Well now, many people, myself included, did suggest a few months ago that this was going to be a huge summer of change, and so it is proving to be.
We're a month away from the new season and we already have 4 new signings, with at least a couple more on the way, it would seem.
Orta is clocking up the air miles and some serious money is being spent on building a new squad, with more bodies in there to bolster the numbers.
KP, at 26, has departed to follow his dream of a higher grade of football and a better chance of silverware. Good luck to the lad - over 200 appearances for LUFC and a display of loyalty to the club when it would have been easy to walk away (thank you Granny Val ). He leaves with his head his head high and I'm sure the best wishes of everyone connected with LUFC - owners, players, and fans alike.
We need a satisfactory conclusion to the Raphinha saga (which has been conducted in a less than honourable manner), so that we can move on to complete the re-building process.
Marcelo, KP and Raphinha will always be a much loved part of our recent history - all of them have made such a positive contribution to where we are now. Thanks to them we are re-building in the PL, not the Championship, with the chance to improve on what we endured last season. Yes, we all loved Bielsaball - the Bohemian approach to football that had the purists and pundits drooling week in and week out to the point of climaxing. The trouble was that there were 16 teams that finished above us and our survival wasn't assured until the 94th minute of the last game of the season.
I will not condemn or criticise Victor Orta. He's earning his salary now with the approval of the board, working his socks off to make up for the inadequacies of last season. Although some of us will never have heard of the players we're signing, they are, for the most part, experienced players with an international pedigree. With all respect, they're not Luke Murphy, Scott Wootton or Tommaso Bianchi.
Jesse Marsch deserves the chance to build his army according to his footballing philosophy. For me, there's a Wilko-eque feel about all of this. There's nothing wrong with bringing in players who know the system and have fitted in before. The unknown factor is - are the system and the players good enough to work in the PL? As ever, time will tell.
What is indisputable is there is a new dawn rising over Elland Road - a gradual changing of the old, tired guard of the Bielsa years. We've had the Revie years, the Wilko years and the O'Leary years. Nothing lasts forever, coaches or players. The only constants are the name of the football club and the colour of the home shirt.
We complained about the lack of investment last summer, and the lack of bodies that a paper-thin squad was screaming out for. We can have no such complaints now, nor can we whine about the dithering either.
We look forward to another season in the PL with an already stronger squad and hopefully the prospect of looking up the table rather than down.
Good luck to JM - I really hope it works out for him and he convinces the doubters. Quite simply, if he succeeds, LUFC succeeds.
Surely that's something we all want as we stand on the cusp of that new dawn.
MOT
A New Dawn
posted on 5/7/22
Jonty, that's fine by me!..
posted on 5/7/22
Im wondering if we might see Harrison on the right side more next season and Sinisterra on the left
posted on 5/7/22
im seeing nothing to get excited about. Selling two top quality proven PL players and orta bringing in a lot of if buts and maybes. Could work out fine but could just as easily fall flat on its face and we will be up the creek without a paddle as transfer funds most likely all blown. Currently at 2/1-5/2 4th favourites to go down and unless we get off to a flyer i can only see our odds going one way. Funny thing is i felt same way when MB took over as had no idea what to expect. This time round we have seen JMs system and it doesnt fill me with confidence especially with firpo as an obvious weak link on the left. Happy we are getting cover for midfield but feel we still need a new LB and another striker and maybe a back up keeper. Happy enough if we keep Jack, James, Summerville and this new guy as cover for wings so for once we might actually be covered in all positions just a matter of whether all these new signings are any good or not. Jury still out for me on both JM and all these new guys and as for the 3 at the top time for them to move on
posted on 5/7/22
Germany, that article says Marsch is his foster father, does that mean that due to their close association that JM has acted as if he were a virtual/foster father to him?
posted on 5/7/22
Els, it feels the same as we talk about MB & KP.
Like a father figure teaching/coaching a player and
the man as he develops. JM & TA similar to that.
posted on 5/7/22
comment by Batty πΊπ¦ (U4664)
posted 1 hour, 29 minutes ago
Els, it feels the same as we talk about MB & KP.
Like a father figure teaching/coaching a player and
the man as he develops. JM & TA similar to that.
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and a few more also. jessies signing his whole family..
posted on 5/7/22
Els, I said on Shauns Sinisterra thread it seems Marsch has a lot off foster kids at Red Bull!..
It seems he's after getting as many Bulls in as he can!..
Most off what he's brought in at the moment he's worked with in the past, so hopefully he can bring them all together and get it to work, because there's nothing to say it will!..
posted on 6/7/22
Elland, just realised that my thread is quite similar to yours, I posted it on the spur of the whiskey, sorry if it cut across you. Yours is much better, though
Just to add to LUFC's point, you can see what what JM is looking for in his squad; younger, dynamic players who can hold back for long periods and then produce explosive moments up front. I just wonder how our senior players will mesh with them. Koch, DJ, Harrison and Meslier will be fine, but Llorente and Rodrigo? Not so sure. Rodrigo in particular is a worry. His body language when Harrison scored at Brentford just stuck out like a sore thumb. The boys went crazy while he just walked slowly back to the halfway line as though nothing had happened.
posted on 6/7/22
comment by My favorite Marschian (U19827)
posted 1 hour, 12 minutes ago
Elland, just realised that my thread is quite similar to yours, I posted it on the spur of the whiskey, sorry if it cut across you. Yours is much better, though
Just to add to LUFC's point, you can see what what JM is looking for in his squad; younger, dynamic players who can hold back for long periods and then produce explosive moments up front. I just wonder how our senior players will mesh with them. Koch, DJ, Harrison and Meslier will be fine, but Llorente and Rodrigo? Not so sure. Rodrigo in particular is a worry. His body language when Harrison scored at Brentford just stuck out like a sore thumb. The boys went crazy while he just walked slowly back to the halfway line as though nothing had happened.
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Ha ha! No worries my friend. Great minds etc The spooky part is I also had a couple of glasses of JD when I wrote my article, as I usually do. It helps my muse while paradoxically destroying my rapidly decreasing brain cells
posted on 6/7/22
Bit late but done!.
https://www.leedsunited.com/news/team-news/30043/leeds-united-complete-deal-for-tyler-adams