Sigh, one side gets save of the season, the other side gets jobbed by VAR. Leeds now officially mathematically safe
I don't like getting too conspiratorial, but I gotta say: 13' of stoppage for 2 goals and a VAR check that took less than 4 minutes surprised me a bit...
From ESPN today- below quote shows why Brendon fits so well at Leeds: "Since Dec. 3 -- an arbitrary starting point, but one that creates a reasonably significant sample of 22 to 23 matches for Premier League teams -- Leeds are seventh in the league in points per game, sixth in xG differential and fifth in goal differential. In this span, only Arsenal and Liverpool have scored more from set pieces (and no one's attempted more shots from them), only Bournemouth have made more defensive interventions, only Manchester City have started a higher percentage of possessions in the attacking third, only Brighton have created more high turnovers, and no one has scored more goals from high turnovers. No one has attempted more aerial duels either."
Dec. 3 isn’t an arbitrary starting point at all - it’s when they switched to starting with a back 5. The writer should either do a tiny bit more research or give themselves more credit.
December 3rd is also when Farke moved Brenden from RW to AM He hasn't played wide right since then and been a player transformed
serious or not, non-contact, couldn't tell if it was severe, but he's just jogging and lays down. Cramp, knee, quad, hammy?
Gotta give credit for Castellanos. 5 years ago he was in MLS then hit up La Liva, Serie A and now the Premier League.
Spurs have been playing Russian roulette since the 33rd minute goal: once Everton score, they could crack. Put Van der Ven on the wing chasing long balls to take to the corner flag and kill the game. Anything to keep the ball away from their box. Right now they're just doing a proper number on their fans’ nerve endings
Rejected by Argentinian academies he had to move to Chile to even become a pro. He moved to NYC as a winger and switched to striker when Heber didn't work out.
Under Igor Tudor, Spurs took exactly 1 out of 15 points. Under de Zerbi, they took 11 out of 21. A good coach makes an enormous difference.
While Brenden has done himself proud over the past two seasons with Leeds, and many Leeds fans have shown appreciation for his value during that time, I think a large majority want an upgrade on him, and his future at Leeds is likely utility/squad player. I'm a huge fan of BA, but I think they are right that he should not be a locked in starter on a Leeds team seeking greater success. How do y'all see the summer playing out?
Farke rates him, which is most important. I guess it depends what $$ Leeds is willing to spend in the summer and where Farke sees needs. And nobody should be a locked in starter.
They definitely need several upgrades and BA’s lack of production probably hurts him a bit. But Farke’s loving doesn’t hurt.
Every promotion-flirting team wants upgrades at 80% of their positions, but the question is always $ and supply. BA, in part due to his work rate and versatility, is the kind of player, if you can afford him, you want to keep. I don't think BA was the "lock starter" at any specific position for Farke. He was more the guy Farke wanted somewhere on the field and felt comfortable giving various roles. Given the demands of the EPL, even if Leeds manage to upgrade a few spots, if Farke stays and BA stays healthy I'd guess he gets a good number of minutes next season.
I agree with all of that. Personally, the abuse/ridicule that BA still receives from segments of many facets of Leeds fandom disturbs the heck out of me. I'd love to see him playing at a similar high level where the fans are, as a rule, more reasonable, but if BA is happy I'm happy!
It seems like every British team with outsized ambition and a whiff of "history" has a crew of irrational fans. For individual players the coach seems to be the most important thing. Farke is good for BA. I doubt the former stays at Leeds too long, but I think things go well for BA as long as he does.