re: Leeds United 2022/23 Season-Long Thread: Let’s Farke shite up

All i have to say after watching the first half is that Harry Wilson is a carpet clenching little twat.

Adams worst game so far

Well i just wanted to see us play well and we did for the most part. Most teams would say “on another night we’d have 3-4 goals” but this is us… Aaronson was great after coming on minus missing that one golden chance. McKennie was really good for the second game in a row. Raz at CB was interesting. Summerville was a dangerous threat all night and Georgi is really unlucky. Thought he had a great game.

Need some favorable results today from Arsenal and Liverpool, and the gunners just went up before half.

Hopefully we can take something from Chelsea this weekend with the way they’ve been foundering. Still a long shot but I feel better about it now than a few weeks ago.

Chelsea’s in terrible form and haven’t scored in ages


Enter:

*Leeeeeeeds Uuuuuunited*

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Chelsea’s in terrible form and haven’t scored in ages

Enter:

*Leeeeeeeds Uuuuuunited*

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Propaganda for firing Potter will be off the charts if Leeds come away with a clean sheet this weekend

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Good luck next round pal

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United away, not impossible.

Some tidbits from tMailbag

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If the club survive and survive comfortably, what are the plans for Gracia? Surely they wouldn’t just replace him if he does a good job? (Ryan T) Steven P followed a similar train of thought, wanting to know if “big-name managers” would be on the agenda if 49ers Enterprises took over as planned. Krzysztof W asked whether Marcelo Gallardo would be an alternative.

Leeds considered Gallardo, the ex-River Plate manager, as an option after sacking Jesse Marsch last month but Gallardo didn’t want to start his next job mid-season (Southampton also got the same message from him when they dismissed Nathan Jones). But he’ll be available this summer and, no doubt, he’ll have offers on the table. He’s very well thought of in the game and Europe would be a fresh challenge.

When you clear away the smoke from Leeds’ rather fraught hunt for a head coach, it still seems Rayo Vallecano’s Andoni Iraola was the option they really wanted. Had the approach made to him in the days after Marsch left not been met with so much resistance from Rayo Vallecano, that’s the road Leeds would have taken. The club could conceivably go back to him in the summer.

The initial stage of Gracia’s contract runs to the end of this season, with the obvious target of keeping Leeds in the Premier League. If he does that convincingly the club will consider extending his stay. Gracia would also be minded to take an extension too. It was quite telling last week when he said that he didn’t want to be here simply because he had a contract — but if his tenure feels settled then I’d be surprised if the club were tempted to shake things up again. If Leeds are relegated then it’s going to be a summer of major change, let’s face it. All bets are off.

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From the outside, it’s looked like the 49ers have been fairly passive in terms of the recent managerial situation. Given the large sums of money at risk if this season results in relegation, were they involved in the Gracia appointment? (Jarryd C)

They were. When Gracia pitched to the board and presented his ideas on the Sunday after the defeat at Everton, Paraag Marathe — Leeds’ vice-chairman and 49ers Enterprises president — was in the meeting. Various contacts have indicated that of all the people at Elland Road, Radrizzani was most convinced that Marsch had to be sacked (and Radrizzani first thought about a change after defeat to Aston Villa in January) but because of the setup in the boardroom and the pending takeover, virtually every major decision — on transfers, finances, head coaches — has to be taken by committee. Much of it directly affects the current and future value of the club. It was like that with Jack Harrison almost joining Leicester on deadline day. 49ers Enterprises was not convinced by the sense of that deal and it was scrapped at late notice after boardroom talks.

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What can you tell us about Rene Maric leaving, Phil? He seemed to have good ideas as a young coach. Why did they sack him but not Chris Armas? And is Armas still there? If so, what’s his role going to be? (Peter Y)

Armas is still at Leeds, a little over a month on from joining Marsch’s staff, but his role is unclear. He hasn’t been formally named as part of Gracia’s staff and it wouldn’t be a huge surprise if he moves on before long. He’d literally been in the door for less than a fortnight, whereas Maric had been on the scene from the start of the season. Leeds cleared out most of the backroom team following Marsch’s dismissal because a new head coach was always going to bring new assistants with him. Maric wouldn’t necessarily have fitted into that. But expect to see him back in the game soon. He’s a clever guy, a tactical mind, and having held a variety of roles as a No 2, I wonder if a head coach’s job will find him soon.

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What’s the latest on Jack Harrison? Are we any closer to getting him tied down on a new contract yet? (David B)

The same was asked about Robin Koch, another player who Leeds want to tie to new terms. Leeds did what they often do in January, which was to delay contract discussions until the window closed to allow them to focus on recruiting new players, such as Weston McKennie. The intention was for talks with relevant first-team squad members to get going again last month, although it’s perfectly clear that the club have had other priorities on their plate since sacking Marsch. They won’t have been in a position to devote much time to contract extensions yet.

Harrison is an interesting case. You have to wonder how much the events of deadline day in January will encourage him to commit. There was a point late on where he thought he was about to be sold to Leicester, only for him to be called back from their training ground. Realistically, Leeds either agree improved terms with him or sell him in the summer. His contract is up in 2024 and given that he is 26, retaining him on his existing contract would risk losing him on a free transfer, which makes no financial sense. But they won’t be able to match the weekly wage Leicester were proposing to pay him.

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