wants to see most of the club’s transfer completed by the end of the Austrian tour, a fortnight ahead of the first game of the Championship season, and Christiansen said he was hopeful that he could “90 per cent close the team†in that timeframe.
Read more at: http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/sport/football/leeds-united/fitness-first-as-leeds-united-begin-their-austrian-adventure-1-8651405
Phil Hay
no surprises. Erwin, Bellusci, Diagouraga obviously weren't travelling. Think Shaughnessy's in squad but not Paudie O'Connor
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DEzMsM-XgAAYO41?format=jpg&name=large)
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DEzMsM8XcAAOhNv?format=jpg&name=large)
Daryl
3 goalkeepers, 4 defenders (?!?), 12 midfielders, 6 attackers. #lufc
;D
Phil Hay
11pm arrival in Kufstein. No surprises with squad over here - Diagouraga, Bellusci, Erwin not involved. New signings have travelled. #lufc
Phil Hay
Three keepers (Wiedwald, Silvestri, Green) are here. Shaughnessy included, Paudie O'Connor not part of the travelling squad. #lufc
Og en annen måte å skrive det på:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DEzjv9ZXoAENdnP?format=jpg&name=large)
Ingen Denton med på pre-season camp. Har ikke fått med meg at han er skadet. Det betyr vel utlån eller salg (evt. gis bort). Imponerte ikke da han fikk sjansen sist sesong.
Faktisk ingen akademiprodukter bortsett fra Vieira og Phillips.
Quote from: Gufrias on July 16, 2017, 07:51:15
Faktisk ingen akademiprodukter bortsett fra Vieira og Phillips.
Hva med Shaughnessy?
Quote from: Bjorn on July 16, 2017, 09:16:54
Quote from: Gufrias on July 16, 2017, 07:51:15
Faktisk ingen akademiprodukter bortsett fra Vieira og Phillips.
Hva med Shaughnessy?
Tidligere Galway og Reading
Quote from: Cannavaro on July 16, 2017, 11:10:59
Quote from: Bjorn on July 16, 2017, 09:16:54
Quote from: Gufrias on July 16, 2017, 07:51:15
Faktisk ingen akademiprodukter bortsett fra Vieira og Phillips.
Hva med Shaughnessy?
Tidligere Galway og Reading
Han var vel hos oss hele forrige sesong?
Quote from: Cannavaro on July 16, 2017, 11:10:59
Quote from: Bjorn on July 16, 2017, 09:16:54
Quote from: Gufrias on July 16, 2017, 07:51:15
Faktisk ingen akademiprodukter bortsett fra Vieira og Phillips.
Hva med Shaughnessy?
Tidligere Galway og Reading
Om Shaughnessy ikke gjelder på grunn av det, så gjelder ikke Vieira heller. Kom til Leeds i 2015.
Denton og Wilks er visst skadet!
Quote from: Xern... on July 16, 2017, 12:30:15
Quote from: Cannavaro on July 16, 2017, 11:10:59
Quote from: Bjorn on July 16, 2017, 09:16:54
Quote from: Gufrias on July 16, 2017, 07:51:15
Faktisk ingen akademiprodukter bortsett fra Vieira og Phillips.
Hva med Shaughnessy?
Tidligere Galway og Reading
Om Shaughnessy ikke gjelder på grunn av det, så gjelder ikke Vieira heller. Kom til Leeds i 2015.
Shaughnessy kom til Leeds som 20-åring. Vet ikke om det kan regnes som akademiprodukt.
Quote from: Barry on July 16, 2017, 06:40:38
Ingen Denton med på pre-season camp. Har ikke fått med meg at han er skadet. Det betyr vel utlån eller salg (evt. gis bort). Imponerte ikke da han fikk sjansen sist sesong.
Syns han var bra i fjor, med mål og greier...
Quote from: GeirO on July 16, 2017, 15:12:48
Quote from: Barry on July 16, 2017, 06:40:38
Ingen Denton med på pre-season camp. Har ikke fått med meg at han er skadet. Det betyr vel utlån eller salg (evt. gis bort). Imponerte ikke da han fikk sjansen sist sesong.
Syns han var bra i fjor, med mål og greier...
Skadet store deler av vårsesongen!!
Vet ikke om dette er tull, men...
Daryl @Dazelar29
Bit of pre-season news.
Leeds are playing Bursaspor tomorrow #lufc
Samuel Bepsy
Where did you hear that?
Butsaspor Tribun
Bursaspor's official TV channel announced
Quote from: Promotion 2010 on July 16, 2017, 20:59:57
Vet ikke om dette er tull, men...
Daryl
Bit of pre-season news.
Leeds are playing Bursaspor tomorrow #lufc
Samuel Bepsy
Where did you hear that?
Bursaspor Tribun
Bursaspor's official TV channel announced
Bursaspor Tribun
İlk hazirlik maçimiz:
Bursaspor-Leeds United Pazartesi 19'da canlı yayınla Bursaspor TV'de.
Quote from: Promotion 2010 on July 16, 2017, 21:01:08
Quote from: Promotion 2010 on July 16, 2017, 20:59:57
Vet ikke om dette er tull, men...
Daryl
Bit of pre-season news.
Leeds are playing Bursaspor tomorrow #lufc
Samuel Bepsy
Where did you hear that?
Bursaspor Tribun
Bursaspor's official TV channel announced
Bursaspor Tribun
İlk hazirlik maçimiz:
Bursaspor-Leeds United Pazartesi 19'da canlı yayınla Bursaspor TV'de.
Daryl
The game will be on YouTube at 17:00 in England then NOT 19:00 like I first said! I completed disregarded the time difference! #lufc
Norsk tid kl 18.00 da!
Pontus
Getting ready for The season:
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DE7GZEvXcAEetuK?format=jpg&name=large)
Phil Hay
United’s squad in Austria: Green, Wiedwald, Silvestri, Berardi, Ayling, Anita, Jansson, Cooper, Shaughnessy, Phillips, Vieira, Bridcutt, O’Kane, Klich, Gomes, Dallas, Roofe, Hernandez, Sacko, Saiz, Alioski, Wood, Antonsson, Ekuban, Doukara.
Thomas Christensen
Everyday we learn to progress!!! Friday we invite our fans to a open training session. We will start at 10:30AM. Come and join us. @LUFC
:)
(http://res.cloudinary.com/jpress/image/fetch/w_auto,f_auto,ar_3:2,c_fill/http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/webimage/1.8654810.1500323637!/image/image.jpg)
SK Jenbach where United are training
Er Denton kommet ned etter skade?
(http://res.cloudinary.com/jpress/image/fetch/w_auto,f_auto,ar_3:2,c_fill/http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/webimage/1.8654812.1500323649!/image/image.jpg)
Videoer fra treningen
https://twitter.com/PhilHayYEP/status/887328480744136704
https://twitter.com/PhilHayYEP/status/887334416833499144
https://twitter.com/PhilHayYEP/status/887323016295796736
https://twitter.com/LUFC/status/887336916995145728
(liker at spillerne trives med Thomas :) )
Quote from: Promotion 2010 on July 18, 2017, 10:06:31
(http://res.cloudinary.com/jpress/image/fetch/w_auto,f_auto,ar_3:2,c_fill/http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/webimage/1.8654810.1500323637!/image/image.jpg)
SK Jenbach where United are training
Noen som vet hvor høyt anlegget er? Er det noe høydetrening inne i bildet her?
Noen som vet hvor høyt anlegget er? Er det noe høydetrening inne i bildet her?
[/quote]
Kuhstein, nah... 500 moh.
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Kufstein
Edith:
Jenbach, nah 563 moh
https://no.wikipedia.org/wiki/Jenbach
Begge kampene i Østerrike blir streamet live på LUTV:
https://www.leedsunited.com/news/team-news/22077/austria-matches-to-be-live-streamed
auren
Quote from: auren on July 18, 2017, 18:22:55
Begge kampene i Østerrike blir streamet live på LUTV:
https://www.leedsunited.com/news/team-news/22077/austria-matches-to-be-live-streamed
auren
Da har jeg nå signert meg opp :)
Details confirmed.
Leeds United will be holding an open training session for supporters who have travelled to Austria on Friday morning from 10:30am.
Head coach Thomas Christiansen has invited all fans to come and watch and there will be an opportunity to meet the players once training has finished.
The session will take place at the stadium of SK Jenbach, the same location as Sunday’s friendly with SD Eibar.
We look forward to seeing you there.
Det fine med sosiale medier er at vi får se litt av gutta off stage også. (punt intended ;) )
Her er Wiedwald, Gianni og Saiz under sine intro-sanger :)
https://twitter.com/WALM0T33/status/887395500764389376
Phil Hay's Austrian Tour Diary: How Thomas Christiansen is transforming Leeds United squad New Leeds United signing Madger Gomes shows off his skills (Photo: Jonathan Gawthorpe) PHIL HAY Email Published:11:48Wednesday 19 July 2017
Read more at: http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/sport/football/leeds-united/phil-hay-s-austrian-tour-diary-how-thomas-christiansen-is-transforming-leeds-united-squad-1-8657939
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DFHj1ahXsAIMNLp?format=jpg&name=large)
En del av fansen tok virkelig av etter kampen mot BM ;D ;D ;D
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DFMpQpQXoAAyh8K.jpg:large)
...og en del av spillerne fikk det med seg
(https://pbs.twimg.com/media/DFNguToXkAQ7apA.jpg)
Lee Sobot
Leeds fly back from Austria tomorrow and then have Tuesday and Wednesday off. Been doing double sessions. Back Thursday pre-Oxford. #lufc
The Eibars and the Gladbachs: Some Thoughts on Preseason
With the tour of Austria now under our belts, we now have a clearer idea of what Leeds United will look like next season. Here are some thoughts I rustled up for your delectation…
Bad Bursaspor-tsmanship?
Ah the age old question: how many matches does it take before a set of friendly fixtures becomes a tour? In Leeds United’s case, we are told, the answer is 2.5. With the game against Ingolstadt cancelled for fear of crowd trouble â€" understandably given the long history of fan violence in the previous fixtures between such long-standing rivals (…….) â€" Leeds managed a hastily arranged game against Turkish Super Lig side, Bursaspor.
By the time the match had been played, though, the club might have been regretting organising it in the first place. From start to finish, it comprised little more than a PR nightmare â€" a textbook example of the best way in which *not* to conduct a pre-season friendly. As a result of the cancellation of the Ingolstadt fixture, Leeds wanted the match kept under wraps, asking for a behind-closed-doors staging to prevent a large crowd from turning up and jeopardising any chances of their remaining fixtures in Austria. In the end, the game was played just across the Austrian-Italian border and not a single Leeds fan managed to find their way to the venue. So the three-match tour promised to the supporters who had made their way across to the continent had effectively become a two-match tour… if that even is a thing…
If this wasn’t bad enough, the game was initially streamed live on the aptly-named BSTV channel before option was also removed from the fans in light of the fact that no licence had been applied for from UEFA. For the less faint-hearted Leeds fans, there was the option of Periscope as one of the Bursaspor fans staunchly sat broadcasting the match on his phone despite the pleas of those around him to stop.
What little of the game I saw reflected the general nature of its wider context. Leeds looked ragged through the middle, being easily bypassed by the Turkish club on a number of occasions before the feed went down. In the event, it was actually a relief that the live broadcast was pulled as it saved us from what turned out to be a 3-0 drubbing.
What was most notable, then, from this performance was less what went on the pitch than off it: the club, having conducted themselves so admirably in the preceding weeks, had managed to piss off the fan base within the space of about 48 hours. Apologies did follow along with the promise of an open training session but that was scant consolation. An open training session? Lucky us! By comparison, every training session held throughout the season by our next opponents, Borussia Mönchengladbach, is public which suggests that the new-look Leeds United still have a long way to go even in spite of the positive signs so far.
TC-tics…
The Bursaspor debacle aside, the two-match tour did give us a much better idea of what to expect come the new season: a smartly-fought draw against Gladbach (albeit half of a Gladbach side whose other half played OGC Nice later that evening) was followed by a 4-2 loss to Eibar â€" a game of two halves in which the second was much more positive than the first.
It is becoming clear that 4-2-3-1 is the order of the season. As to the preferred starting XI, this is much harder to determine. In many respects, it is important to remember that the very idea of a starting XI is rapidly becoming a thing of the past. Based on what I have seen from the preseason, I would suspect TC is going to implement a squad rotation policy in order to keep the team as fresh as possible. A brief internet browse of APOEL’s results from last season confirms that Christiansen used a fairly regular turnover of players particularly in attacking positions although, on occasions, he would switch defensive players about: even goalkeepers (Rob Green *cough*).
Back to the Future?
It seems clear from all this that Leeds will probably set up with a fairly settled back four. Given that rumours emerged about Rob Green looking for outs from the club, it is fairly obvious that Rob Green won’t be undroppable. Most probably Felix Wiedwald will be preferred although it may be the case that he and Green are interchanged (although most probably this will be a cup competition thing).
In front of the keeper, the two centrebacks are the only real nailed on starters (with the exception of Chris Wood). Pontus Jansson (albeit a currently injured Pontus Jannson) and Matthew Pennington will be the first names on the team sheet wherever possible. Obviously questions are to be raised about Jansson’s disciplinary record and one of the most interesting aspects of TC’s next season will be how he deals with Jansson in this regard. With Liam Cooper being the first back up â€" although this is likely to change once the management realise that Liam Cooper is the first back up… â€" we can hardly afford to make any mistakes in this regard.
On either side of the back two, it seems likely that Luke Ayling will be played on the opposite side to one of either Gaetano Berardi or Vurnon Anita (with Berardi being played on the left and Anita on the right). This lack of specialist full backs/wing backs should be a cause for concern for Leeds fans. Last season, the weakness of the team was its poor capacity to transition from defence to attack as a unit. Our reliance on Chris Wood for goals was caused primary by lack of width in attack which resulted from a reluctance for either full back to get forward. And that should come as no surprise: Ayling isn’t really a full back and Berardi is certainly not a left back. Charlie Taylor, whatever you think of him, offers much more going forwards than either of these two and so it is likely that his off-field antics have had a much greater effect on the team than we might care to admit. As such, it seems hard to see how Leeds will be able to iron out this problem that essentially did for the team last season without bringing in at least one more ‘modern’ full back (think Ryan Kent).
Forward Looking
Throughout last season, Garry, Garry Monk rotated the two central midfielders playing the double pivot role in the 4-2-3-1. TC will follow suit, the question is how. So far in pre-season, Christiansen has paired two players together and subbed them on an off together: Eunan O’Kane and Kalvin Phillips are one duo with Liam Bridcutt and Ronaldo Vieira being the other. Prima facie this makes sense â€" each pair has a more defensively-minded player (Phillips, Bridcutt) and a more box-to-box player (Vieira, O’Kane). The spanner in the works here is Mateusz Klich who played on the outside of a midfield three in a 4-3-3 at FC Twente last season. This would suggest that Klich, if he is to be a regular starter, will need to be paired with a more defensive player. Of course, Christiansen may pair him up with one of O’Kane or Vieira in games which he expects Leeds to be more expansive. But for now, expect to see one of Bridcutt or Phillips on the starting XI for more defensive matches.
In front of the double pivot, the options get a little more predictable. Probably the best two performers during Preseason have been Kemar Roofe and Gianni Alioski. Both are wider players. One is left-footed (Alioski) and one is right (Roofe… in case you hadn’t followed the logic). These will be the preferred starters in wide positions of the midfield three ahead of Hadi Sacko and Stuart Dallas.
In the number 10 role, Samu Saiz and Pablo Hernandez will be used interchangeably. This is unquestionably a good thing as both encapsulate diametrically different styles of play â€" the one offering more explosiveness and industry, the other more creativity and intelligence. I suspect Saiz will be started and Hernandez will be brought on when a little more guile is needed against teams sitting deeper.
Up front? Guess what. We’ll play Chris Wood.
This is what I reckon our strongest line up is:
Tickety Boo!
It would be remiss of me to end my thoughts without some mention of the ongoing ticket price hike drama that is currently percolating in and out of my Twitter feed. Here’s what you need to know in summary form:
* We’ve sold a record number of season tickets at a price freeze from the last five seasons.
* There is around a 5% increase of ticket prices “in line with inflation†which will allegedly lead to an increase of around £2 per ticket.
* There is still a £5 surcharge added to tickets bought on the match day.
* The introduction of an A+ Category… for those occasions when we play Barcelona presumably…
* Ticketing is the biggest revenue stream for the club according to Angus Kinnear, the new Managing Director.
* Kinnear: “It’s clear from the business that we have done in the transfer market this summer that all money generated from ticket sales is going straight back in to improving the first team which is vital for an ambitious club like ours which wants to be competitive, yet does not benefit from parachute payments.â€
In light of this, these questions must be asked:
Why is the club pretending that this is being done in the name of improving the team? The financial gains that will be made from this are set to be minimal â€" most likely around £200k from the year with a best case scenario still coming in below £500k. To put this in perspective, the club set to benefit to the tune of £500k per year simply by releasing Giuseppe Bellusci on wage and bonuses alone. £200k wouldn’t even buy you Gianni Alioski’s haircut.
Why is the club punishing the fans who are most likely to be financially struggling? Those who are less well-off are likely to be unable to deal with a cash flow outlay of a season ticket and so will likely buy tickets as and when they are needed, perhaps even waiting til the match day to be certain. This will add a £5 cost.
Given the fans supported the club when the club was being financially irresponsible, why should we suddenly be expected to shoulder the cost as soon as the club is trying to sort itself out? We have bought tickets to truly dreadful games for the last 13 years which were certainly not value for money. Why should we be expected to stump up extra money which won’t, in fact, make much difference to the clubs finances anyway?
Why did the club not mention this increase in ticket prices until it was well on the way to selling a record number of season tickets which will ameliorate any real protest about the hike? The only way that prices will drop is if we protest by refusing to turn up to games. With a huge number of season tickets being sold, the effect of a mass walkout will be negligible. The club has played its hand and it looks a little bit deceitful to be honest. They should have been upfront about this before season tickets even went on sale â€" fans should be able to make decisions with as much transparency as the club can offer.
In short: The club-fan relationship is one that has been stretched to breaking point over the last 20 years to the extent that the club is lucky to still have such committed supporters. Rebuilding the club has as much to do with rebuilding trust as buying back the stadium and committing to squad building. As it stands, the club is preying upon the good will of the fans. This will continue to happen unless we refuse to accept these creeping impositions upon us. As Del Amitri sang, “Nothing ever happens â€" nothing happens at all. They’ll burn down the synagogues at six o’clock and we’ll all go along like before…â€
In light of this, if you aren’t a member of the Leeds United Supporters’ Trust â€" sign up. Let them know you’re unhappy. They are here to represent you to the club to ensure that liabilities aren’t taken.
https://jonmackenzie.com/2017/07/25/the-eibars-and-the-gladbachs-some-thoughts-on-preseason/