ekstromlars Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 LEEDS UNITED FC - MARCHING ON TOGETHER The Club Big classic club. Sleeping giant and all that. Everybody who know football know Leeds. From the Don Revie legacy in the 70s to the Champions League years with David O’Leary. Now stuck with the not so popular chairman Massimo Cellino, on the wiki page there is a 'tab' called "The Cellino Era" which quite frankly sounded pretty depressing. Time for change! The Manager Meet Max White, named after my current Colgate toothpaste. Heavy focus on working with youngsters as this fits the ambition from both the manager & club. Nothing out of the ordinary. The Squad/Finances Not a lot of room to move, budgets are tight & the squad full of loans already. However, I think we will be able to provide a decent starting XI. Will probably have to tweak the training to make sure most of the key players can participate in 40+ games. Back-up goalkeeper Silvestre will most likely make room for youngster Bailey Peacock-Farell, mostly to make room in both transfer & wage budget. Full transfer overview will follow when the transfer window closes. Long term squad building will focus on technical & intelligent players. Aide from that we will also look at key values such as determination, work rate & bravery. The Tactic Our base will be a 4-1-4-1 but roles & duties may vary depending on the opponent. This is a tactic I feel confident with & it suits our current team well. We have captain Liam Bridcutt as a quality defensive midfield and a solid back 4 with experienced Robert Green behind them. A lot of promising midfield talents that will get their minutes on the pitch, 17y old Ronaldo Viera will probably start a lot fixtures this season. What we are lacking at the moment is depth in the playmaker role, I will try and use Pablo Hernandez as the wide playmaker as has the highest technical attributes & the most intellient plaayer on the team and therefore most suitable to dictate our play. With Hernandez positioned at the left midfield cutting in, we are make room for top asset Charlie Taylor to bomb forward. Also lacking top quality at the forward position, Swedish striker Marcus Antonsson has all the PPMs I am looking for & Chris Wood offers something different, a heavier approach. However, none of these are the elite players to make us soar. The Charlie Taylor case From the start Charlie Taylor has declared that he will leave on a free transfer at the end of his contract. I have not decided how to tackle this. Taylor is a key asset in the tactic I am thinking for this team & it is unlikely that we will find someone of similar quality with our restrained budget. On the flipside, the finances are tight & we might need the cash. Not sure if I can make him change is mind. We’ll see at the end of August how this played out. The Ambition Our ambition is to bring Leeds United back to former glory with a base of homegrown players. Simple as that. Our chairman wants us to play possession based football. I also added attacking football with players from our own academy. For this thread, the ambition is not to write any long posts (this will probably be the longest) but instead update quite frequently every in-game month. Hopefully for years to come.A short disclaimer, I have no relation to Leeds United or brittish football other than watching it from the sofa in Scandinavia throughout the years growing up. Long time FM-player, first career update. Any feedback is appreciated. Hope you stay tuned, next update is just around the corner! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekstromlars Posted April 20, 2017 Author Share Posted April 20, 2017 LEEDS UNITED FC - MARCHING ON TOGETHER Max White / July 2016 / Pre-season The match-up during the pre-season was not the thoughest I have ever faced so there wasn't much of a challenge of claim the Ws. Good for the team cohesion & morale though. We dominated many of the matches but had a hard time breaking down the defence of the opponents. Only 2 goals from first choice striker Marcus Antonsson. Antonsson was also injured a short spell during the pre-season. Concerned. I also terminated the loan contract of Modou Barrow, he was the top earner in the squad and since I couldn't find a proper place for him in my tactic the decision was a no-brainer. Too much of one-trick pony for my liking. Also sold Marco Silvestri to Lyon for £1.900.000. Peacock-Farell is being tutored by Robert Green at the moment and will share the responsibility of a reserve keeper along with Ross Turnball, who I found in the reserve team. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keano16 Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 Leeds have a nice tidy squad but the problem is there's a lot loans. Certainly a decent foundation to start with however. Good luck! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekstromlars Posted April 20, 2017 Author Share Posted April 20, 2017 32 minutes ago, Keano16 said: Leeds have a nice tidy squad but the problem is there's a lot loans. Certainly a decent foundation to start with however. Good luck! Yes! Upside from the last update is that Pontus Jansson now have a future transfer. Thanks! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManUtd1 Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 Good luck, man! Excellent introduction. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxToBox Posted April 20, 2017 Share Posted April 20, 2017 Lot of talent at Leeds, just a shame you can't keep Taylor long term. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekstromlars Posted April 21, 2017 Author Share Posted April 21, 2017 LEEDS UNITED FC - MARCHING ON TOGETHER Max White / August 2016 / Kick-off! The kick-off is finally here! Expectations from Cellino is quite modest to be honest. I thought he was a mad man! He/the board wants us to finish top half, proceed to the Fourth round in the FA cup & the Third round in the EFL Cup. Shouldn't be impossible. I want to push for the play-offs and take it from there. Pretty solid first month. The loss against Nottingham was a frustrating story, we're dominating the possession och creating a lot of chances but the strikers are not able to tuck it in. Instead they score the first goal and we make our third sub before Liam Cooper's hamstring snaps & we are down to ten men. Game over. Eunan O'Kane really came through this month scoring three league goals during August from his attacking central position. Even though Marcus Antonsson delivered a top performance against Sheffield Wednesday away & Chris Wood scored a hat-trick in the cup fixture against Gillingham I'm still struggling with the consistency of the strikers. They will most likely get to January to convince me that their future is at Elland Road. 2 cup wins against teams from lower league in the EFL Cup = Everton at Elland Road next . Regarding the squad building, nothing more happened after I released Barrow & sold Silvestri. No bids on Charlie Taylor came, Walter Mazzari came sniffing & talked to the press but as it looks now Taylor will stay put. I can't see any big money coming in January so I will most likely keep him to his contract end. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekstromlars Posted April 21, 2017 Author Share Posted April 21, 2017 18 hours ago, ManUtd1 said: Good luck, man! Excellent introduction. Thanks, much appreciated! 17 hours ago, BoxToBox said: Lot of talent at Leeds, just a shame you can't keep Taylor long term. Yes, I really like the age structure at the squad. But a lot of work to be done in Jan/Summer... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekstromlars Posted April 21, 2017 Author Share Posted April 21, 2017 LEEDS UNITED FC - MARCHING ON TOGETHER Max White / September 2016 / Cup dreams Solid month and after 10 games we are in good spot in the table. The injury of Liam Cooper against Forest last month was devasting for the fitness level of Pontus Jansson & Kyle Bartley. They were forced to play every single minute this month. Taking notes to sign a defensive midfielder/central defender in January. The defence overall is top class with only 2 goals conceaded this month. Still not 100% happy with the attacking power and once again Eunan O'Kane is the top scorer this month. In the second half against Bristol City we tried a 5-1-2-2 formation and with two strikers we actually got a nice partnership going and close to the end Viera could tuck away the winning goal. Let's see if that is something worth returning to. Big fixture against Everton in the League Cup Third Round, and what a performance! Everton fielded a strong team with Lukaku, Coleman, Schneiderlein, Williams among others (Leighton Baines came on for the injured Holgate late in the first half and then subsituted at half time. Great management Koeman! Boro next up! A good month for our prodigy Ronaldo Viera as well. Good stuff! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekstromlars Posted April 24, 2017 Author Share Posted April 24, 2017 LEEDS UNITED FC - MARCHING ON TOGETHER Max White / October 2016 / Boro down Another month with three wins, two draws & one loss. Solid! Our cup run continues when another team from the Premiership was beaten, our 4-1-4-1 seems to work very well against better teams. Dominated possession against Boro and created more chances. Eunan O'Kane is esseential from his central midfield (Attack) position, scored against Everton & now two more against Boro. Next stop Watford! Also hope Marcus Antonsson is off to a good month with his two goals against Burton. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
makovn Posted April 24, 2017 Share Posted April 24, 2017 I really like the idea and good luck! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekstromlars Posted April 24, 2017 Author Share Posted April 24, 2017 LEEDS UNITED FC - MARCHING ON TOGETHER Max White / November 2016 / New contract! Almost the perfect month but for the loss against Norwich, we are happy with the current state of things. As mentioned in previous posts I haven't been 100% content with our attacking potency, therefore we have tried to tweak our 4-1-4-1 to an 4-3-3 when playing at home. Worked wonders against Newcaste & Marcus Antonsson really kicked off a super month, scoring 5 goals in 3 matches. Finally! However, for the cup game against Watford we went back to the 4-1-4-1 and took them on the counter. Look at our defensive shape below, compact with a medium/high block. Really took the edge out of Mazzari's 3-4-3. Quite pleased with that actually. We'll face Southampton in the semi-finals. Manchester City is in the other.... Cellino was so happy he gave me a new 2-year contract. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekstromlars Posted April 24, 2017 Author Share Posted April 24, 2017 2 hours ago, makovn said: I really like the idea and good luck! Thanks! Appreciated Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekstromlars Posted April 25, 2017 Author Share Posted April 25, 2017 LEEDS UNITED FC - MARCHING ON TOGETHER Max White / December 2016 / Attacking Leeds! In the last game in November Antonsson scored a hat-trick against Watford. That awoke something in Chris Wood, who also scored three in the following fixture at home against Villa (in just 5 min!). With the tactial change from 4-1-4-1 to 4-3-3 our attacking power really went through the roof. 6-0 against Brentford as the icing on the cake. Even Roofe & Berardi scored... Forgot to mention that key player O'Kane was out the entire November with a knee injury. He only need a couple on minuted against Brighton to secure the draw with a screamer. Love that guy. This is how our tactic looks at the moment. Pablo Hernandex as the Advanced Playmaker to the right & Stuart Dallas as the inside forward. Especially Chris Wood seem to be very happy with this with seven goals this month. Youngster Lewie Coyle is also having a good time right now and will be a key player for us. With the transfer window rapidly approaching our players have picked up some intrest from other clubs. Aside from the below players, Souleymane Doukara & Kemar Roofe have asked to leave in January as well (the latter have picked up some minutes since the tactical tweak). Let's see how it goes. One last thing, and this is something I mentioned in the General discussion section yesterday. Ronaldo Viera have played a lot & and done it really well. He came asking for a new contract that refelcted his status at the team. I agreed that would make sense. I granted his wish & promised that contract talks would soon begin. But I really fell off my chair when his agents presented their "proposal". They want to include a few clauses (see below). Obviously I can't accept this contract when his value is £9.75M. If we were to get promoted he would be valued even more. I can accept that Viera/his agent want to include this clauses & I can even understand the sums they present. But it does bug me that I can't tell them that Viera won't get the contract because it doesn't makes no sense for the club financially. Instead I will get a pissed off player and most probably a transfer request from one of my key players. Any ideas? Should I sign the contract and hope to re-sign further down the season or just **** him off? Contract to the summer 2019. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxToBox Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 I'd leave him pissed. 12m my arse. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ManUtd1 Posted April 25, 2017 Share Posted April 25, 2017 3 hours ago, BoxToBox said: I'd leave him pissed. 12m my arse. Seconded. That's nonsense. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekstromlars Posted April 26, 2017 Author Share Posted April 26, 2017 LEEDS UNITED FC - MARCHING ON TOGETHER Max White / January 2017 / Bye bye Charlie January was a quite busy month with the transfer window, Ronaldo Viera & a lot of fixtures. This will be a long post... The amazing cup run ended in the semi-finals against Southampton. I was a bit naive in the first leg at home and went for the attacking formation and we couldn't turn that result at St Mary's . Shame but we're happy & proud of our run. Also faced Boro again and managed a draw, hopeful for the return at Elland Road! The big thing this month was of course the 7-2-hammering of Derby County. Chris Wood put in another blistering performance with his hat-trick in the first half. Ronaldo Viera, Pablo Hernandez & Kevin Philips also did their part. The latter has really stepped up with Eunan O'Kane injured again with a torn hamstring (2-3 months). In most matches our central midfield is Viera, 18y & Philips, 20y shielded by Bridcut. high hopes for the future with such a young midfield! With O'Kane injured for quite some time we deceiced to bring in Paul Digby from Ipswich. Young midfielder with decent technique & brain but lots of potential. He can also cover our needs both on the central midfield & as a central defender. On the last day of the transfer window we also brought in Tyrone Mings & Steven Bergwijn on loan. Mings is suppose to cover for Taylor, he is also transfer listed on his own request. Quite tempted to bring him in on a permanent deal, young & English home-grown. We thought we would loose Roofe so we needed some depth but Roofe stayed on... Have to wait and see if we terminate the loan deal or not (doesn't cost us anything). Doukara & Jack Vann left the team. Vann had a limited future as a central defender in my team due to his low acceleration & pace. Negotiated a good clause for future transfers though... OK, so this happended. I tried several times to renew the contract of Charlie Taylor but he was stubborn so when Mazzari came sniffing again we sold him for £5m. I have been scouting some left backs but as suspected I didn't find any of the same quality as Charlie for that amoung of money. Tried with Josh Tymon at Hull and even Jack Robinson at QPR but no luck. The squad was not happy with sale of Charlie but most of them accepted when I said that I would give the youngsters (Tyler Denton & Matty Downing) the chance time to shine. Only Berardi didn't see the upside with that approach. Funny because Berardi was one of those players who would probably get some more minutes with Taylor leaving... I will probably try and bring Taylor back to the team later on. Homegrown at the club, good age & high quality. I told him that as well when he left.(Did plan to use Denton, Berardi & Downing but the opportunity to bring in Mings presented it self late in January) Another solid month from Ronaldo Viera, despite our different options regarding his contract. I followed the advise from @BoxToBox & @ManUtd1 and ignored his plea. He is pissed but still open for discussions so probably the right move. Morale haven't even dropped that much. Thanks guys! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekstromlars Posted April 28, 2017 Author Share Posted April 28, 2017 LEEDS UNITED FC - MARCHING ON TOGETHER Max White / February 2017 / I love Kalvin Philips Cry baby Viera injured from late January and the major part of February but Kalvin Philips has really stepped up. Lots and lots of assist (currently no1 in team) & crucial goals in the FA Cup. Match of the match against Middlesbrough and scored the winner against Brentford. January & February have really been packed with fixtures and our squad have not been in the best of shapes. Might be the reason we dropped a 3-1 lead against Forest. Arsenal next up in the FA Cup... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekstromlars Posted April 29, 2017 Author Share Posted April 29, 2017 LEEDS UNITED FC - MARCHING ON TOGETHER Max White / March 2017 / Youth intake No losses in the league during March but we drew Arsenal in the 6th round of the FA Cup, we were up 2-0 in half time & 3-2 with twenty minutes left but somehow Theo Walcott & Mesut Özil turned it around with one goal each in the 76th & 79th minute and we where eliminated. Funny thing was that two Swedish strikers, Antonsson & Guidetti scored two goals each. I hope the Swedish National Manager Jan Andersson was there for the display. Finally time for the youth intake. Only one player sticks out, Alex Hattersley. Very nice attributes, potential & personality. With the right tutoring & training scheduled we'll have a quality midfielder on our hands. Depending on the outcome for the reminder of the season I might look to give him some matcher on the bench and perhaps even some minutes. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekstromlars Posted April 29, 2017 Author Share Posted April 29, 2017 LEEDS UNITED FC - MARCHING ON TOGETHER Max White / April pt1 / Leeds United vs Norwich City OK, so the month is not finished yet but this is the game where we can clinch the promotion to the Premiership. We'll go up against Norwich City led by Alex Neil, they looked unbeatable during the first half of the season and we all thought they would accompany Newcastle to the top flight. But here we are... Btw, spectacular month but Chris Wood! (3 days before the game) Not now Robert.... Wait what!? "Easy win". I would be happy with a draw... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekstromlars Posted April 29, 2017 Author Share Posted April 29, 2017 LEEDS UNITED FC - MARCHING ON TOGETHER Max White / April pt2 / Leeds United - Norwich City pt2 79% condition but Robert Green came through. This is the team that will do it! That was a hard first half to take. They score on their first attempt & Chris Wood miss a penalty. But late, very late he also scores the equaliser! YES! RONALDO VIERA! PREMIER LEAGUE, HERE WE COME! This will probably lead to a few minutes for young Alex Hattersley. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Keano16 Posted April 29, 2017 Share Posted April 29, 2017 Well done! The Championship is a tough league to get out of. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekstromlars Posted April 30, 2017 Author Share Posted April 30, 2017 19 hours ago, Keano16 said: Well done! The Championship is a tough league to get out of. Thank you! I didn't "plan" to achieve promoted during the first season but happy times! Will surely be a busy transfer window! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekstromlars Posted April 30, 2017 Author Share Posted April 30, 2017 LEEDS UNITED FC - MARCHING ON TOGETHER Max White / May 2017 / End of Season So, the season has come to an end. Last game against Wigan was of little importance, we gave Robert Green some rest and Peacock-Bailey the opportunity to shine. Matty Downing & Alex Hattersley also came onto the pitch during the second half. In review, we look back to a successful league campaign but also two very good cup runs. We eliminated several PL clubs and were close to get the draw against Arsenal. The fans liked the signing of Paul Digby, the board not so much (perhaps because he was the only permanent signing?) A message from Cellino. A detailed evaluation will follow, we have busy transfer window ahead of us and several loans that are expiring. Quick overview: - Tyrone Mings - He has a transfer request at Bournemouth. It is likely I go for him... - Kyle Bartley - Solid season and a £1,75m clause (valued a £9m) I will probably sign him as a back-up and bring in a better (faster) CB. - Pontus Jansson - Future transfer to Leeds - Matt Grimes - Back to Swansea - Alfonse Pedraza - I didn't play with an left winger for the whole season which didn't leave Alfonse with many chances. Back to Villarreal. (Optional clause £8.5m & minimum clause £5,25m - Steven Bergwijn - New signing for Arsenal during the season, will likely go on new loan. Somewhere else... - Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekstromlars Posted May 1, 2017 Author Share Posted May 1, 2017 LEEDS UNITED FC - MARCHING ON TOGETHER Max White / June 2017 / Tactical evaluation I created this overview with a lot of data to get better picture of how many players preformed during the season. I will keep this and re-visit after each season. A few bullet points: -6 players played 40+ fixtures (Robert Green, Pontus Jansson, Ronaldo Viera, Pablo Hernandez, Liam Bridcutt & Kyle Bartley. Kalvin Philips & Stuart Dallas were just behind. That means our aim to tweak the training regime to make good use of our small squad was a success. - Pablo Hernandez was essential in his playmaker role (both in the 4-1-4-1 & 4-3-3 formation) being the leader of key passes, most dribbles & most distance covered. Key defender Pontus Jansson were dominant with most key headers, key tackles & by far most interceptions Liam Bridcutt had most fouls against him & most yellow cards (17). He also topped the list of most mistakes. Won 86% of his tackles though. However, this raises a concern for me. Is this due to his role as central midfielder with a defensive duty or is he simply to slow and therefore forced to foul? I might consider dropping him to the "DM-strata". He will be monitored during the first half of the season. We score a lot of our goals just infront of goal with an assist from the right wing, this do not come as a surprise as Pablo Hernandez played as AP-A to the right with Lewie Coyle making good use of the space created. And with Chris Wood in the box... No wonder Wood was the leading goal scorer & Coyle was prized as 'Best Rookie' & had the highest rating in the team. However, most of assists for the goals against came from the space behind Coyle but I don't see any issues with that actually. Placed shots from a cross, yep. Confirms the analysis from above. However, the through balls that we concedes do concern me though. Jansson & Bartley doesn't seem to have any issues with crosses or headers. I might have my back line a little lower this season as we are up against Hazards, Walcotts & Martials... I do want to increase our number of goals created from a through ball. Maybe we will have more space this season? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekstromlars Posted May 4, 2017 Author Share Posted May 4, 2017 LEEDS UNITED FC - MARCHING ON TOGETHER Max White / July 2017 / Pre-Season Weak oppostition to build morale and continue to work on our tactical tweaks With the Premiership money we have started to pay off our loans and Cellino were kind enough to offer me a new contract, which I obviously signed happily. Here to stay. Transfer so far, Pontus Jansson, Kyle Bartley & Tyrone Mings stayed on from last season. Aside from them we signed Nathaniel Chabolah from Chelsea, Luke Garbut from Everton. All young talented Brittish players, fits our profile perfectly. Robert Green announced his retirement so we deceided to bring in Alex Smithies from QPR and loaned out Peacock-Farell. Garbutt especially was good bizniz, haha. Also brought in versatile Linus Wahlquist from Swedish side IFK Norrköping to cover both the right back & centre back. To give some support to Pablo Hernandez we brought in Lewis Baker on loan. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxToBox Posted May 4, 2017 Share Posted May 4, 2017 Great pickups in Garbutt and Wahlqvist. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekstromlars Posted May 4, 2017 Author Share Posted May 4, 2017 LEEDS UNITED FC - MARCHING ON TOGETHER Max White / August & September / On we go... Got Marcus Antonsson injured for 3-4 months so I needed a new back-up forward for Chris Wood. Tried with Tammy Abraham but the deal couldn't be finalized as we already had Lewis Baker at the club. Therefore we went for Adam Armstrong from Newcaste. Didn't really like the idea of bringing in a player from Newcaste, another club coming from the second division but what the heck. Desperate times. Also brought in Jonathan Walters (for his determination, work rate & personality) & Nathan Dyer (for his speed) on Deadline Day). Tyler Denton left the club on loan to Burton as he was the now the third choice behind Mings/Garbutt. Solid performances, we seem to be quite hard to break down. Managed to keep Arsenal at bay for quite some time until Alexis Sanchez scored on a free kick. 8 games into the season and we have already faced Chelsea, Tottenham, Manchester United & Arsenal. Manchester City is up next. Glad to be done with those fixtures. The goal is to stay up after all... Current loan status, I hope to have all debts cleared as soon as possible. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekstromlars Posted May 4, 2017 Author Share Posted May 4, 2017 2 hours ago, BoxToBox said: Great pickups in Garbutt and Wahlqvist. Everton went down to Championship and sold quite a lot of players. Surprised they didn't hold on to the young English players. Well, good for me with Garbutt been home-grown at the club. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted May 4, 2017 Share Posted May 4, 2017 Well done on promotion. I like the photos of yesteryear. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekstromlars Posted May 5, 2017 Author Share Posted May 5, 2017 LEEDS UNITED FC - MARCHING ON TOGETHER Max White / October / Giant slayer Very happy with the win against Manchester City, they are having some trouble at the moment so hard times for Mr. Guardiola ahead. Nathan Dyer was an absolute monster this game, making sure to use his speed to hit City on the counter over and over again. Good to see Adam Armstrong get off the mark as well. He got injured short after this game though... Since we are only playing 38 fixtures instead of 46 this year I have removed the rest day before a match. Already having more injuries 3 months into the season then i had for the whole season. Good month for Hernandez & Philips! WBA sacked Tony Pulis and I am the bookies favorite to take charge. Quite happy to stay at Leeds at the moment, which I also told the press. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekstromlars Posted May 5, 2017 Author Share Posted May 5, 2017 10 hours ago, Nobby_McDonald said: Well done on promotion. I like the photos of yesteryear. Cheers mate! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekstromlars Posted May 7, 2017 Author Share Posted May 7, 2017 LEEDS UNITED FC - MARCHING ON TOGETHER Max White / November - December - January / Up and down... Things are going fast, we had good run during November & December with nothing exciting happening. Solid performances across the board. Then came January with a lot of difficult fixtures. We played really well against Tottenham until Harry Kane decided to change the game with two world class goals and we collapsed. Our exit in the League Cup against Manchester United was another disappointment. They played with their under-23 + Pogba, Herrera & Luke Shaw. Angel Gomes scored twice. Update on the league table to follow in the next post. We are currently in the middle with around 40p. In December we were pushing for european qualification... Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekstromlars Posted May 7, 2017 Author Share Posted May 7, 2017 LEEDS UNITED FC - MARCHING ON TOGETHER Max White / February / Offer from Southampton The win against Sunderland ended the negative streak and was very welcome.. Currently placed in the middle of the table and should be clear from relegation. Reaching our goals.. Gonna think about this. Southampton is a nice club with a good youth set-up. (The decision will also be tied-in to which kind of career update this thread will be) Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekstromlars Posted May 7, 2017 Author Share Posted May 7, 2017 LEEDS UNITED FC - MARCHING ON TOGETHER Max White / March / Youth intake Turned Southampton down, nothing there I couldn't do with Leeds. Our finances is looking really good as well and there is a slim chance of reaching the European qualifiers so really, a no-brainer. Got approached by Inter instead but turned them down. There has also been a youth intake. Love the name Lovers Masinga (to the left). Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ajcardall Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 Good work with Leeds! Hope you can make that European push, would be a nice throwback to the days of Harry Kewell, Ian Harte and Mark Viduka! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekstromlars Posted May 8, 2017 Author Share Posted May 8, 2017 6 hours ago, ajcardall said: Good work with Leeds! Hope you can make that European push, would be a nice throwback to the days of Harry Kewell, Ian Harte and Mark Viduka! Cheers mate. Will be a challenge for sure but will do my best Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekstromlars Posted May 8, 2017 Author Share Posted May 8, 2017 LEEDS UNITED FC - MARCHING ON TOGETHER Max White / April - May / Last game.... OK, it has all come down to the last game if we would qualify for the EURO cup. We need to win against West Ham & Chelsea (now under Luis Enrique) need to lose against Tottenham at Stamford Bridge. Want to keep the ball under control so Ronaldo Viera get the spot as the DM to keep ball circulation. And also nice to give Alex Hattersley some minutes. Not the perfect half.. Not a single shot on target & losing the possession.. Hattersley out, Liam Bridcutt in. Chelsea in the lead as well... Like so many times before, Chris Wood steps up in the dying seconds of the game. Unfortunately it wasn't enough, Chelsea got their point at home and we finish seventh. No Euro Cup. Very happy with the season anyway of course! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekstromlars Posted May 8, 2017 Author Share Posted May 8, 2017 This was a pleasant surprise! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
BoxToBox Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 Brilliant! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted May 8, 2017 Share Posted May 8, 2017 Not brilliant. Stoke lost in the FA Cup final. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekstromlars Posted May 9, 2017 Author Share Posted May 9, 2017 8 hours ago, BoxToBox said: Brilliant! 7 hours ago, Nobby_McDonald said: Not brilliant. Stoke lost in the FA Cup final. Sometimes you need a bit of luck Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekstromlars Posted May 10, 2017 Author Share Posted May 10, 2017 LEEDS UNITED FC - MARCHING ON TOGETHER Max White / June / Summary Before we closed the second season, let's do a summary! Was namned 'Manager of the Year', which is always nice. Starting to attract some intrest from other clubs, which is fun. It is not set in stone that I will stay in Leeds forever. The ambition is to create a squad with brittish players and do well in the european competitions. So far Leeds is the best option. Liverpool offered an interview, I was temped but they went for Montella instead. Turned down Watford, Southampton, WBA & Newcastle. Villarreal & Leverkusen (damn good squad though...) from abroad.Did they same evaluation as previous year (not sure how interesting it is to read though). These are the major conclusions made: - Chris Wood is scoring a huuuge % of our goals, we need more goals from the midfield, from set pieces & better back up for him. Antonsson, Armstrong & Walters did not fit the bill. A young striker like Tammy Abraham would be nice. - Pontus Jansson is an absolute beast of a stopper in the defence. Would like to bring in a more ball playing central defender next to him. Michael Keane would fit perfectly. Currently on the Chelsea bench. - Goals being scored in the same fashion as last season. Crosses from the wide areas, deep in the opposition half. Would like to bring in a more pacey striker so we can strike on the counter. Marcus Antonsson 2.0 in other words... - Defensive tweaks to the role of Liam Bridcutt was good. Not as many yellow cards this time around, from 17 to 7. And also less mistakes. - We are the fourth best team when it comes to conceded goals but only 14th in goals forward. Probably due to our 4-1-4-1 formation. Did not play 4-3-3 in many games this season. Gifts from Cellino. And cleared debts. Woohoo! The club is heading the right way, we hade a healthy profit this season and should be able to invest heavy in the squad for next season. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Nobby_McDonald Posted May 11, 2017 Share Posted May 11, 2017 On 10/05/2017 at 10:10, ekstromlars said: LEEDS UNITED FC - MARCHING ON TOGETHER Max White / June / Summary Are their mums in the stands? Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekstromlars Posted May 14, 2017 Author Share Posted May 14, 2017 LEEDS UNITED FC - MARCHING ON TOGETHER Max White / July / Pre-Season vol3 So, this is our third pre-season. Results are good but we are not completely satisfied with the actual play. Have been trying to find a more attacking balance since our evaluation showed that we were solid at the back but one of weakest teams up front. Bournemouth went down to Championship due to the loss against us in our last home game last season. We picked up Jordan Ibe & Callum Wilson from them. Wanted to take Lewis Cook as well but no luck. Also brought in Kevin Stewart & Rob Holding for a small fee & back-up keeper Sam Johnstone. Peacock-Farell on loan once again, this time to Championship. Also brought in Tielmans & Winks to broaden our playmaking skills with Hernandez getting older. Said goodbye to Antonsson for a good fee... Ready to start! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekstromlars Posted May 16, 2017 Author Share Posted May 16, 2017 LEEDS UNITED FC - MARCHING ON TOGETHER Max White / August - September / Leeds back in Europe OK, I misplaced the August post but here it goes... Lots of money went in & out from the premiership, De Bruyne left Manchester City but Julian Weigl came in. Manhester United spent £194 million with the biggest signing being Koke from A. Madrid. Crazy times.. Anyhow, very good group in the Euro League for us, Legia & Anorthosi should't pose any threat to us. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekstromlars Posted May 16, 2017 Author Share Posted May 16, 2017 LEEDS UNITED FC - MARCHING ON TOGETHER Max White / October - November / Roses won Callum Wilson, what a signing. Scored the winning goal at Whit Hart Lane against Tottenham, scored the only goal at home against Manchester United. He secured the point against Liverpool & Fulham. But his biggest show this month was the five (!) goals against Southampton. Chris Wood stuck on the bench for now, he'll get his chances in the cups. Speaking of cups... Our run in the Euro League is very good, only lost against Ajax. We have a game against Arsenal at Emirates just two days later so we didn't field our best starting eleven... Especially Garbutt showed that he is not cut out for playing at this level. Wouldn't cry if I could bring back Charlie Taylor for next season. Watford currently a mess. Jordan Ibe out for four months.... damn! We don't have the best coverage on the right wing. Dallas will continue to be our first choice with Winks playing there when Stuart needs his rest.. We are heading into the busiest part of the season... BIG WIN AGAINST MANCHESTER UNITED Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekstromlars Posted May 16, 2017 Author Share Posted May 16, 2017 LEEDS UNITED FC - MARCHING ON TOGETHER Max White / December / Ronaldo Viera is angry (again!) Good month, had some hope of being the manager of the month but wasn't even top three haha. Kalvin Philips came up big and so did Ronaldo Viera. I haven't played the latter that much this season as he wanted to leave for Liverpool at the end of August. I told him that they would have to meet his minimum clause (£24,5M), he became very angry and his morale went through the floor. With his market value close to £20 I would be suprised if Liverpool doesn't match his clause during January. Pablo Hernandez became homesick, he is now looking for a move back home to Spain in January. His physical stats are rapidly decreased so I won't stand in his way.. Should Viera leave, I will probably invest in Lewis Cook.. Finished second in the group after the big loss in Amsterdam. Next up Stuttgart! Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
ekstromlars Posted May 16, 2017 Author Share Posted May 16, 2017 This was quite fun, some great talent coming through. Adam Osborne scored twice in his debut, youngest ever for Leeds Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
Sheriff7 Posted May 16, 2017 Share Posted May 16, 2017 Good luck man Leeds United is huge club!! Always I will remember Robbie Keane with the white shirt.. Link to post Share on other sites More sharing options...
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