++ [ originally posted by mikhail ] ++
Now Woodgate is gone. £9 million to Newcastle. Good riddance, but the core of the team that was leeds is gone. I agree that the "rotton apples" like Woodgate and Bowyer had to go (and should have gone the moment they were arrested), but I still feel that it's all the fault of the ever-crap El Tel.
- Terry Venables
This is an amazingly stupid statement. Dacourt's wages are high, and I can understand why the club would like to get that off their expenditure, but Tel has f*cked up horribly in two ways:
1. Dacourt is a great midfielder. His replacements (Bakke, McPhail) are good midfielders. To play them before Dacourt is a waste of talent in his playing staff.
2. By not playing Dacourt, they drive his value down, costing them money they can ill-afford to lose. A couple of years ago, Dacourt was valued (not totally unrealistically) at £15,000,000. They can knock off a zero now, and that's if they get anything for him.
Tel has switched to a 4-3-3. He just decided that, despite having two of the best wingers in England in Kewell and Bowyer (as he insisted on playing him) and an extreemly promising one in Milner, he shouldn't use them properly. Instead, while Kewell has finally become a major asset up front, he doesn't add anything more there than say Robbie Keane did, and Lee Bowyer struggled in his new role on the inside right. Also, his new-look midfield consisted of Barmby, Bakke and Bowyer. Barmby is also a winger (kind of). Certainly, he's not really a hard-tackling midfielder. So his now, with his stupid handling of Dacourt, Tel is left with no midfielders who can both tackle and pass. Naturally, and attacking guru like him has decided on the latter, at the expense of the former, so Leeds have to rely on the back-line and keeper to stop their defensive record from becomming a joke.
Back-line: Sold Rio. Profit: £15million. Cool. Now, to replace him. What do you mean there's no money? We just got £15 million cash. Woodgate? F*ck Woodgate - off to Newcastle if possible. Besides who's going to partner him? Radabe? He's a great defender, but gets injured when he turns corners. Whiel driving his car. Matteo? Okay. let's settle on Matteo and Woodgate. Not too happy with this, and zero quality cover, but maybe it'll hold. Provided we have good full-backs. The right is fine. Mills is a bit of a thug, but he's a good defender, and Gary Kelly might not be the player he was, but he's still good enough to start, let alone cover. Then we get to the left. Harte? Great World Cup he had - substituted in every game, finally ending in the ignomy of missing a penalty against Spain. His form hasn't recovered, or at least, it hasn't recovered enough, and his attacking play no longer justifys his selection. So, options? Dom Matteo? For heaven's sake, there's only one of him. And he's not that good to begin with.
Speaking of the World Cup, Robbie Keane had a great one, scoring against Saudi Arabia, Germany (90th minute equaliser) and Spain (89th minute equaliser). On form, suitable for the new right-forward role, or even the centre-forward one. Worth a bit of money.
Bought for £12,000,000. Sold for £6 million. To Spurs of all teams.
Robbie Fowler. Bought for £11,000,000, sold for £9,000,000 (I think).
So, what's left of the forwards? Viduka, Kewell, Smith and Bridges - to play a three-pronged attack. Bridges has spent most of the past two years injured and, being injured for the rest of the season, looks set to continue the trend. Smith has spent most of his career suspended. Viduka has spent his Leeds career overweight. And Kewell has spent his whole club career as as winger. Looks promising, I'm sure you'll agree.
And, last but not least, to the keepers. Two good ones. But why the hell is Martyn, who's on £40k/week, still at the club? He should have been let go long ago.
Leeds are a club in deep financial @!#$. They have a squald that was thin to begin with, and which stupidity at the chairman's level has only made worse. To make matters worse, the manager ignores his best players, plays them out of position, or sells them. And his new formation appears to be just that - a formation, because the players don't seem to have the foggiest how to play it.
At least Smith seems to care.
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