Here are your Leeds United morning headlines for Thursday, February 10.
James and Rodrigo repay Bielsa’s faith
Prior to the thrilling 3-3 draw between Leeds and Aston Villa last night, there were plenty of calls from supporters for Dan James and Rodrigo to be dropped by Marcelo Bielsa.
However, as we have seen so many times during his tenure, his faith in the two attacking players was unwavering as they were once again selected in the starting XI.
Both players were instrumental for the Whites as they came away from Villa Park with a share of the points despite facing a 3-1 deficit in the first half.
After combining for each of the first two Leeds goals on the night, James and Rodrigo were undoubtedly the stand-out performers for the visitors and that was highlighted in our player ratings.
Meanwhile, it was an evening to forget for Raphinha who was struggled to have his usual impact on the game in the West Midlands and that was reflected by his five rating.
Check out the rest of last night’s ratings here.
James ‘learning every day’ under Bielsa
James has largely been unable to showcase his best football since joining Leeds from Manchester United in the summer.
Last night’s performance was much more what the fans have expected of the £25m man and exhibited exactly what the Wales international can bring to the team in Patrick Bamford’s absence.
His two goals showed two very different aspects of his game and it shows how he has adapted to a position he admitted is probably not his favourite.
“It’s something that we spoke about the other day,” he told BT Sport after the match. “I want to score more goals, I want to get more assists and I’ve got to keep believing and making them runs.
“I got two today but I have to keep pushing, keep making them runs. We’ve obviously had injuries in the team and it might not be my preferred position but I really enjoy playing there.
“I’m learning every day under [Bielsa].”
Read more of what James had to say here.
Bamford absence could send Leeds down, says McAvoy
The draw at Villa Park was something of a coming-of-age performance from James on the back of a rather underwhelming season so far.
It is the continuous injury problems to Bamford that have forced the diminutive forward into the number nine role, something Frank McAvennie doesn’t believe has worked at all.
“They are missing Bamford so badly,” the former West Ham striker told Football Insider prior to the Aston Villa draw. “He was absolutely brilliant last season and this year he has barely touched the ball.
“We all enjoyed watching him and Leeds don’t really have a backup striker. They have the young lad [Joe] Gelhardt but he’s far from proven at Premier League level.
“I’m still not sure why they didn’t sign a striker either in the summer or last month. They must have known about Bamford’s latest injury.
“Leeds aren’t scoring as much with Bamford out of the team. We know from last season that they win games 3-2 or 4-3. But if they are still conceding the goals without scoring they are in trouble.
“That relegation zone is not far off and they are far from safe.”
