Bethnal

I, for one, blame John Lewis for setting up this football club in the first place!

Yeah, he’s had a good run recently. I do struggle with him sometimes, he’s patchy, but he’s been consistent recently and I’m not looking at JRC mournfully as often anymore

First home game of the season for me and a really gutting day, but from the vantage point of the JW Upper, I saw a lot of honest graft. I’m not his biggest fan by any stretch, but I thought Brittain was excellent up and down, but especially trying to make stuff happen. We looked stretched after the first 20 or so, which is really when the quality/financial disparity began to nullify the desire. Make no mistake - they turned up for a point today. They were happy with the point, but their one chance fell to them through lapses on our end. Usually, those lapses don’t happen all in a row and you get away with them. Having said that - I felt for Eustace today. The opportunity to build through what was a well-organised but ultimately not very game and quite intimidated opposition was there towards the end but we seemed to panic to increasingly more direct balls through tiredness. The bench really emphasised the kind of injury list we’re dealing with. With a bit of perspective here, it was an honest effort in an ultimately poor encounter that got edged by a fortunate opposition who should - by their account - be hammering us. But they’ve not managed it on either encounter this season. They can wave their Indian flags, make light of us having atrocious owners but even with all the good fortune they’ve encountered in the past 15 years, they’re still fortunate to be walking away with the points today and they know it. All that money and they’re celebrating like they did. Full-strength, I don’t think we lose today and if we happen to meet them again this season at full-strength, I don’t think we will.

Agreed but think this is a galvanising performance. We’ll need similar grit on Saturday. First trip up for me this season, owing to circumstances and if I see that kind of fight and aggression, I’ll be happy.

🎶all that money and you fucked it up🎶

Sorry. THERE is that clanger. Gnonto grabs the ref to win the pen.

Quite a few guilty of that, but I wouldn’t say he’d done it egregiously.

Subbing Leonard off is a bit of a shitty move. No room for sentimentality and that, but he’s really put himself about and the level of graft we need, I don’t think Gueye likes to apply. Height, fine, but he’s as likely to put it in his own net as he is to clear it.

Tronstad eventually played it to Leonard who played it out wide, but the initial pass that was on, Tronstad wasn’t looking.

Tronstad in the position to play through Weimann, clean through. That’s when you want Trav in there to just slip it to him. Gosh, frustrating. They’d have collapsed with that.

There’s that fucking clanger. That’s a deliberate handball that stops an attacker being in a dangerous position. Yellow card all day.

Has had but he’s letting things go a bit more in their direction, I think.

Ref buckling a bit under the Elland Road pressure. He’s gonna drop a clanger at some point.

Leeds so dirty they foul each other.

Absolutely no idea how that side beats Leeds away, but keen to find out.

Genuinely a waste of everyone’s time, but there are maybe four players who need to be in the dressing room apologising for a level of disinterest/distraction in their performance that feels quite new. Cantwell really poor, no idea how he’s missed as many sitters as he has, as I seemed to remember him being pretty clinical earlier in his career. I’m not currently seeing the reported £25k/week value. I really hope we’re making moves to get rid of Buckley, you can’t be a 5’9” CM with no pace, no obvious forward intent and the capacity to only play within yourself while expecting to pick up a wage. Seems to have especially dropped off after both Dack and Brereton left, which probably speaks volumes to his attitude.

Fair point, but we’re filling out the bench with Fadz and youth teamers currently, so I think he’s on there because that’s who we have. I agree, I would want him on ahead of Gueye at the very least, but I suspect a lot of our previous injury worries have come from poor load management and we’re trying to manage that better.

I think a double injury for a young player needs careful handling, which is frustrating but probably for the best.

I’ve never witnessed someone so inherently talented be so unbothered by their own talent. He looks resentful of having to play men’s football and that he’d be much happier doing low-stakes reserve football

Someone on the pitch needs to step up and make this happen. Body language doesn’t inspire confidence. John Buckley is a waste of a shirt.

Really sloppy little window and passages of play leading to an extremely avoidable goal. A loss here in the circumstances is very poor.

Cantwell has missed a real sitter there. Seems madness that he’s missed as many of those as he has, he could be sat on five goals if he’d just put away very finishable chances.

6’5” Makhtar Gueye in the middle and any crosses from the byline are being fired in low. I’m sure there’s a reason for it, I just can’t figure out what it is.

ACD the only real outlet, definitely having more joy down our right side but he is leading the charge. Dolan industrious if a little inefficient. Beck arguably being asked to do a bit too much currently. Cantwell needs to make more happen for himself, he’s getting himself clogged up too deep. Gueye needs to find an extra 15-20% work rate to keep his place. Only looks for a pass when his feet get muddled and rarely chasing the ball back. A few having off days (Tronstad looking a bit ropey) but quietly having a good game are Batth and Brittain. If they score, it’ll be from their press against Pears’ distribution or a set piece. We need to be a bit more direct, like ACD has been.

Standard unverified Twitter gossip, but you’d imagine he’s on a shortlist and it’s local to him, so not something that will be dismissed out of hand.