David2222: “Great coverage over the season guys. What do you think the players' mental state will be after Sunday? Will they be thinking we're on a knife-edge of being in trouble, or will they be pumped up like we can do this?”
BC: “Thanks, David. That's very kind of you. Surely they have to be in a great state of mind going into Friday after what happened on Sunday. The mood could not have felt much lower or forlorn on Thursday night after the [Aston] Villa loss, so to come out of Sunday with three points in such dramatic fashion has to only boost their belief in what they can now go on and achieve. Of course, there is a long way to go and the club is far from safe, but that win was critical. Dropping points to Norwich [City] could have led most to think relegation would be the only outcome.
Snowy123: “Hi Beren, how many more points do you think we will need to stay up and do you think we will stay up?”
READ MORE: Leeds United are not about to repeat Jesse Marsch's negative tactical choice lightly
BC: “The average across the last 10 years for 18th place is 34 points, while the average across the 30 years since the league moved to 20 teams has been closer to 36 points. Going for 35 means three wins should do it for Leeds [United] from their 26-point tally now. The trip to Watford stands out as the obvious place they need to win, while Brentford on the final day also looks a winnable trip, though I don't fancy the nerves of needing points on the last day to stay up.
“You would have to say Southampton and Brighton [& Hove Albion]'s trips to Elland Road have to be considered big opportunities on home turf too, especially if the latter are on the mid-table beach by the time they visit West Yorkshire. My gut says Leeds will do it, but my hopes were very low before the Norwich game. Even that was made to look like hard work. They still need to improve from here. The international break will be important for Marsch to have time on the training pitches with his squad.”
Fastduckharryh: “Do you think the arrival of Jesse Marsch is likely to increase the pressure from the younger players to break into the first team on a more regular basis? Steven Gerrard, who is a manager I respect, says if you play well you stay in the team. Is Marsch minded in the same way?”
BC: “We are yet to ask him anything like that directly, but my impression is he would follow similar values. He would want to reward those players who play well and execute his vision for how the game should be played. I would like to think young players were at least in with a shout under [Marcelo] Bielsa, so I think the pressure from the younger crop has been there for a long period now.”
frozgrundy: “Hi Beren, I've not been delighted with playing [Daniel] James up front while [Patrick] Bamford is injured. I felt Joffy (Joe Gelhardt) should have played more and [Jack] Harrison benched [more] (apart from the West Ham [United] game obviously, I'd have picked him for that!). Now that Bamford is fit, do you think we should or will pair him and Rodrigo, with Joffy as an impact sub? I personally can't see Marsch picking Joffy ahead of either, no matter how big his impact was on Sunday.
“Related question: Bamford and Rodrigo have hardly looked like [Allan] Clarke and [Mick] Jones, but is it true Marsch will play them slightly differently so they work better together and, if so, how?”
BC: “Some great questions and theories there. Isn't it great to finally have options like these? Actual debates about quality options starting together and combining? It's hard to call because it all depends on the formation Marsch plays.
“The 4-2-3-1 does morph into a 4-2-2-2 at times, which seems to suit Rodrigo better playing off Bamford because he can drop in as the 10, unlike Gelhardt, who seems like more of an out and out nine. Bamford transformed the team's attacking threat in the first half on Sunday, so he has to start every game now.
“Gelhardt is a great impact sub to have if Rodrigo keeps playing the way he did at the weekend too. I agree though, I really hope that is the end of the James experiment up top. He has always looked so much better in the wide areas.”
Oldfool: “I know it may be an admission of guilt, but could Leeds and Red Bull come to a settlement over [Jean-Kevin] Augustin?”
BC: “I am sure the club have looked at every avenue with this dispute. It has been rumbling on since June 2020. They would have had all the conversations they needed with legal people to assess their options and how they tackle this. Clearly, they are backing themselves to get the result they want and firmly believe the terminology in the paperwork is in their favour. Time will tell if that approach has proved frugal or whether it's going to cost them millions on a player who managed 51 minutes for them on the field.
LeedsLeedsLeeds: “Good afternoon, Do we have any updates on Kalvin Phillips? His return date is seemingly further and further away. Will he play again this season?”
BC: “The last we heard from Marsch suggested the international break would be a useful time to get him and [Liam] Cooper back onto the grass and involved in full training. Perhaps a place on the bench against Southampton may be a nice target, but it really has dragged on. There were some optimistic assessments of him being back in early February at one stage, but obviously, that hasn't panned out for him.”
Craig92: “Is there any of the players that came up with us the club will look to move on as the squad strengthens if we stay up?”
BC: “The club will need to know what division it's going to be in first, but if they stay up there will definitely need to be a reset on the squad in some regards because they cannot afford another season like this one to play out that way again.
Rather than ship out the players who got the club promoted they may want to bulk the size of the squad up by adding rather than subtracting players. Much depends on the impression they make on Marsch in the final nine matches of the season. For me, [Tyler] Roberts, [Luke] Ayling, [Mateusz] Klich and Harrison have not had the best seasons as a whole, but that doesn't mean the club will feel the same way.”
Craig92: “We have lost 15 games already, Burnley have only lost 12. From memory, we have lost the same number of games last season as Fulham, who had a lot of draws rather than wins. Bielsa was never seen to settle for draws with 10 minutes to go. With our attacking resources, in games like Southampton, Brighton, Wolves, do you think Marsch would risk losing a point, especially if on top, to try and get three? Managers like [Sean] Dyche and [Roy] Hodgson would defend the point.”
BC: “It's too early to tell because we haven't seen enough matches with Marsch in charge or his reaction to various situations. It's worth noting the approach he took when Rodrigo was hurt on Sunday. He talked about going to a back five with that 1-0 lead, which seemed a little unhelpful in the grand scheme of the match. Turning to Gelhardt when Rodrigo needed to come off would have been the more attacking play.”
Oldfool: “Thank you, Beren I am just worried an embargo [on transfers] will be introduced and if this season is anything to go by, we would not survive another one provided we survive this one.”
BC: “My assumption is the club will pay what is required of them if every court they appeal to rules in Leipzig's favour, which would rule out any kind of transfer embargo.”
Chris52: “Hi Beren, can you tell me if it was the board or Bielsa who didn’t buy players in the last two windows?”
BC: “Well, players were bought last summer, but in January players were certainly offered to Bielsa in the form of [Donny] van de Beek and [Harry] Winks, but he declined them. I would say it was largely led by Bielsa because of the squad size he likes to retain, but he also maintained he was happy to have new players if they were better than what he already had. You're then looking at £20m-plus in some cases, which isn't always lying around down the back of the club's sofa.”
