In the Press

Leeds United news here, transfer rumours, club affairs, players, fans, etc.
Specific match discussions should go in the category below.
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Re: In the Press

Post by Deleted User 728 »

JamesR wrote:Bielsa's at it again, I see!

https://www.skysports.com/rugby-union/n ... semi-final
... er ... that's a link to egg-chasing :problem:
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Re: In the Press

Post by Davycc »

rigger wrote:
JamesR wrote:Bielsa's at it again, I see!

https://www.skysports.com/rugby-union/n ... semi-final
... er ... that's a link to egg-chasing :problem:
I did hear Bielsa fancied a quick trip to Japan !
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Re: In the Press

Post by PhoenixUnited »

Davycc wrote:
rigger wrote:
JamesR wrote:Bielsa's at it again, I see!

https://www.skysports.com/rugby-union/n ... semi-final
... er ... that's a link to egg-chasing :problem:
I did hear Bielsa fancied a quick trip to Japan !
I thought this was a case of the London Press hanging onto FFLs every word and reporting what he states as fact :D
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Re: In the Press

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Pablo interview in The Telegraph



It is a dread that stalks every footballer in their 30s, that nagging sense that the best years are behind them, the suspicion that younger, fitter rivals will soon supplant them, mixed with a sense of fear and foreboding about what comes next.
For Pablo Hernández, that internal turmoil has been brought into sharp focus. At the age of 34, the Spaniard knows time is his enemy. Suffering with a niggling knee injury that kept out of the Leeds United team for almost two months, he had a lot of time to think and reflect.
Hernández was convinced Leeds were going to be promoted last season, that he would get at least one more season in the Premier League. Like everyone, he was devastated by the play-off semi-final defeat to Derby County, a brutally-crushing experience at the end of an exhilarating campaign.
He feared the worst. That the pain of a promotion near-miss would prove too much to recover from, that the hangover would debilitate Leeds and in the back of his mind, he knew he would be another year older.
Could he still be the same player who is adored by supporters? Did he still have the same hunger that has driven him throughout his career, first in Spain with Valencia and Getafe and then in English football with Swansea? Would he still be the player Leeds need him to be?
“It was a really hard moment for all of us, really tough,” said Hernández, sitting in the games room at Leeds’ Thorp Arch training base. “It was hard for the fans. When you lose a match like that and you hear the whistle, you are devastated.

“You think in the game, we can still win. All the time, I was telling the players to keep calm, that we would still win and then it is gone. Everything you have worked for is done. I thought about everything at that moment, all the work, how close we had come, the near-misses, the games we should have won. It was incredibly tough to accept we would be in the Championship for another year.
“When we returned for pre-season training, I expected there to be problems. I thought it would be tough to get motivated. I thought the players would return with their heads down, thinking about the negatives, but it was not like this at all.
“I was so proud, from the first day we came with a lot of energy, with a lot of belief. We knew we had lost a big chance, but we wanted to make sure we had another one this year. There was nobody feeling sorry for themselves, I realised then that this season would be a good one. Why if we had one good season could we not have another?
“I feel confident. If we play like we have done so far this season, I still think we are good enough to win every game. We have to think we are the best team in the league.”

The table would suggest Leeds have been the third-best team in the Championship up to this point. They are below West Brom and surprise automatic promotion chasers Preston, but there is a long way to go and the experience of last season should help manager Marcelo Bielsa and his players as we move into the frenetic Festive period.
“There is an accusation that we blew up last season,” Hernández sighs. “That we got tired, but no, that did not happen.
“I do not think pressure is trying to get promoted. When you play for success, you should enjoy it, you should be motivated, you should be excited. We know what happened, we know the reason for not going to the Premier League, but we also believe it will not happen again.
“We can only enjoy this. Do not have fear. I like to play with this feeling. This is how I’ve played every year. At Valencia, a big club, needs to be in the top four... it is hard to play for that, it’s difficult. But I still played like I do now. With freedom. I want to be at a club with pressure and expectation. We have that at Leeds, it is a privilege to have that.”

To have some idea of Hernández’s popularity, when a local hero - boxer Josh Warrington - defended his IBF Featherweight belt in the city last month, he asked Hernández to be in his corner. When Hernández’s face was shown on the big screen, the roar inside the arena was as loud for him as it was for the man about to fight in the ring.
“Leeds is a very passionate football club, the energy from the supporters, you can feed off that,” Hernández explains, smiling as he says it. “The bond is special, the fans, the way they support the team. They are amazing.
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“I have been here four years and it is a special club, an amazing club, it has been a really special time for me.
“I like the passion, the love, it is there in every game. That is not the same at other clubs. It has made me a better player, it makes me happy, it has given me extra strength, it is like a gift. We have a responsibility to a club and a city, it is important for me at my age.”
On Tuesday he signed a new two-year contract, extending his stay to the end of next season. But how much longer can he continue to enjoy it, how much more has he got left to give?

“Normally in football, yes, when you get to 30 you are winding down,” Hernández admitted. “Most people think their career is in the final part and their performances maybe go down. But I am always say the same, my fitness is good, I feel good physically, but also mentally which is just as important, probably more important.
“I still have more years as a player, maybe two or three more. The day I go to train or play and I do not enjoy it, the day I see the other players run more than me and I always arrive late for the ball, it is time to stop. I’m not there, I’m still enjoying it. I’m still holding my own in training, the youngsters are not quicker to the ball then me, I feel good.”
Leeds United supporters will feel good about that too.
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NottinghamWhite
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Re: In the Press

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https://www.theguardian.com/football/wh ... YslI5tBi6o

Interview with Andy McVeigh, the Burley Banksy.
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Re: In the Press

Post by Deleted User 728 »

Meant to scan and post that myself as it was in WSC this last issue.

Saves me a job ;)
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Re: In the Press

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I have a "The Athletic" membership, Phil Hay is the journalist. Is there any objection to me posting the articles here? They're hidden behind a pay wall but happy to copy them over.
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Re: In the Press

Post by Deleted User 728 »

I wouldn't Aaron. I think we may be liable for copyright infringement.
Thank you for offering though as I was curious about the site. How good is it? Isn't it mainly EPL though?
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Re: In the Press

Post by Another Northern Soul »

Aaron wrote:I have a "The Athletic" membership, Phil Hay is the journalist. Is there any objection to me posting the articles here? They're hidden behind a pay wall but happy to copy them over.
Appreciate what Rigger says but I've seen people cut & paste Phil's articles loads of times and not heard of any official complaints made. How about posting them a few days after they're published, Aaron/Rigger, when they've been read and almost certainly cut & pasted elsewhere already?
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Re: In the Press

Post by Deleted User 728 »

I'm still a bit twitchy about it because the site is a new platform featuring a raft of the most talented sport writers around and as the payment structure represents a new way of presenting sports journalism I feel that it may be monitored more strictly than other outlets.

I would hope we'd be given warning before being slapped with a lawsuit though ..
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