Leeds v Swans | Vital Football

Leeds v Swans

K

keith margam

Vital Football Legend
Big match coming up on Saturday, between first and second in the table.

Leeds league home form so far is a 1-1 draw with Forest, and a 1-0 win against Brentford. Home in the Cup last Tuesday they drew 2-2 with Stoke and lost the penalty shoot out. So away form is very good but home form could be better.

Swans have drawn one and won one away from home. Both teams are unbeaten with Leeds the bookies favourite to get promotion.

We meet yet another ex-Swan on our travels, Pablo Hernandez. He was always injury prone whilst with us, but never seems to be injured for Leeds. Top player and one we have to be very careful of.
 
Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa talking about Swansea:

"I am not surprised by their start of the season, because the results they have got have been deserved. They continued having a part of the squad from the previous year. And some players arrived with high level prestige in the competition.

They are showing a good level. They have a very clear idea of how to play. They are a solid team. They know how to defend and they know how to attack.

And at the same time, they have good links in their transitions between defence and attack and their transitions between attack and their defence."
 
Harry Redknapp is in no doubt about the result on Saturday:

“Leeds rested a number of regulars against Stoke in the cup on Tuesday and won’t be too disappointed to be eliminated.
They had earlier won at Stoke 3-0 last Saturday in the Championship and the pre-season title favourites are certainly proving why bookmakers are now running scared”.

“City have been superb and coming in under the radar have quietly and efficiently gone about their business.
A comprehensive 3-0 mauling of Birmingham took them alongside Leeds so this top of the table clash should see a huge crowd on Saturday.
Swansea were on fire as they put six past helpless Cambridge United in the cup and travel north in high spirits”.

“However, Leeds are very easy on the eye and playing free-flowing football has excited their followers.
They will expect to move clear at the summit and I envisage them sitting pretty Saturday tea time this weekend.”
 
It looks as if the team are not flying up for this match.
It’s 272 miles to Elland Road from the Liberty Stadium, approximately 4-1/2 hours, not including breaks, hold ups with road works, and traffic congestion.
Presumably they’ll travel up today and overnight there.
Most Swans fans do not have that luxury, so will do the 9 hour plus round trip in one day. Hope it’s worth it. Sing loud Jack Army.
 
Team news:
Woodman, Roberts, Hoorn, Rodon, Bidwell, Grimes (capt), Fulton, Celina, Dhanda, Ayew, Borja
Subs: Nordfelt, Naughton, Wilmot, Byers, Garrick, Routledge, Surridge
 
Leeds 0 - Swans 1
Possession: 62% - 38%
Shots: 21 - 7
On Target: 3 - 2
Corners: 6 - 5
Fouls: 15 - 10
Bookings: 2 - 2
Ref: Darren Bond
Attendance: 34,937
 
Steve Cooper:
"It's the perfect result, with a clean sheet away from home. We had to work hard for it.
I liked us defensively - anyone that comes here knows they are going to have moments where they are going to have to defend properly and we did that.
Any game away from home in this league is a test but it's all about what we do. There are some areas where we would definitely like to improve on but there are some areas that went well as well.
I said before the game that these are games that we've got to be excited about. You can't come here and fear, you can't come here and hide. You've got to come and enjoy it and we did that."
 
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Steve Cooper:
“We had to work hard for it no doubt. We came here to win that's for sure, there are obvious areas to exploit against Leeds, and although we didn't do it quite as well with the ball in the first half, the second half we looked quite dangerous.
It's a clear penalty as well (when Kiko Casilla challenged Sam Surridge) that should have put us 1-0 up but then we get the goal from Wayne from a set-piece.
I liked us defensively today, anyone that comes here knows they will have moments where they have to defend properly, and we did that.”
 
Steve Cooper says he has fallen in love with Swansea City, but it has nothing to do with the fact his side sit top of the Championship table.
Cooper has enjoyed the best start of any head coach or manager in the club’s history, and a first win in 70 years at Elland Road sent them above Leeds to the summit of the second tier.
The former Liverpool academy boss was appointed in June, but his side have hit the ground running and he has already established a connection with the Jack Army, who heartily sang his name at full-time in the Yorkshire sunshine.
And Cooper spoke of how much he has enjoyed his short tenure to date, and the impact the people at the club and in the city have made on him.

“I've enjoyed it, not just because we've picked up a few points. I love the football club,” he said.
It's a club I'm proud to be part of. The way the people, staff and supporters are when they come to the club, you can see they're proud as well. I'm just one of them.
I've completely bought into what it stands for, it’s a lovely city, the people really have been welcoming to myself and my family.
It's a great training ground, a great stadium and I hope the fans and the rest of the staff are seeing a group of coaching and performance staff and players doing their very best for the football club."
 
Steve Cooper’s record so far:

July
Mansfield 1 Swans 2
Crawley 2 Swans 3
Yeovil 1 Swans 6
Exeter 1 Swans 3
Bristol R 0 Swans 3
Swans 2 Atalanta 1

August
Swans 2 Hull 1
Derby 0 Swans 0
Swans 3 Northampton 1
Swans 3 Preston 2
QPR 1 Swans 3
Swans 3 Birmingham 0
Swans 6 Cambridge 0
Leeds 0 Swans 1
 
Remember the last man who made this gesture to Swans fans?24E8DDD6-47B1-4178-BAFA-F9FA0704788E.jpeg
He ran away at the first opportunity!
I think this guy is more genuine than the last one though.
 
I wonder if Steve Cooper will get the Manager of the Month award for August.
In July 2013, it was announced that Sky Bet would become the new sponsor of the English Football League, and since August 2013 the award has been known as Sky Bet Manager of the Month.
In November 2017 it was announced that Sky Bet and the EFL had agreed for Sky Bet to continue its sponsorship up until 2024. The recipient is chosen by a panel assembled by the League's sponsor.
The Sky Bet Manager of the Month judging panel comprises former Ipswich Town manager George Burley, Sky Sports’ EFL expert Don Goodman, EFL Communications Director Mark Rowan, League Managers’ Association Director Olaf Dixon, and Sky Bet EFL trader Ivor Davies.
 
What a strange programme “EFL on Quest” is.
The obvious top match of the day was first and second in the table, Leeds v Swansea.
Oddly, they decide to lead the Championship section of just 30 minutes duration with Brentford v Derby for 10 of those minutes.
After 23 mins of other matches and an advert break they at last show the main match, but it was all the Leeds attacking highlights except for our goal.
Now I didn’t go to the match but saw the second half on an internet stream and it certainly wasn’t Leeds continuously attacking.
I look forward to seeing the Swans TV highlights later to get a fairer and unbiased version of the match.
 
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