Tom Lees

[SiJ]

Yeah, credit to those guys. 18th best defence in the league and only conceded 85% more goals than us. Pretty good so far.

Oh god you've done it now.

[Road Runner]

Your welcome, good player but not ahead of Pearce, Belluschi or Cooper for us.

Wednesday conceded.......14

Leeds conceded...........26

Of course he's behind you're defenders, I mean conceding fewer goals and being higher in the table means nothing. Belluschi, Cooper or Pearce are not fit to lace Lees boots.

[Musn't Grumble]

Must say, very impressed with the Lees / Loovens pairing.... It's been a long time since we've had such a decent pair of centre-backs as this.

Any suggestions as to a previous Wednesday centre-back pairing that has done so well?

 

(I'll start the ball rolling... Smith & Pickering or Pearson & Shirtliff, perhaps?)

[Orlando_Trustful]

Ashley Westwood and Danny Maddix were a formidable pairing back in the early 00's.

[The Night-Owl]

It's good to have something positive to cling too. Westwood and Lees are outstanding signings, it looks like we'll make a huge profit on both of them, I just hope in the long run some of that is injected back into the team. In an ideal world we'd be able to keep both and build a solid team around them. But in modern football money is basically everything and it won't be long till both are snapped up by other teams.

If only we could get some quality like Westwood and Lees in other areas of the team. We've been solid and superb at the back, it's just the rest of the team aren't anywhere near their standard. Although I like Maguire and Lee and rate them but they've been far from their best this season so far. A solid defence is a start and gives us a platform to build from its just the rest of the team and the squad needs a lot of work to match or be anywhere near as strong as our back five have been so far.

[gurujuan]

I suppose what the Tom Lees situation shows is, that form can fluctuate. He is probably currently one of the best centre backs in the division, and along with Westwood, genuine championship top quality. Could you say that about him at Leeds last season? He obviously had the ability, but for whatever reason, his standards had slipped. We are seeing something similar this season with Lee and Maguire, both of whom are currently not performing to last years standards. The key is getting that consistency, imagine if we had those two performing as they can in midfield.

What have we changed about Tom Lees? I suppose Just Visiting would be better qualified to judge that, but having the right partner alongside is hugely important. Him and Loovens are a good fit. If anything, it should be easier for us to analyse why both Lee and Maguire are struggling. Obviously, Lee is coming back from injury, but having said that, he was carrying an injury for most of last season. They've also lost the obvious out ball, that Antonio provided, though again, he was missing for large chunks of the season. Personally, I think it's down to the lack of quality ahead of them. In Wickham, Fryatt, and to a lesser extent, Best, they had targets that knew where to run, and so could easily be found. The clever runs of those three would also open up space for Maguire to get plenty of shots in, when he came inside. We don't get that from Nuhiu and Madine. May does make runs, but contrary to what others think, they are often the wrong runs. Anyway, this was supposed to be about Tom Lees. Let's be grateful he's back to his best and is proving to be one of the acquisitions of the season, and long may that continue.

Edited November 25, 2014 by gurujuan

[The Night-Owl]

You could say we've got a PL standard goalkeeper; a Championship standard defence, a L1 standard midfield (apart from Hutchison, McGugan, Maguire and Lee, who are Championship standard when fit and in form) and a L1/L2 standard forward line to be honest. The difference in quality between our defensive and attacking options is startling.

Edited November 25, 2014 by MilansMissingMarbles