"Yes, we had a gentlemen's agreement, but we were crossing our fingers behind our back so it's ok if we break it."
On the bench: 📋 Your #LUFC Starting XI... pic.twitter.com/jRogbVt9FT— Leeds United (@LUFC) April 1, 2023 Trailing 1-0 in the 40th.
Starts: 📋 Your #LUFC Starting XI tonight... pic.twitter.com/KtOyqNEXy6— Leeds United (@LUFC) April 4, 2023
Great game from Mckennie! He received a 8 rating from Leeds Live https://www.leeds-live.co.uk/sport/leeds-united/leeds-united-player-ratings-forest-26633166
I consider today one of the best games Wes has played for Leeds. He was very good the entire match - most importantly - he lasted the entire match.
Yeah... his passing early was pretty fantastic.... and he really looks to have gotten used to the speed of the league. A bit more defensive in the 2nd half but did well IMO. But it drives me nuts that the coaches have him at the top of the 18 during set pieces. He should be a primary weapon in the box on corners.
Weston McKennie🇺🇸 vs ForestCombined beautifully with Roca last night. What impressed me most is his ability on the half turn to then break lines, a sign of a top class player!🔥 #LUFC https://t.co/mG7l8Ao1XU— Totally Leeds (@TotallyLeeds) April 5, 2023 Class performance
Weston was great yesterday. The first half was one of his better if not his best club performance since he broke his foot with Juve last year. Even though he lasted the whole match it looked like he was gassed after ~ 75th minute. His involvement was down towards the end of the game mostly due to Forest by passing the midfield with more direct play but when he was involved he did look tired. Just wasn't as crisp as the first half. All together his performance was very good yesterday and I was very happy/ relieved to see it.
Reports of his and Leeds' demise were premature. He's such a brawler, probably the best guy we have in a street fight kind of game, which is what most games in the EPL end up being. I love how demonstrative he is as well. His teammates are looking for him and taking direction from him; once again, this guy is central to his team and proving to be a top class player.
Phat Boy McKennie had a pretty good match, I thought. Pinging balls around. Tackling the mess out of the poor NF sods. He really drove that midfield. When they went down early I thought it was gonna be the same ho hum. Nope. I know it’s NF, but here’s hoping the squad has turned a corner. I hate being so invested in this dang team. Wasn’t that a hockey assist on that second Leeds goal that no one is mentioning btw?
Yeah great game. Those long range passing definitely comes in handy from time in series A. I always think the double pivot where he plays along a true dm is his best position. Not AM. He's allow to roam freely in this role and it shows.
He played well on both sides of the ball. He also proved he can slot in for Adams so long as his CM partner covers for him when he ventures forward. For much of the game Wes was in the 6 position with Roca covering for him at times when Wes advanced.
he improved so much at Juve, specifically with his passing range. he's not quite the platonic ideal of a rangy, athletic and ball curling italian mid but he certainly got a lot closer at Juve.
He also became much more disciplined with his defensive positioning. At Schalke he would expend lots of effort ranging all over the field but not always with any incremental benefit to the team. He learned to be more efficient with his defensive running at Juventus.
I think this is a bit similar to Bradley’s loan actually. He was at a big Italian team and spent a short time at a relegation battling EPL team. Hope this goes better.
bradley wishes he had 1/2 the skill weston does at progressive passing and dribbling. a pretty unserious comparison imo. if anything bradley's modern analogue is adams. but that does a disservice to adams as well imo.
Yep, good comp. Bradley had very good passing and vision. I'd argue Wes' running is more intelligent, or at least more tactically precise. Bradley would just run in circles -- all game -- some big, some small, but he never stopped running. Wes on the other hand is a lot more nuanced about when he'll run and where and at what pace. He usually seems to find himself in the right place at the right time. But Bradley was our best mid for a few years. A 2.0 version would suit the level the squad is at now.
Bradley's range of passing was excellent. He had good defensive bite and generally made good decisions. This is some revisionist history. Adams is a knife and Wes is a sledge hammer. Bradley was more hammer-y than knife-y because he was never quick enough to be a blade.
the dude that earned the well earned moniker backpass bradley was an accomplished progressive passer? I mean come on, there is a reason at his absolute peak he was a rotation guy for a mid table Italian side and then fell off to MLS level within a few years. bradley never came close to being a regular on a side as talented as Juve, or frankly, Leeds, given how elevated the EPL is thanks to the TV money these days relative to all the other leagues.
He can play several spots well as he has some differing strengths. He is good at quick turns and long passes but when up he shoots pretty good, heads well and is just good at junk goals like he scored at Grenada where he reached out his foot up by his waist and knocked in a goal. He crosses well from the right and combines well on the sideline. One thing I haven't seen in a while are his long throw ins. He does seem to lose concentration on short passes at times (looking for longer stuff?) and needs to be at peak physical shape to play his game.
Nonsense. In his one full season at Roma he was a regular starter on a side that finished 6th in Serie A. Over the course of McKennie's time in Turin he was a fairly regular starter on a side that twice finished 4th in Serie A.