I rate him personally, he's the best goal scorer at the club, but he struggles particularly away when teams sit well back, his natural game isn't a 9. As you say Tad. a 9 in Jan could be as important as anything but i suspect that won't happen, given we have Bamford and Joseph on the books also, unless Bamford went out somewhere..

Saturday I'd like joseph at 9 and piroe playing off him. a hybrid 10/ second striker role. I'd like to see ramanazi get a start too

Yep, that would work. Ramazanni getting back to something like would be a big boost. Gnonto's form has dipped a bit, mind you i wouldn't mind seeing him back in the 10 role at some point.

I agree. he was hit and miss on Saturday. should beat Oxford though so chance to start/rest a few

Goals was always going to be a problem and was highlighted by many commentators at the conclusion of the transfer window. Tad makes some excellent points about the shortcomings of certain players who seem beyond criticism here. If Piroe is the best scoring option then the team need to play to his strengths. Coaching attack is not a strength of Farke and as fans have to accept that.

Farke is no Bielsa but he will win as many games and surely fans have to trust his judgement? Having said that Leeds look a completely different team away from Elland Rd and Farke needs to address that.

Apparently Buendia could be available in Jan, he's only played less than 40 mins this season.. i do wonder if we might try tempt him. Him and Farke go way back

Like who?

I think Ramazani on the left wing is the best option we have there. Gnonto seemed to link well with Ramazani and hasn’t been the same player since Ramazani has been out. For the two of them to link up again it would logically be at the expense of Aaronson. That’s a big call for Farke to make as he seems quite happy with Aaronson despite some people’s misgivings.

I think you mistake scapegoating for criticising. I criticise him because he’s soft, lacks commitment and hasn’t done anything in an away game since the middle of October when he scored at Sunderland. I suppose the YEP sports writer who gave him the lowest mark in the team on Saturday was “scapegoating” him ? Maybe Lee Hendrie who said he was the only Leeds player who disappointed him the other week was “scapegoating” him ? Maybe Jon Newsome who regularly says he’s “anonymous” is scapegoating him ?For me he’s a real weak link in the team for a lot of games and I won’t just turn a blind eye at him being totally crap because he’s scored a goal when we’ve beaten a crap team at Elland Road about a month ago. His two efforts at goal on Saturday were absolutely pathetic, my 89 year old Dad could have kicked the ball harder. He set the tone for the day by not even jumping for balls or attempting to tackle defenders when he had chance, another soft, lazy display from him. Five pathetic displays from him on the bounce away from Elland Road now, he may as well have stayed on the team coach painting his fingernails the big wet lettuce. If you want to join a love triangle along with Piroe and Tad go ahead.

as I said I'm hoping leeds really kick on in January as we dod last year, and norwich did twice.
give joseph a run. see how he goes

just been reading the best XG for all players playing in europe over the last 5 years. piroe is, somewhat surprisingly, 14th behind some seriously big hitters.
bottom of the whole lot is, not surprisingly, bamford.

meslier is bloody poor goalkeeping wise too

I know I keep saying it but carrying players like Meslier, Aaronson and Bamford isn`t doing us any favours.
Said the same about Jack Harrison who Everton fans want shut.
I do think Farke needs to be a bit more ballsy and drop these 3.
Unfortunately I`m not too convinced about Darlow and actually think Cairns is the better option.
Gnonto or Rothwell or Tanaka in the 10 and bring Ampadu back in to midfield is another option.
Bamford needs to move out unless he gets a hatrick on Saturday that is.


I would also play Byram at RB and Wober LB this Saturday.
But I`m sure we will go with Bogle and Byram. Aronson in the 10 and Bamford on the bench.
The team is doing well but it needs to do better and kick on.

wober out Saturday. strjuik doubtful.

I would have replaced meslier in the summer. i think farke will stick with for now. aaronsson needs a rest.i think he'll come good .

one think farke dod say today was tankaka and Rothwell are good players but away from home gruev and amadeu are what you need.more steel

I'd probably rest Aaronsons too, his shooting is generally shocking and he does lose the ball often, similar to Rutter, but he does do some good stuff, hes got an eye for a decent through ball, can create opportunities and he is our second top scorer so far this season.

I just think we need some squad rotation coming into the busy xmas period

I think most would of replaced Meslier in the summer, I still believe we can get promoted with him in goal, and dont think we will look to replace him this window. but he needs replacing in the summer regardless of which league we are in.

Aaronson's done pretty well from a goal scoring point of view with 5 this season so far but his chance creation/assists are poor considering how much we dominate the ball most games, he's only had one assist. I think he needs benching when we play away against a physical team and put Gnonto there or Rothwell.

Wober and Struijk potentially missing is a blow and maybe Ampadu might get the nod at the back unless it`s too much of a risk with him not yet match fit.
Interesting comment about Rothwell and Tanaka compared to Gruev and Ampadu there Tad.
If memory serves me right we were not in the top 3 for away performances last year.
I`m hoping we do bring in a couple of players in January and if Firpo is going to leave maybe look at a LB to go with a striker and a 10.

isn't Piroe top of the charts at this level for goal scoring ? some really good figures Meslier stats are very poor.

only got shown it at work so didn't take azlit in. but yes, his XG is supurb.

We have to take into consideration, that his xG is over the last five years and before he came to us, he scored 44 goals over two seasons. I wonder what his current xG is for Leeds over the last two seasons.

it should be pretty good, he doesn't miss many. great finisher.

Talking of Meslier, I was listening to inside elland rd podcast yesterday with G Smyth and J Donahue and they were pretty damning of Messlier of how, even in the championship and playing in one of the best teams for the last 2 seasons, he's not one of the best keepers (stats prove he's some way off).. and Farke needs to give him competition for his place to see if it does the trick. Now, he is still fairly young, but It's quite damning really that, even at this level he's not performing well enough to be considered one of the best in the division (he was exactly same last year).

He's played nearly 200 games and not one area of his game has improved. His 1 on 1s have always been excellent, but his shot stopping and distribution have regressed, if anything. He's probably the only player In our 11 who doesn't get in most other teams in the league.

he's definitely gone backwards. I don't agree with all criticisms, as a former keeper I wouldn't!!, but I'd still replace him if possible

Yeah, totally agree.