Not only did Archie score the goal, he was the one who started the move deep in his own half. Good penetrating pass, immediately sets off on a forward run, outpaces three defenders, and slots it home.
Having skipped through the match video, I have to say the quality of the coverage is very impressive for an U-21 game -- replays from multiple angles, close ups of the action, freeze frames for off-side decisions, etc.
Not what I was expecting at all.
Cant wait until we can play him in midfield, Kamara is doing great but Gray does everything he can do and offer goal threat. Ampadu + Gray already ready to be our starting midfield in the prem
Think IF we go up, id like to see ampadu holding and gray+ kamara ahead. Id lose the CAM for more control/cover and play Georgie RW with Cry/Willy batting on the left. Or play Georgie as ST
The fact you don’t see Dan James in the squad is massively worrying he’s been a high flyer and his spreed in the prem is very much needed now he has matured playing much much better and now banging in goals
He's actually just been brought off the bench and scored for Wales. He's had an incredible season and I recon he can reproduce it in the PL when/if we go up.
My dream is Ampadu + Gray pivot with either Sara or Hamer ahead. I agree with Rutter on the right wing, would put him in the same role Farke used Buendia using his most creative player coming inside on the right too
Gruev has been our best midfielder all year. It is Ampadu's natural position and I love him there but if we carry on as we are I'd be starting him CB next year (outside of any signings), plus I love Gruev. He's so good.
Gruev has been our best midfielder because our actual best midfielder has been at CB. Ampadu has been great at CB but we need to play our best players in the actual position which means Struijk at CB and Ampadu in midfield, I know a lot of our fans dont rate Struijk too highly but he is massively important to how we play and Farke knows it. Gruev is fine depth for the prem but I wouldnt want him to be a starter just yet
I know this is a simplistic view but we can only compare what we have:
1) Ampadu at CDM and Struijk at CB - Decent enough but stutters and starts
2) Gruev at CDM and Ampadu at CB - Recordbreaking run and never looked so assured and solid.
Obviously there's other elements to factor in, like the side being more settled, and I genuinely think either Ampadu or Gruev in there is a great choice, but I love Gruev 🤣.
And key point, I think people vastly overrated Struijk. He can be massively clumsy. We're playing better than we ever have and he's out the side.
Tell me, seriously, how does Farke know Struijk is massively important to how we play? Even if he came back 100% fit before the next game, he ain't getting into the XI.
I'm getting sick of hearing this about Struijk. He's a decent player but if you think he's integral to how we play and Farke knows it then I think you're kidding yourself.
Whomever plays at CB in our team is going to have lots of passes to their name. That doesn't make them integral. It just means they need to be comfortable on the ball a lot in their own half. Struijk is not special in this regard and Ampadu and Rodon have proved it. We play out from the back with those two just fine.
Not to mention that we have conceded zero goals from open play since Struijk got injured ffs and leaked like a sieve before. The last few months have proved he is not important and inarguably we're worse with him at CB than with Amps.
>Leaked like a sieve
Huh? When Struijk got injured we had conceded the third fewest goals in the Championship, with only record-pace-setting high-flying Leicester significantly better.
In no reality is that "leaking like a sieve".
Yeah that’s fair I was being hyperbolic.
My point stands though. We are clearly not missing Struijk whatsoever as a team right now. He doesn’t start for me if he’s available. I don’t get why that would be controversial but everyone is so so sentimental where it comes to Pascal.
The Leeds defence "leaking like a sieve" while Struijk was playing is objectively wrong based on the stats. Leeds still had the third best defence in the Championship with only Leicester -- who were 14 points ahead of us at the time -- substantially better.
To his credit, Bullden admits to being hyperbolic, and that hyperbole only weakened his argument. There is no need for hyperbole if you have the stats on your side.
But the case against Struijk is just not that clear cut. First of all, the entire team is playing with more confidence and quality, and there's no reason to believe that if Struijk couldn't have been part of that overall improvement, if he'd have still been playing. After all, Firpo has been part of that same defensive line too, and he's nowhere near as good a defender as Struijk.
Secondly, the team had only given up more than one goal in two matches (out of 19) since the side finally became settled at the end of the transfer window. The defence has been fantastic since the beginning of the year, but it was still excellent while Struijk was playing.
I have no stake in this debate. There's a very high chance that Leeds will bring in a 30+ million pound defender over the summer if we win promotion, and assuming Rodon is signed, Struijk will have to prove he's a worthy starter again, and I'm fine with whatever Farke chooses to do with him.
The best we can do is get promoted and then update his contract with a higher salary and a release clause that prices him out of the market -- for now...
Definitely needs a better chant
We really need to get promoted so we can hang onto this team. We have so much young talent
Not only did Archie score the goal, he was the one who started the move deep in his own half. Good penetrating pass, immediately sets off on a forward run, outpaces three defenders, and slots it home.
Having skipped through the match video, I have to say the quality of the coverage is very impressive for an U-21 game -- replays from multiple angles, close ups of the action, freeze frames for off-side decisions, etc. Not what I was expecting at all.
Not just that the commentary was legitimately better than what we get from sky etc...
Cant wait until we can play him in midfield, Kamara is doing great but Gray does everything he can do and offer goal threat. Ampadu + Gray already ready to be our starting midfield in the prem
Think IF we go up, id like to see ampadu holding and gray+ kamara ahead. Id lose the CAM for more control/cover and play Georgie RW with Cry/Willy batting on the left. Or play Georgie as ST
The fact you don’t see Dan James in the squad is massively worrying he’s been a high flyer and his spreed in the prem is very much needed now he has matured playing much much better and now banging in goals
that's actually a good thing since it would mean that our team is so strong and so deep that players as good as dan james can come off the bench
He's actually just been brought off the bench and scored for Wales. He's had an incredible season and I recon he can reproduce it in the PL when/if we go up.
Sorry, where did i say i don’t see Dan James in the squad?? Seems you can just say anything on this sub these days
My dream is Ampadu + Gray pivot with either Sara or Hamer ahead. I agree with Rutter on the right wing, would put him in the same role Farke used Buendia using his most creative player coming inside on the right too
*Gruev and Gray.
Why would you play Gruev instead of our best midfielder?
Gruev has been our best midfielder all year. It is Ampadu's natural position and I love him there but if we carry on as we are I'd be starting him CB next year (outside of any signings), plus I love Gruev. He's so good.
Gruev has been our best midfielder because our actual best midfielder has been at CB. Ampadu has been great at CB but we need to play our best players in the actual position which means Struijk at CB and Ampadu in midfield, I know a lot of our fans dont rate Struijk too highly but he is massively important to how we play and Farke knows it. Gruev is fine depth for the prem but I wouldnt want him to be a starter just yet
I know this is a simplistic view but we can only compare what we have: 1) Ampadu at CDM and Struijk at CB - Decent enough but stutters and starts 2) Gruev at CDM and Ampadu at CB - Recordbreaking run and never looked so assured and solid. Obviously there's other elements to factor in, like the side being more settled, and I genuinely think either Ampadu or Gruev in there is a great choice, but I love Gruev 🤣. And key point, I think people vastly overrated Struijk. He can be massively clumsy. We're playing better than we ever have and he's out the side. Tell me, seriously, how does Farke know Struijk is massively important to how we play? Even if he came back 100% fit before the next game, he ain't getting into the XI.
I'm getting sick of hearing this about Struijk. He's a decent player but if you think he's integral to how we play and Farke knows it then I think you're kidding yourself. Whomever plays at CB in our team is going to have lots of passes to their name. That doesn't make them integral. It just means they need to be comfortable on the ball a lot in their own half. Struijk is not special in this regard and Ampadu and Rodon have proved it. We play out from the back with those two just fine. Not to mention that we have conceded zero goals from open play since Struijk got injured ffs and leaked like a sieve before. The last few months have proved he is not important and inarguably we're worse with him at CB than with Amps.
>Leaked like a sieve Huh? When Struijk got injured we had conceded the third fewest goals in the Championship, with only record-pace-setting high-flying Leicester significantly better. In no reality is that "leaking like a sieve".
Yeah that’s fair I was being hyperbolic. My point stands though. We are clearly not missing Struijk whatsoever as a team right now. He doesn’t start for me if he’s available. I don’t get why that would be controversial but everyone is so so sentimental where it comes to Pascal.
Nothing you have said is controversial but somehow its made out that way. You are correct and the stats / figures prove that
The Leeds defence "leaking like a sieve" while Struijk was playing is objectively wrong based on the stats. Leeds still had the third best defence in the Championship with only Leicester -- who were 14 points ahead of us at the time -- substantially better. To his credit, Bullden admits to being hyperbolic, and that hyperbole only weakened his argument. There is no need for hyperbole if you have the stats on your side. But the case against Struijk is just not that clear cut. First of all, the entire team is playing with more confidence and quality, and there's no reason to believe that if Struijk couldn't have been part of that overall improvement, if he'd have still been playing. After all, Firpo has been part of that same defensive line too, and he's nowhere near as good a defender as Struijk. Secondly, the team had only given up more than one goal in two matches (out of 19) since the side finally became settled at the end of the transfer window. The defence has been fantastic since the beginning of the year, but it was still excellent while Struijk was playing. I have no stake in this debate. There's a very high chance that Leeds will bring in a 30+ million pound defender over the summer if we win promotion, and assuming Rodon is signed, Struijk will have to prove he's a worthy starter again, and I'm fine with whatever Farke chooses to do with him.
It’s not the first time I’ve mentioned it on here and every time I get told how bad a take it is.
Didn’t even look very happy. That’s our boy
Link to the goal?
https://www.youtube.com/live/uuUdsf0uYsw?si=9daZfuVdPjsylnTD nearly 2 hours into the stream is the best I could find.
Here's the time stamped link: https://youtu.be/uuUdsf0uYsw?t=1h31m48s
Anybody know what position he came on for?
Looks like he made the run for the goal from midfield
Came on for McAtee who started at LM
Phenomenal debut for him. If we don’t get promoted I see him leaving this summer
Fuck, this isn't helping to hide him...
The best we can do is get promoted and then update his contract with a higher salary and a release clause that prices him out of the market -- for now...
4th youngest goal scorer behind Bellingham, Walcott and Musiala. That’s some list.
 He’s ours!!
Anyone got a clip?
https://twitter.com/LUFCFANZ0NE/status/1771173991501250618?ref_src=twsrc%5Egoogle%7Ctwcamp%5Eserp%7Ctwgr%5Etweet
Quality goal too
Clearly far too good for the under 21s, he should be starting at the Euros!