Good Morning. It's Tuesday 28th November, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road...
Is Piroe strong enough to fire Whites back to the PremWith six goals and an assist from his opening 14 games, Joel Piroe has made a satisfactory start to his Elland Road career, but, is he good enough to fire Leeds back to the Premier League!
He and Georginio Rutter have forged a strong partnership up front which have terrorising defenders, and giving them sleepless nights, yet goals are a little harder to come by. At 21, Rutter is still learning his trade. His creativity has won him plaudits from every Stadium he has visited this season, but in front of goal, he is still found wanting.
Many assumed that Piroe would play as centre forward this season, with the young Frenchman dropping behind him (in a No 10 role) yet Daniel Farke has reversed the roles.
Leeds have netted 28 times from 274 attempts over 17 games. They have a 32.5% on target ratio (9th), and a 0.10 goals per shot success rate (joint 11th).
Leeds still tipped for automatic promotionDespite their disappointing 1-1 draw at Rotherham last week, Leeds remain second favourites for promotion, according to leading Bookmakers Bet365.
The Whites are seven points behind Ipswich Town, who unexpectedly lost at the Hawthorns last weekend. They entertain Millwall at Portman Road tomorrow night knowing their advantage could be cut down to just four points, if results go against them. Kieran McKenna's side travel to Elland Road on the 23rd December, and welcome Leicester City three days later.
The Foxes remain odds on favourites at 1/14, with Leeds also tipped to go up at 8/13. The Tractor Boys are next in line (4/6), followed by Southampton (6/4), West Brom 5/1, then Saturdays opponents Boro 6/1.
Cooper feels a little bit let down by team mates last season Leeds stalwart Liam Cooper admitted he felt 'a little bit let down in a way' that players from last season weren't pulling their weight. The 32 year old club captain was speaking to Sky Sports, when the subject of last season arose. Whether he was reserving his true feelings for a less family friendly environment, or lost his bottle, his comments came across as weak and unconvincing.
On the whole, Leeds fans don't mix their words. Following relegation to the Championship, the general consensus from the Elland Road faithful (on social media sites) was that the players were wage thieves that weren't fit to wear the shirt. They weren't disciplined, fit enough or care about the team. According to Cooper...
I was angry or whatever you want to call it. I just had a feeling that people weren't pulling their weight as good as you should have been and you've seen the quotes. That killed me. It killed me. It really hurt me. We'd put a lot of hard work in to get where we were and felt a little bit let down in a way. I don't like to make excuses. We weren't good enough, individually or as a team. There just wasn't that bond there. It wasn't there and I felt like it needed to be said.
