LamieRobertson
Not awoke
Thank you Anne
Got something to say or just want fewer pesky ads? Join us... 😊
[Albion] Ben White Signs new deal
- Thread starter spence
- Start date
Thank you Anne
swindonseagull
Well-known member
https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co...call-ben-white-january-transfer-window-997135
according to the Yorkshire Post BHA cant recall Ben White in January due to games played.
My deluded Leeds supporting mate ( from Chichester and never seen Leeds live) insists Leeds have an option to buy him for 5 million.........deluded fool..
according to the Yorkshire Post BHA cant recall Ben White in January due to games played.
My deluded Leeds supporting mate ( from Chichester and never seen Leeds live) insists Leeds have an option to buy him for 5 million.........deluded fool..
[tweet]1195045003254542336[/tweet]
swindonseagull
Well-known member
Dont understand that at all BUT its very pretty...
Raleigh Chopper
New member
I saw that too, I suppose that if those are the rules or the agreement between the club's then you have to accept it, but it's the Leeds attitude that is pissing me off, they are acting as if he is their player " he will definitely be a Leeds player for the rest of the season"
I suppose it's my dislike for Leeds and their horrible gobshite fans that don't help.
Plenty must be viewing this board so at least I can pass on my wishes to you all that once again you fail and remain in the 2nd tier of football where you all belong.
On a positive note, Leeds are doing a very good job in developing OUR player in my opinion. He is clearly the best player in their team and they’re making sure that when he returns to us, he’ll be able to slot into OUR squad seamlessly. Potter will have to work on his disappointment at missing out on promotion with that team this season but that’ll be good experience for the lad.
It is great to have such a prospect like others, but I am just concerned that one way or another we do fully realise this asset, either in receiving a phenomenal amount of money to spend on strengthening the team or better still playing for us.
I feel uncomfortable that Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester United pundits are all speculating with scarcely a reference to the club who has his signature.... us!
I feel uncomfortable that Leeds, Liverpool and Manchester United pundits are all speculating with scarcely a reference to the club who has his signature.... us!
B-right-on
Living the dream
This. Who cares what the Leeds fans think /say. They are doing what a lower team should, helping us develop our players.
Papa Lazarou
Living in a De Zerbi wonderland
Don't worry, they will have to grasp that nettle at some point, at which point they'll become aware that we're not pushovers. We hold all the cards.
Dick Knights Mumm
Take me Home Falmer Road
What could possibly go wrong ?
Papa Lazarou
Living in a De Zerbi wonderland
Not a lot really. Our owner knows how to play cards.
AmexRuislip
Retired Spy 🕵️♂️
I guess your not talking about the several yellow ones from last Saturday's loss at Manure
Papa Lazarou
Living in a De Zerbi wonderland
I guess your not talking about the several yellow ones from last Saturday's loss at Manure
We get them as well. At least we didn't get any of the red ones.
AmexRuislip
Retired Spy 🕵️♂️
Let's hope that next time we get Mike Dean, he hasn't developed sudden colour blindness
AmexRuislip
Retired Spy 🕵️♂️
A statement of fact from Graham Potter, to quell the over excited wannabees at Leeds and worried Albion fans.
“Of course he's still our player, but we’re happy that he’s having a good experience and getting better all the time, so we’re delighted.”
Ozymandias86
Active member
The Athletic have published a big analysis of BW’s contribution to the Leeds defend this season (interspersed with some pictures, meaning it’s difficult to paste here) - the meanest in the champ. Leeds fans commenting they haven’t seen as good a defender in white since the likes of Woodgate and Ferdinand...
Ozymandias86
Active member
There was only one wrangle during the course of Ben White’s transfer to Leeds United. White wanted the move, Leeds had been tracking him for well over a year, and parent club Brighton & Hove Albion were easily sold on the merits of a season-long loan at Elland Road. The subject of what would happen at the end of that loan was where the clubs banged heads.
Brighton were not surprised to discover that Leeds were keen for the deal to include the option of a permanent transfer next summer. Leeds now know why it was that the Premier League side stood their ground and refused to include any provision for White to join them for a fixed fee. And the rest of the Championship can see Leeds’ rationale for pressing on with the signing regardless.
White arrived later than he would otherwise have done, at the start of July because Leeds temporarily dug their heels in, in the hope that Brighton would bend on a permanent clause, but he was a centre-back they had planned to bring in one way or the other. Dictating the deal was Brighton’s prerogative and the recruitment team at Leeds could see no better option out there.
Leeds, despite their focus on White, were not especially worried about their defence and when Marcelo Bielsa sat down to run them through his ideas for this season, a better record at the back was not on his list of priorities. He wanted more goals and fewer injuries (neither of which have transpired so far) but the recruitment of White and the discipline of the defence around him is making Leeds untouchable in one respect: conceding at a rate of 0.56 goals a game and the only club in the whole Football League still in single figures for goals against.
The team’s structure and the evolution since Bielsa replaced the traditional defensive make-up of Pontus Jansson with the ultra-modern style of White has more to it than one solitary signing, but Leeds’ back line are better than ever at knowing where to position themselves, when to go and when to stay, and which battles to pick. By Bielsa’s estimation, this side is better than the one he pushed to the verge of promotion last season and the biggest improvement, the most pronounced shift, is evident in White’s area of the pitch.
His attributes are plentiful and the reported links between him and Liverpool last month were easy to take seriously, no matter that White has a total of 16 appearances in the Championship and none in the Premier League. The Athletic understands the Anfield side are genuinely interested. Manchester United have scouted him this season too.
At 22 — an advanced age by the standards of English youth development — his reading of the game and his consistency marks him out as a centre-back who prominent top-flight teams could rapidly bring up to speed. Brighton employ a loans manager, the former Everton defender David Weir, and are impressed by reports of the way Bielsa has pushed White on so far.
In basic terms, White benefits from a high level of competence. The simple aspects of football come easily to him. He has a pass completion rate of 85.4 per cent and is able to vary his distribution over long and short ranges. His judgement is sound and he has conceded possession in his own final third just twice all season, once at Charlton Athletic and away at Millwall. Neither error led to a goal and more pleasing for Bielsa than nine concessions in the league is the concession of just four from open play. Leeds’ understanding and organisation has made them virtually impossible to weave through.
White has helped with 46 interceptions, the highest number by a single player in the Championship. It is something of a trademark. He is adept at timing runs to nick the ball off opposition toes and regain possession outside his own box. Bielsa looks for most of Leeds’ recoveries to come further up the field, which is why he imposes an aggressive high press led by Patrick Bamford, but the anticipation of his defenders makes it difficult for rival teams to set themselves beyond the halfway line.
Leeds’ 1-0 win over Brentford in August was an example of the pressure White exerts on attacking opponents. Brentford used Ollie Watkins as a false nine in a front three with the aim of dragging Leeds’ centre-backs out of position and creating space in behind them. White stuck tight to Watkins and read passes to the forward’s feet (see image above, with White circled in yellow), preventing Brentford from manipulating the ball in dangerous positions. Seven interceptions by White limited Watkins to two key passes and no shots on target.
As significant, though, are the average positions taken up by White and Liam Cooper alongside him and White’s caution in refusing to stray too often beyond the opposition’s last man. In front of goalkeeper Kiko Casilla, he is regularly the last line of defence, occupying deeper zones which give him an edge against a frontline with pace and offer opponents little opportunity to find gaps around the penalty area.
In the instances above, during Leeds’ last home game against Blackburn Rovers, Sam Gallagher gets the run on Cooper (circled in blue) after sprinting onto a long ball over the top. White (circled in yellow) anticipates Gallagher’s burst and is there to feed the ball safely back to Casilla when the striker’s first touch strays into the middle of the pitch. The danger ends immediately and Blackburn have no players in position to press Casilla.
The stills below, from the first half of the Brentford game, show White and Cooper (marked in yellow, top image) standing off the visitors’ front line as possession turns over, giving themselves time to track forward runs and sweep up possession before Brentford can get a shot away (bottom image). When the Londoners try to send Bryan Mbeumo past Cooper down the right, he is there to intercept and feed a pass inside safely to White.
White’s covering positioning was just as crucial in the second half against Blackburn, when a counterattack threatened to allow Bradley Dack into the box. He spots the likely direction of the pass (see top image, below) and is able to clear the ball into Elland Road’s West Stand before the forward can lay a foot on it (bottom image, White circled in yellow). The overall scenario at home to Blackburn was a familiar one for Bielsa. In open play, the visitors posed no danger at all. Their goal, and their only effort on target, came direct from a corner, the scenario where Leeds have been most vulnerable all season.
White rarely goes to ground in tackles — only eight times so far — and on the occasions when he does, his judgement of 50-50s has been good. Leeds, though, have a defensive strategy which goes beyond White’s individual performances and serves to flood pockets around their box with bodies when they find themselves on the back foot.
In September’s 1-1 draw with Derby County at Elland Road, the situation above developed when the visitors — in a brief moment of first-half possession — found Duane Holmes in room by the centre circle. White (circled in yellow) runs out to meet Holmes with a successful sliding tackle, clearing the danger, but Leeds have Stuart Dallas and Gjanni Alioski in position behind him (marked with a blue line) and Kalvin Phillips and Cooper retreating rapidly over the halfway line. Their determination to attack in numbers runs the risk of a three-on-two but their alert reaction prevents Derby from going close.
Again, at Stoke City in August, where Leeds strolled to a 3-0 win, the speed of their defensive mobilisation was obvious. In this instance above, White (circled in yellow) steps out to dive into a challenge as Stoke run at the box but three Leeds players are already behind the ball, Alioski is arriving at left-back and Mateusz Klich is within a few yards of the ball, poised to snatch it. The threat comes to nothing, White takes the ball cleanly, and Casilla is not asked to make a save. Had White’s intervention failed to break up the attack, Leeds would not have been wide open or hopelessly prone.
The upshot is that Bielsa’s side allow fewer than nine shots at Casilla a game, in a division where the average is almost 13 and Bristol City give away a division-high of almost 16. Bielsa’s recent appraisal of White — “it’s very difficult to keep this level for a high period, but he’s achieving it” — could be applied to his defence as a whole, in which Dallas excelled during his run at right-back and Cooper is maintaining the level he climbed to last season, but the loanee from Brighton is, to date, the most striking difference between the manager’s first year in charge and his second.
The irony is that in week one of training with Leeds, White doubted his own ability to survive. Bielsa’s regime at Thorp Arch is physically brutal and White confided in those closest to him that he was worried about whether his body could cope; about whether he was up to the intensity. Those first-day wobbles have long since gone. Some said Leeds were selling the best centre-back in the Championship when Jansson went to Brentford. In fact, the Swede’s replacement looks as good as it gets.
Brighton were not surprised to discover that Leeds were keen for the deal to include the option of a permanent transfer next summer. Leeds now know why it was that the Premier League side stood their ground and refused to include any provision for White to join them for a fixed fee. And the rest of the Championship can see Leeds’ rationale for pressing on with the signing regardless.
White arrived later than he would otherwise have done, at the start of July because Leeds temporarily dug their heels in, in the hope that Brighton would bend on a permanent clause, but he was a centre-back they had planned to bring in one way or the other. Dictating the deal was Brighton’s prerogative and the recruitment team at Leeds could see no better option out there.
Leeds, despite their focus on White, were not especially worried about their defence and when Marcelo Bielsa sat down to run them through his ideas for this season, a better record at the back was not on his list of priorities. He wanted more goals and fewer injuries (neither of which have transpired so far) but the recruitment of White and the discipline of the defence around him is making Leeds untouchable in one respect: conceding at a rate of 0.56 goals a game and the only club in the whole Football League still in single figures for goals against.
The team’s structure and the evolution since Bielsa replaced the traditional defensive make-up of Pontus Jansson with the ultra-modern style of White has more to it than one solitary signing, but Leeds’ back line are better than ever at knowing where to position themselves, when to go and when to stay, and which battles to pick. By Bielsa’s estimation, this side is better than the one he pushed to the verge of promotion last season and the biggest improvement, the most pronounced shift, is evident in White’s area of the pitch.
His attributes are plentiful and the reported links between him and Liverpool last month were easy to take seriously, no matter that White has a total of 16 appearances in the Championship and none in the Premier League. The Athletic understands the Anfield side are genuinely interested. Manchester United have scouted him this season too.
At 22 — an advanced age by the standards of English youth development — his reading of the game and his consistency marks him out as a centre-back who prominent top-flight teams could rapidly bring up to speed. Brighton employ a loans manager, the former Everton defender David Weir, and are impressed by reports of the way Bielsa has pushed White on so far.
In basic terms, White benefits from a high level of competence. The simple aspects of football come easily to him. He has a pass completion rate of 85.4 per cent and is able to vary his distribution over long and short ranges. His judgement is sound and he has conceded possession in his own final third just twice all season, once at Charlton Athletic and away at Millwall. Neither error led to a goal and more pleasing for Bielsa than nine concessions in the league is the concession of just four from open play. Leeds’ understanding and organisation has made them virtually impossible to weave through.
White has helped with 46 interceptions, the highest number by a single player in the Championship. It is something of a trademark. He is adept at timing runs to nick the ball off opposition toes and regain possession outside his own box. Bielsa looks for most of Leeds’ recoveries to come further up the field, which is why he imposes an aggressive high press led by Patrick Bamford, but the anticipation of his defenders makes it difficult for rival teams to set themselves beyond the halfway line.
Leeds’ 1-0 win over Brentford in August was an example of the pressure White exerts on attacking opponents. Brentford used Ollie Watkins as a false nine in a front three with the aim of dragging Leeds’ centre-backs out of position and creating space in behind them. White stuck tight to Watkins and read passes to the forward’s feet (see image above, with White circled in yellow), preventing Brentford from manipulating the ball in dangerous positions. Seven interceptions by White limited Watkins to two key passes and no shots on target.
As significant, though, are the average positions taken up by White and Liam Cooper alongside him and White’s caution in refusing to stray too often beyond the opposition’s last man. In front of goalkeeper Kiko Casilla, he is regularly the last line of defence, occupying deeper zones which give him an edge against a frontline with pace and offer opponents little opportunity to find gaps around the penalty area.
In the instances above, during Leeds’ last home game against Blackburn Rovers, Sam Gallagher gets the run on Cooper (circled in blue) after sprinting onto a long ball over the top. White (circled in yellow) anticipates Gallagher’s burst and is there to feed the ball safely back to Casilla when the striker’s first touch strays into the middle of the pitch. The danger ends immediately and Blackburn have no players in position to press Casilla.
The stills below, from the first half of the Brentford game, show White and Cooper (marked in yellow, top image) standing off the visitors’ front line as possession turns over, giving themselves time to track forward runs and sweep up possession before Brentford can get a shot away (bottom image). When the Londoners try to send Bryan Mbeumo past Cooper down the right, he is there to intercept and feed a pass inside safely to White.
White’s covering positioning was just as crucial in the second half against Blackburn, when a counterattack threatened to allow Bradley Dack into the box. He spots the likely direction of the pass (see top image, below) and is able to clear the ball into Elland Road’s West Stand before the forward can lay a foot on it (bottom image, White circled in yellow). The overall scenario at home to Blackburn was a familiar one for Bielsa. In open play, the visitors posed no danger at all. Their goal, and their only effort on target, came direct from a corner, the scenario where Leeds have been most vulnerable all season.
White rarely goes to ground in tackles — only eight times so far — and on the occasions when he does, his judgement of 50-50s has been good. Leeds, though, have a defensive strategy which goes beyond White’s individual performances and serves to flood pockets around their box with bodies when they find themselves on the back foot.
In September’s 1-1 draw with Derby County at Elland Road, the situation above developed when the visitors — in a brief moment of first-half possession — found Duane Holmes in room by the centre circle. White (circled in yellow) runs out to meet Holmes with a successful sliding tackle, clearing the danger, but Leeds have Stuart Dallas and Gjanni Alioski in position behind him (marked with a blue line) and Kalvin Phillips and Cooper retreating rapidly over the halfway line. Their determination to attack in numbers runs the risk of a three-on-two but their alert reaction prevents Derby from going close.
Again, at Stoke City in August, where Leeds strolled to a 3-0 win, the speed of their defensive mobilisation was obvious. In this instance above, White (circled in yellow) steps out to dive into a challenge as Stoke run at the box but three Leeds players are already behind the ball, Alioski is arriving at left-back and Mateusz Klich is within a few yards of the ball, poised to snatch it. The threat comes to nothing, White takes the ball cleanly, and Casilla is not asked to make a save. Had White’s intervention failed to break up the attack, Leeds would not have been wide open or hopelessly prone.
The upshot is that Bielsa’s side allow fewer than nine shots at Casilla a game, in a division where the average is almost 13 and Bristol City give away a division-high of almost 16. Bielsa’s recent appraisal of White — “it’s very difficult to keep this level for a high period, but he’s achieving it” — could be applied to his defence as a whole, in which Dallas excelled during his run at right-back and Cooper is maintaining the level he climbed to last season, but the loanee from Brighton is, to date, the most striking difference between the manager’s first year in charge and his second.
The irony is that in week one of training with Leeds, White doubted his own ability to survive. Bielsa’s regime at Thorp Arch is physically brutal and White confided in those closest to him that he was worried about whether his body could cope; about whether he was up to the intensity. Those first-day wobbles have long since gone. Some said Leeds were selling the best centre-back in the Championship when Jansson went to Brentford. In fact, the Swede’s replacement looks as good as it gets.
Ozymandias86
Active member
Insel affe
HellBilly
That is a lovely read, and great to know we held our ground in not giving in to the sale clause at the end of the season. The best outcome now would be that the "mighty" Leeds United ultimately fail in their push for promotion, otherwise Leeds may come back in for him and there is an outside chance the player himself grows fond of the club and himself pushes for a move. Knowing dirty Leeds they probably are already whispering in his ear about what a great sleeping giant the club are and we are only little old Brighton.
That is my fear.