Should also say that I think James is an improvement on Costa, and I hope Helder refinds himself with Valencia, because the player I saw last Tuesday wasn't the same player I saw in the championship. He looked bereft of confidence, and he doesn't deserve the abuse that has been levelled at him both before and after this move away was confirmed.
Lubo, exactly what I posted , but in short form, on Jontys post 😂
Couldn’t agree more.
Happy with the u23s recruitment and the success of Struijk will mean that his value probably already pays for the fees of all u23 signings made since Orta arrived.
James does seem over priced and I do think we have been out negotiated here. But would have been tough because every man and his dog knew how much Bielsa wanted him. That was obviously used against us and the club had a choice, say no to Bielsa and sign no one or take the £5-8million hit and move on.
We do need another CM, but we will be fine without.
Any talk of Europe at this stage is nonsense. Consolidation is all that we can expect. Its not exciting but it's impossible to expect more. anywhere above 14th aint bad.
I expect Firpo to be a sizable improvement on Alioski who despite some very good performances was often our weakest player last season.
We can be confident that the James & Firpo are improvements on the outgoing 2 which can only be a positive.
Well written piece Lubo, especially like your coverage of the U23 and U18 players which shows insight. I couldn't agree more with your assessment of the established U23's that you mentioned (Gelhardt, Greenwood, Summerville, Drameh, Bate, Jenkins and Cresswell), additionally it is good though to see how much McCarron has come on in his new position. I am looking forward to seeing Hjelde play. I have to say I have been a little concerned with Klaesson's distribution and feel he should have done better on a couple of the goals we have conceded at that level.
comment by HaveFaithInLeeds (U8688)
posted 28 seconds ago
Happy with the u23s recruitment and the success of Struijk will mean that his value probably already pays for the fees of all u23 signings made since Orta arrived.
James does seem over priced and I do think we have been out negotiated here. But would have been tough because every man and his dog knew how much Bielsa wanted him. That was obviously used against us and the club had a choice, say no to Bielsa and sign no one or take the £5-8million hit and move on.
We do need another CM, but we will be fine without.
Any talk of Europe at this stage is nonsense. Consolidation is all that we can expect. Its not exciting but it's impossible to expect more. anywhere above 14th aint bad.
I expect Firpo to be a sizable improvement on Alioski who despite some very good performances was often our weakest player last season.
We can be confident that the James & Firpo are improvements on the outgoing 2 which can only be a positive.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
i think the other sizeable positive with us signing James is that it may suggest that the club sees a future for Bielsa here beyond next summer. It could certainly serve as a further incentive for him to commit to that,
comment by Elsbels - The Specials' One (U21658)
posted 1 minute ago
Well written piece Lubo, especially like your coverage of the U23 and U18 players which shows insight. I couldn't agree more with your assessment of the established U23's that you mentioned (Gelhardt, Greenwood, Summerville, Drameh, Bate, Jenkins and Cresswell), additionally it is good though to see how much McCarron has come on in his new position. I am looking forward to seeing Hjelde play. I have to say I have been a little concerned with Klaesson's distribution and feel he should have done better on a couple of the goals we have conceded at that level.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
McCarron was not a player I would have predicted breaking through at the start of last year, but by all accounts he has been fantastic for the U23s at LB so far. perhaps telling that the club were looking at signing an U23 LB at the start of the summer, but decided against it by the end.
Going to give Klaesson some time. Gets rave reviews from people familiar with the Norway league, and settling in a new country, so might take some time. Think Meslier had a tough few U23 games when he first signed.
5/10, see the other thread.
comment by Shaun M - Everywhere you go, always take Rapin... (U9955)
posted 18 minutes ago
5/10, see the other thread.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
?
5 Stars from Lubo.
Agree totally with your assessment and ull/Els/Faith.
On James, Faith nailed it (and reports back it up),
MB was infatuated with James. He obviously sees
something in him that has him fired up. Club could
not ignore that when he became available. Yes,
we got taken to the cleaners a little on price.
I'm excited about the U23s coming through. And
for whatever reason, Forshaw feels like he could
be the bonus player in the mid that we need.
lubo rob is a cf, he has been played out of position & the pl has found him out.
as for costa, already said a great championship player but not a pl player as to why he was sold after a serious injury.
was against the james signing at 1st but if mb works on him then we have harrison on the left, james on the left & raffi free to roam behind bamford we will slice teams apart
comment by kammys left foot (U21862)
posted 4 minutes ago
lubo rob is a cf, he has been played out of position & the pl has found him out.
as for costa, already said a great championship player but not a pl player as to why he was sold after a serious injury.
was against the james signing at 1st but if mb works on him then we have harrison on the left, james on the left & raffi free to roam behind bamford we will slice teams apart
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Rodrigo has always been a versatile player, capable of playing across the attacking line. Was probably part of why we signed him, because we know how much Bielsa values versatility of play. I think he does well when he has the space to exert an influence on the game, but struggles in games where we need energy in the press on opposition CMs. Unfortunately, the three games we have played so far have been against teams who set up like that.
I think the other sizeable positive with us signing James is that it may suggest that the club sees a future for Bielsa here beyond next summer. It could certainly serve as a further incentive for him to commit to that,
Excellent point Lubo, I don't think many would have noticed that, it almost sneaked under the radar.
Consequently as long as Bielsa is with us then the longer we will hang onto the likes of Raphina and attract other players of the quality of Raphina.
comment by Macca: Emily Bishop's love child (U8194)
posted 1 hour, 42 minutes ago
I think the other sizeable positive with us signing James is that it may suggest that the club sees a future for Bielsa here beyond next summer. It could certainly serve as a further incentive for him to commit to that,
^^^^^
I bet there's truth to that
Do we need another CM? Maybe, but the club is putting faith in Forshaw and Shackleton stepping up, and I'm happy to back that decision, with Jack Jenkins and Lewis Bate both being talented options from the U23s.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
I think this is the most important question in your excellent summary, Lubo, but I do not see how you can be happy with Shacks and Forshaw as our backups in midfield. The fact is that without KP in front of the back four, our win rate disappears. We have tried Koch, Struijk and Dallas in that role, but there is nobody who can transition our play like KP. Many of our goals last season came from fast transition from defence to attack with KP providing a decisive pass to a winger. And of course, we had Pablo, who could play those passes with a blindfold on.
I hope people disagree with me here, but I think we bought in the wrong kind of player for what we need. 25 million would have bought any number of decent midfielders.
If we were keeping costa I wouldn't mind the james price tag. But that's a huge price for not that much of an improvement.
Also I don't think alioski was our weakest player last year , that would be cooper. Will cost us a lot of points this year. I know this is an unpopular opinion on here but he's just too slow and constantly holding someone's shirt.
Really good summary Lubo.
We saw glimpses of brilliance from Rodrigo last year. He just needs a run of games and luck.
However, with James arriving, could Raphinha play in the centre, behind Bamford?
And I agree with Mont on Cooper, although I'm a bit disappointed in Koch so far. Not sure he's on the wavelength yet.
Totally agree on Llorente - the best signing so far, behind Raphinha.
And that's an interesting idea - that signing James will keep MB happy. He's got to be happy - the club are not selling our best players, as well as buying new players.
And Forshaw might well end up surprising us all, you never know.
Anyhow, fingers crossed for Paddy Bamford during this international break, and all the Leeds players involved in games. Heard Stuart Dallas is not playing for Norn Ireland - maybe still feeling that assault by Barnes? Hope he's alright.
All the Bielsa ringing, I think most of us on here agree with you that signing another midfielder to iether play alongside KP or as cover for KP was a priority during this transfer window and it seems Leeds had put all their eggs in one basket trying to get Gallagher.
A similar player or a player of KPs ability would be someone like Declan Rice and you're talking 50-60 million. On the continent there was De Paul at about 37 million and a few others similarly priced and obviously too expensive for us
I personally liked the Fulham midfielder Harrison Reid and thought he would have fitted the bill and also Buendia at Norwich but he chose Villa.
Therefore after failing to land Gallagher I think Bielsa has probably decided Foreshaw and Shackleton and Dallas will do a job in the middle when called upon and O'brien at Huddersfield was not seen as an improvement on what we already have.
With a lot of speculation that Bielsa will play James and Harrison as wingers and move Raphina into an attacking central role I'm looking forward to seeing Kevin Keeganesque 4-3 and 5-4 matches not necessarily with us always on the winning side though.
comment by All the Bielsa ringing (U19827)
posted 2 hours, 6 minutes ago
Do we need another CM? Maybe, but the club is putting faith in Forshaw and Shackleton stepping up, and I'm happy to back that decision, with Jack Jenkins and Lewis Bate both being talented options from the U23s.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
I think this is the most important question in your excellent summary, Lubo, but I do not see how you can be happy with Shacks and Forshaw as our backups in midfield. The fact is that without KP in front of the back four, our win rate disappears. We have tried Koch, Struijk and Dallas in that role, but there is nobody who can transition our play like KP. Many of our goals last season came from fast transition from defence to attack with KP providing a decisive pass to a winger. And of course, we had Pablo, who could play those passes with a blindfold on.
I hope people disagree with me here, but I think we bought in the wrong kind of player for what we need. 25 million would have bought any number of decent midfielders.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bckup to Phillips is obviously a hot point of contention, but I'm not sure its really as simple as signing a player to back him up. Phillips is, ostensibly, the lynchpin of how we set up, and is a nailed on starter week in/week out, so whoever we signed would have to be comfortable knowing this. Not only does this raise the question of whether or not you would want to sign a player with this mentality, but it also presents three plausible possibilities in terms of recruitment.
A.) Sign a young understudy, who can be developed into a Phillips equivalent over a few years (the club may think they have this in Jenkins/Kenneh, or can achieve it with Bate), B.) Sign a mediocre covering player to specifically cover the Phillips role (the club probably decided against this as we already have Forshaw, who practically sums that role up to a tee), or C.) Sign an ageing veteran, who is happy to sit on the bench and cover the position for a couple of seasons, then replace (a la James Milner from Liverpool, for instance).
In my view, the club have opted for A and B, with Bate signed as the long term replacement, whilst Forshaw and Koch cover the role for this season. This saves future investment, as Bate will, hopefully, be ready to provide support in the position next summer. If not, then the club has expended relatively little, as opposed to spending 8-10 mill on a backup option we have to replace next year because they aren't good enough (such as Lewis O'Brien).
comment by montleeds (U18330)
posted 10 hours, 5 minutes ago
If we were keeping costa I wouldn't mind the james price tag. But that's a huge price for not that much of an improvement.
Also I don't think alioski was our weakest player last year , that would be cooper. Will cost us a lot of points this year. I know this is an unpopular opinion on here but he's just too slow and constantly holding someone's shirt.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I think James will be a huge improvement over Costa. For a start he’s not afraid to run at and past opponents. He’s direct and obviously believes his own ability - something Costa struggled with.
i cannot believe some think james is not an improvement on costapacketfornout.....
james fees up raffi to maraud up front, he will be a nightmare in a free no.10 role, with harrison & james on either wing
comment by Jaz63 (U8369)
posted 9 hours, 56 minutes ago
Really good summary Lubo.
We saw glimpses of brilliance from Rodrigo last year. He just needs a run of games and luck.
However, with James arriving, could Raphinha play in the centre, behind Bamford?
And I agree with Mont on Cooper, although I'm a bit disappointed in Koch so far. Not sure he's on the wavelength yet.
Totally agree on Llorente - the best signing so far, behind Raphinha.
And that's an interesting idea - that signing James will keep MB happy. He's got to be happy - the club are not selling our best players, as well as buying new players.
And Forshaw might well end up surprising us all, you never know.
Anyhow, fingers crossed for Paddy Bamford during this international break, and all the Leeds players involved in games. Heard Stuart Dallas is not playing for Norn Ireland - maybe still feeling that assault by Barnes? Hope he's alright.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
spot on
comment by Macca: Emily Bishop's love child (U8194)
posted 14 hours, 56 minutes ago
I think the other sizeable positive with us signing James is that it may suggest that the club sees a future for Bielsa here beyond next summer. It could certainly serve as a further incentive for him to commit to that,
Excellent point Lubo, I don't think many would have noticed that, it almost sneaked under the radar.
Consequently as long as Bielsa is with us then the longer we will hang onto the likes of Raphina and attract other players of the quality of Raphina.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Absolutely. Definitely gives a positive feeling about the potential for Bielsa to be around for a while.
One other (unpopular) way to look at the James signing is that if Raph was to have his head turned by champions league football, we will be in less of a difficult situation. Overall a smart transfer by the club.
comment by HaveFaithInLeeds (U8688)
posted 21 hours, 53 minutes ago
Happy with the u23s recruitment and the success of Struijk will mean that his value probably already pays for the fees of all u23 signings made since Orta arrived.
James does seem over priced and I do think we have been out negotiated here. But would have been tough because every man and his dog knew how much Bielsa wanted him. That was obviously used against us and the club had a choice, say no to Bielsa and sign no one or take the £5-8million hit and move on.
We do need another CM, but we will be fine without.
Any talk of Europe at this stage is nonsense. Consolidation is all that we can expect. Its not exciting but it's impossible to expect more. anywhere above 14th aint bad.
I expect Firpo to be a sizable improvement on Alioski who despite some very good performances was often our weakest player last season.
We can be confident that the James & Firpo are improvements on the outgoing 2 which can only be a positive.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
The James transfer fee pays Ronaldo’s reported £385,000 per week wages for 15 months; I’m guessing the extra £5million is a ‘final day’ premium. Them there’s a letter of the £52,000 James was on at Man Utd. Has anyone any idea the weekly wages he has agreed with us yet?
Sign in if you want to comment
Transfer business
Page 1 of 2
posted on 1/9/21
Should also say that I think James is an improvement on Costa, and I hope Helder refinds himself with Valencia, because the player I saw last Tuesday wasn't the same player I saw in the championship. He looked bereft of confidence, and he doesn't deserve the abuse that has been levelled at him both before and after this move away was confirmed.
posted on 1/9/21
Lubo, exactly what I posted , but in short form, on Jontys post 😂
Couldn’t agree more.
posted on 1/9/21
Happy with the u23s recruitment and the success of Struijk will mean that his value probably already pays for the fees of all u23 signings made since Orta arrived.
James does seem over priced and I do think we have been out negotiated here. But would have been tough because every man and his dog knew how much Bielsa wanted him. That was obviously used against us and the club had a choice, say no to Bielsa and sign no one or take the £5-8million hit and move on.
We do need another CM, but we will be fine without.
Any talk of Europe at this stage is nonsense. Consolidation is all that we can expect. Its not exciting but it's impossible to expect more. anywhere above 14th aint bad.
I expect Firpo to be a sizable improvement on Alioski who despite some very good performances was often our weakest player last season.
We can be confident that the James & Firpo are improvements on the outgoing 2 which can only be a positive.
posted on 1/9/21
Well written piece Lubo, especially like your coverage of the U23 and U18 players which shows insight. I couldn't agree more with your assessment of the established U23's that you mentioned (Gelhardt, Greenwood, Summerville, Drameh, Bate, Jenkins and Cresswell), additionally it is good though to see how much McCarron has come on in his new position. I am looking forward to seeing Hjelde play. I have to say I have been a little concerned with Klaesson's distribution and feel he should have done better on a couple of the goals we have conceded at that level.
posted on 1/9/21
comment by HaveFaithInLeeds (U8688)
posted 28 seconds ago
Happy with the u23s recruitment and the success of Struijk will mean that his value probably already pays for the fees of all u23 signings made since Orta arrived.
James does seem over priced and I do think we have been out negotiated here. But would have been tough because every man and his dog knew how much Bielsa wanted him. That was obviously used against us and the club had a choice, say no to Bielsa and sign no one or take the £5-8million hit and move on.
We do need another CM, but we will be fine without.
Any talk of Europe at this stage is nonsense. Consolidation is all that we can expect. Its not exciting but it's impossible to expect more. anywhere above 14th aint bad.
I expect Firpo to be a sizable improvement on Alioski who despite some very good performances was often our weakest player last season.
We can be confident that the James & Firpo are improvements on the outgoing 2 which can only be a positive.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
i think the other sizeable positive with us signing James is that it may suggest that the club sees a future for Bielsa here beyond next summer. It could certainly serve as a further incentive for him to commit to that,
posted on 1/9/21
comment by Elsbels - The Specials' One (U21658)
posted 1 minute ago
Well written piece Lubo, especially like your coverage of the U23 and U18 players which shows insight. I couldn't agree more with your assessment of the established U23's that you mentioned (Gelhardt, Greenwood, Summerville, Drameh, Bate, Jenkins and Cresswell), additionally it is good though to see how much McCarron has come on in his new position. I am looking forward to seeing Hjelde play. I have to say I have been a little concerned with Klaesson's distribution and feel he should have done better on a couple of the goals we have conceded at that level.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
McCarron was not a player I would have predicted breaking through at the start of last year, but by all accounts he has been fantastic for the U23s at LB so far. perhaps telling that the club were looking at signing an U23 LB at the start of the summer, but decided against it by the end.
Going to give Klaesson some time. Gets rave reviews from people familiar with the Norway league, and settling in a new country, so might take some time. Think Meslier had a tough few U23 games when he first signed.
posted on 1/9/21
5/10, see the other thread.
posted on 1/9/21
comment by Shaun M - Everywhere you go, always take Rapin... (U9955)
posted 18 minutes ago
5/10, see the other thread.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
?
posted on 1/9/21
5 Stars from Lubo.
Agree totally with your assessment and ull/Els/Faith.
On James, Faith nailed it (and reports back it up),
MB was infatuated with James. He obviously sees
something in him that has him fired up. Club could
not ignore that when he became available. Yes,
we got taken to the cleaners a little on price.
I'm excited about the U23s coming through. And
for whatever reason, Forshaw feels like he could
be the bonus player in the mid that we need.
posted on 1/9/21
*from me to you Lubo
posted on 1/9/21
lubo rob is a cf, he has been played out of position & the pl has found him out.
as for costa, already said a great championship player but not a pl player as to why he was sold after a serious injury.
was against the james signing at 1st but if mb works on him then we have harrison on the left, james on the left & raffi free to roam behind bamford we will slice teams apart
posted on 1/9/21
* rod
posted on 1/9/21
comment by kammys left foot (U21862)
posted 4 minutes ago
lubo rob is a cf, he has been played out of position & the pl has found him out.
as for costa, already said a great championship player but not a pl player as to why he was sold after a serious injury.
was against the james signing at 1st but if mb works on him then we have harrison on the left, james on the left & raffi free to roam behind bamford we will slice teams apart
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Rodrigo has always been a versatile player, capable of playing across the attacking line. Was probably part of why we signed him, because we know how much Bielsa values versatility of play. I think he does well when he has the space to exert an influence on the game, but struggles in games where we need energy in the press on opposition CMs. Unfortunately, the three games we have played so far have been against teams who set up like that.
posted on 1/9/21
I think the other sizeable positive with us signing James is that it may suggest that the club sees a future for Bielsa here beyond next summer. It could certainly serve as a further incentive for him to commit to that,
Excellent point Lubo, I don't think many would have noticed that, it almost sneaked under the radar.
Consequently as long as Bielsa is with us then the longer we will hang onto the likes of Raphina and attract other players of the quality of Raphina.
posted on 1/9/21
comment by Macca: Emily Bishop's love child (U8194)
posted 1 hour, 42 minutes ago
I think the other sizeable positive with us signing James is that it may suggest that the club sees a future for Bielsa here beyond next summer. It could certainly serve as a further incentive for him to commit to that,
^^^^^
I bet there's truth to that
posted on 1/9/21
Do we need another CM? Maybe, but the club is putting faith in Forshaw and Shackleton stepping up, and I'm happy to back that decision, with Jack Jenkins and Lewis Bate both being talented options from the U23s.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
I think this is the most important question in your excellent summary, Lubo, but I do not see how you can be happy with Shacks and Forshaw as our backups in midfield. The fact is that without KP in front of the back four, our win rate disappears. We have tried Koch, Struijk and Dallas in that role, but there is nobody who can transition our play like KP. Many of our goals last season came from fast transition from defence to attack with KP providing a decisive pass to a winger. And of course, we had Pablo, who could play those passes with a blindfold on.
I hope people disagree with me here, but I think we bought in the wrong kind of player for what we need. 25 million would have bought any number of decent midfielders.
posted on 1/9/21
If we were keeping costa I wouldn't mind the james price tag. But that's a huge price for not that much of an improvement.
Also I don't think alioski was our weakest player last year , that would be cooper. Will cost us a lot of points this year. I know this is an unpopular opinion on here but he's just too slow and constantly holding someone's shirt.
posted on 1/9/21
Really good summary Lubo.
We saw glimpses of brilliance from Rodrigo last year. He just needs a run of games and luck.
However, with James arriving, could Raphinha play in the centre, behind Bamford?
And I agree with Mont on Cooper, although I'm a bit disappointed in Koch so far. Not sure he's on the wavelength yet.
Totally agree on Llorente - the best signing so far, behind Raphinha.
And that's an interesting idea - that signing James will keep MB happy. He's got to be happy - the club are not selling our best players, as well as buying new players.
And Forshaw might well end up surprising us all, you never know.
Anyhow, fingers crossed for Paddy Bamford during this international break, and all the Leeds players involved in games. Heard Stuart Dallas is not playing for Norn Ireland - maybe still feeling that assault by Barnes? Hope he's alright.
posted on 1/9/21
All the Bielsa ringing, I think most of us on here agree with you that signing another midfielder to iether play alongside KP or as cover for KP was a priority during this transfer window and it seems Leeds had put all their eggs in one basket trying to get Gallagher.
A similar player or a player of KPs ability would be someone like Declan Rice and you're talking 50-60 million. On the continent there was De Paul at about 37 million and a few others similarly priced and obviously too expensive for us
I personally liked the Fulham midfielder Harrison Reid and thought he would have fitted the bill and also Buendia at Norwich but he chose Villa.
Therefore after failing to land Gallagher I think Bielsa has probably decided Foreshaw and Shackleton and Dallas will do a job in the middle when called upon and O'brien at Huddersfield was not seen as an improvement on what we already have.
With a lot of speculation that Bielsa will play James and Harrison as wingers and move Raphina into an attacking central role I'm looking forward to seeing Kevin Keeganesque 4-3 and 5-4 matches not necessarily with us always on the winning side though.
posted on 2/9/21
comment by All the Bielsa ringing (U19827)
posted 2 hours, 6 minutes ago
Do we need another CM? Maybe, but the club is putting faith in Forshaw and Shackleton stepping up, and I'm happy to back that decision, with Jack Jenkins and Lewis Bate both being talented options from the U23s.
-----------------------------------------------------------------------
I think this is the most important question in your excellent summary, Lubo, but I do not see how you can be happy with Shacks and Forshaw as our backups in midfield. The fact is that without KP in front of the back four, our win rate disappears. We have tried Koch, Struijk and Dallas in that role, but there is nobody who can transition our play like KP. Many of our goals last season came from fast transition from defence to attack with KP providing a decisive pass to a winger. And of course, we had Pablo, who could play those passes with a blindfold on.
I hope people disagree with me here, but I think we bought in the wrong kind of player for what we need. 25 million would have bought any number of decent midfielders.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Bckup to Phillips is obviously a hot point of contention, but I'm not sure its really as simple as signing a player to back him up. Phillips is, ostensibly, the lynchpin of how we set up, and is a nailed on starter week in/week out, so whoever we signed would have to be comfortable knowing this. Not only does this raise the question of whether or not you would want to sign a player with this mentality, but it also presents three plausible possibilities in terms of recruitment.
A.) Sign a young understudy, who can be developed into a Phillips equivalent over a few years (the club may think they have this in Jenkins/Kenneh, or can achieve it with Bate), B.) Sign a mediocre covering player to specifically cover the Phillips role (the club probably decided against this as we already have Forshaw, who practically sums that role up to a tee), or C.) Sign an ageing veteran, who is happy to sit on the bench and cover the position for a couple of seasons, then replace (a la James Milner from Liverpool, for instance).
In my view, the club have opted for A and B, with Bate signed as the long term replacement, whilst Forshaw and Koch cover the role for this season. This saves future investment, as Bate will, hopefully, be ready to provide support in the position next summer. If not, then the club has expended relatively little, as opposed to spending 8-10 mill on a backup option we have to replace next year because they aren't good enough (such as Lewis O'Brien).
posted on 2/9/21
comment by montleeds (U18330)
posted 10 hours, 5 minutes ago
If we were keeping costa I wouldn't mind the james price tag. But that's a huge price for not that much of an improvement.
Also I don't think alioski was our weakest player last year , that would be cooper. Will cost us a lot of points this year. I know this is an unpopular opinion on here but he's just too slow and constantly holding someone's shirt.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
I think James will be a huge improvement over Costa. For a start he’s not afraid to run at and past opponents. He’s direct and obviously believes his own ability - something Costa struggled with.
posted on 2/9/21
i cannot believe some think james is not an improvement on costapacketfornout.....
james fees up raffi to maraud up front, he will be a nightmare in a free no.10 role, with harrison & james on either wing
posted on 2/9/21
comment by Jaz63 (U8369)
posted 9 hours, 56 minutes ago
Really good summary Lubo.
We saw glimpses of brilliance from Rodrigo last year. He just needs a run of games and luck.
However, with James arriving, could Raphinha play in the centre, behind Bamford?
And I agree with Mont on Cooper, although I'm a bit disappointed in Koch so far. Not sure he's on the wavelength yet.
Totally agree on Llorente - the best signing so far, behind Raphinha.
And that's an interesting idea - that signing James will keep MB happy. He's got to be happy - the club are not selling our best players, as well as buying new players.
And Forshaw might well end up surprising us all, you never know.
Anyhow, fingers crossed for Paddy Bamford during this international break, and all the Leeds players involved in games. Heard Stuart Dallas is not playing for Norn Ireland - maybe still feeling that assault by Barnes? Hope he's alright.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
spot on
posted on 2/9/21
comment by Macca: Emily Bishop's love child (U8194)
posted 14 hours, 56 minutes ago
I think the other sizeable positive with us signing James is that it may suggest that the club sees a future for Bielsa here beyond next summer. It could certainly serve as a further incentive for him to commit to that,
Excellent point Lubo, I don't think many would have noticed that, it almost sneaked under the radar.
Consequently as long as Bielsa is with us then the longer we will hang onto the likes of Raphina and attract other players of the quality of Raphina.
----------------------------------------------------------------------
Absolutely. Definitely gives a positive feeling about the potential for Bielsa to be around for a while.
One other (unpopular) way to look at the James signing is that if Raph was to have his head turned by champions league football, we will be in less of a difficult situation. Overall a smart transfer by the club.
posted on 2/9/21
comment by HaveFaithInLeeds (U8688)
posted 21 hours, 53 minutes ago
Happy with the u23s recruitment and the success of Struijk will mean that his value probably already pays for the fees of all u23 signings made since Orta arrived.
James does seem over priced and I do think we have been out negotiated here. But would have been tough because every man and his dog knew how much Bielsa wanted him. That was obviously used against us and the club had a choice, say no to Bielsa and sign no one or take the £5-8million hit and move on.
We do need another CM, but we will be fine without.
Any talk of Europe at this stage is nonsense. Consolidation is all that we can expect. Its not exciting but it's impossible to expect more. anywhere above 14th aint bad.
I expect Firpo to be a sizable improvement on Alioski who despite some very good performances was often our weakest player last season.
We can be confident that the James & Firpo are improvements on the outgoing 2 which can only be a positive.
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The James transfer fee pays Ronaldo’s reported £385,000 per week wages for 15 months; I’m guessing the extra £5million is a ‘final day’ premium. Them there’s a letter of the £52,000 James was on at Man Utd. Has anyone any idea the weekly wages he has agreed with us yet?
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