'Without that' - Leeds United fans on West Brom draw, Whites man must and serious 49ers warning
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Here is what our YEP Jury had to say on the 0-0 stalemate at The Hawthorns and the last two weeks of the summer transfer window with a Whites man must and ‘serious’ 49ers warning.
NEIL GREWER
Our goalless draw at West Brom was a good point gained – plus a clean sheet – given the week Leeds United have had and away from home against opponents with genuine aspirations of automatic promotion.
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It was not a great game with defences on top. Man-of-the-match Pascal Struijk was back to his best at the back and had Leeds’ best chances in attack from set pieces– this neatly sums up the game!
Defensively, Leeds were solid with errors minimal – however both full-backs being booked stresses the need for reinforcements in this area. This was a massive improvement on recent games, though.
Going forward Leeds lacked a spark (I wonder why?) and in order to win games, United must find a spark – or more likely buy one – and quickly. Joel Piroe at number 10 was poor and rarely involved in the game. Mateo Joseph worked hard but had no service and in fairness the West Bromwich Albion defence marshalled our attackers well.
I think tactically Daniel Farke got things right – all things considered, and this performance was an improvement on the equivalent game last season. Let’s be positive, we have something to build on.
Man of the match: Pascal Struijk.
ANDY RHODES
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Hide AdAfter a tough week both on and off the field, a hard-earned point at West Bromwich Albion is a positive outcome. United’s squad is undoubtedly threadbare at the moment but they were able to grind out a point and perhaps could have won it.
The stats will tell you that Leeds were on top, but they lacked the individual brilliance that only a Crysencio Summerville or a Georginio Rutter could previously provide. A requirement of any players that come in must be to help get the most out of Joel Piroe. Despite a full pre-season, Piroe still isn’t quite ticking but Leeds aren’t the complete side yet.
United will need to spend money; they already sit four points behind the league leaders. The key messages from the 49ers management team over the summer months have been that we would be better prepared than last season, and that we wouldn’t have to part with all our best players. Now that the season is here and we are missing key pieces of the puzzle, serious action is needed. A tough run of games is coming up, and points are needed
Man of the match: Pascal Struijk.
DAVID WATKINS
This was a better showing from the Mighty Whites at West Bromwich Albion – a ground where we’ve found it hard to garner points in recent years.
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Hide AdOkay, this was not a great game, and neither side exactly sparkled, but we remained resolute at the back and cut out the silly errors while, when we did get forward, we looked much more of a unit than we did at times against Middlesbrough in the Carabao Cup.
Clearly we need reinforcements though, to bolster the side and, in particular, we need a creative midfielder to replace the spark that Georginio Rutter gave us. Without that, Leeds will struggle to create chances.
There were just two shots on target in this game – one from either side – so it’s not an issue solely for Leeds. The match stats overall were pretty equal between the two sides.
It might have been a different story had Pascal Struijk’s glancing header found the inside of the back post instead of the outside from a second-half corner but that was as close as Leeds came to nicking all three points.
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Hide AdAt the other end, Illan Meslier was hardly troubled either. On we go to Hillsborough on Friday night where it may be a matter of trying to nick another point if those reinforcements haven’t arrived by then.
Man of the match: Ethan Ampadu.
MIKE GILL
This was a hard-fought, gritty display against a West Bromwich Albion team that finished in the top six last season and probably will be in the promotion mix again this time around.
The game proved to be a true test of character which United passed with flying colours at the end of a very difficult week for the club. Daniel Farke was well aware that he needed at least a draw to silence the doom and gloom merchants who sat poised over their keypads.What was evident was a lack of creativity which only made the departure of our three best players even more hard to bear.
On the plus side, the defence was streets ahead of the unit that dithered and eventually petered out against Portsmouth on the opening day and Middlesbrough in the first round of the Carabao Cup on Wednesday.
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Hide AdJoe Rodon, Jayden Bogle and Pascal Struijk all put in big performances and they were aided and abetted by their team-mates.
What happens in the remainder of the transfer window is in the lap of the gods but this is a solid base to build on and due credit must be given to boss Farke and his team.
Man of the match: Pascal Struijk.
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