If nobody objects, I'll start the matchday thread for next Saturday. Derby County also known as 'The Rams' were one of the 12 founder members of the Football League in 1888. They were founded in 1884 by William Morley as an offshoot of Derbyshire County Cricket Club. Their glory years came in the 1970s when under the stewardship of Peter Taylor and a sozzled clown they won the old First Division twice and reached the semi finals of the European Cup semi-finals. Derby were managed by Fatso Frank Lampard, he who has an IQ of 150, but couldn't stop Biesla's secret intelligence agents from taking photographs of practice matches from across the road. Derby players play in black and white as this gets them a discount on their Television Licence. Their mascot is called Rammie and in 2005. Rammie released his first DVD, in which he reads from the Greek bodice-ripper, Aesop's Fables, in the Derbyshire countryside, and in doing so killed the goose that laid the golden eggs. Famous Celebrities From Derby include: • Sir Alan Bates • Vivienne Westwood • Jack O'Connell • Various convicted psychopaths • Group Captain Sir Douglas Robert Steuart Bader, CBE, DSO & Bar, DFC & Bar, DL, FRAeS In terms of football, Leeds are currently third and Derby are 15th. The only Derby player I've ever heard of is Connor Washington. On current form, their last results were L, W, D, D, L, L. I predict our boys will pick themselves up after the Battle of Blackburn and achieve a healthy 3-0 victory, with goals from Joseph, Gnonto and Dan 'the man' James.

TC wants three at the back, he's been telling us this for years. Assume you are Glenn Hoddle and assume everyone is fit, who do you pick? Joseph Gnonto  James Firpo Ampdu Tanaka Bogle Wober Struijk Rodan Meslier Mmm, essentially a 3-4-3, but sacrificing a lot of the width, Joseph or Bamford would need to play in this formation. I don't think Dan would like this set up. Or Joseph PIroe Gnonto Ampadu Aaronson Tanaka James     Wober Struijk Rodan                 Meslier The classical 3-5-2, I think TC might like this team but the wingers would be run ragged. Or Joseph Gnonto James Tanaka Firpo Bogle Ampadu Wober Struijk Rodan Meslier A 3-4-3 diamond formation, a bit more width but could be vulnerable through the centre. The late Terry Venables would like this team. Or Piroe James Aaronson Gnonto Tanaka Amadu Gruev Wober Struijk Rodan Meslier Essentially a 3-3-3-1, Marcelo Biesla used this formation when he managed Chile. I peronally quite like this. OVer to you TC.

Ran a search on how OPTA ranks our players this year, and here's how they rank them. By overall impact 1. Struijk 376 2. Rodan 279 3. Gnonto 275 4. Aaronson 271 5. Firpo 264 6. Bogle 246 7. Tanaka 218 8. Gruev 175 9. Rothwell 174 10. Joseph 166 10. Piroe 166 12. Amadu 147 13. Meslier 146 14. Ramazani 122 15. James 115 16. Solomon 86 17. Byram 76 18. Guilavogui 18.2 19. Bamford 5 20. Crew 5 21 Gelhardt 1.2 And by average 1. Struijk 25.1 2. Gruev 21.9 3. Ampadu 21 4. Firpo 20.3 5. Rodan 18.6 6. Gnonto 18.4 7. Tanaka 18.2 8. Aaronson 18.1 9. Bogle 17.6 10. Ramazani 15.3 11. James 12.8 12. Rothwell 11.6 13. Joseph 11.1 14. Piroe 11.1 15. Solomon 10.8 16. Meslier 9.8 17. Guilavogui 9.1 18. Byram 6.4 19. Crew 5.2 20. Bamford 5.2 21. Gelhards 1.2 None of this surprises me, our first choice defence appear in both tables, reinforcing that we have the most effective defence in the championship. The midfifelders also score well. The wingers, Gnonto, apart are a bit hit and miss. Aaronson is doing a decent job as a number 10. And the strikers aren't quite firing on all cylinders. Meslier's low scores more or less reflect how little he has had to do.

Two major changes behind the scenes. Our Head of Recruitment, Jordan Miles who only arrived in February is moving on and is being replaed by his Deputy, Alex Davies. Seems odd, as Miles would have been instrumental in the sucessful recruitment of last summer's players. But the bigger change is the departure of Technical Director, Gretar Steinsson, who has been reassigned by the 49ers to the role of err  Technical Director for some ill defined nebulous post. The expectation is that he will oversee a number of clubs who the 49ers are expected to acquire. He is not being replaced which will result in NIck Hammond's position being strengthened, much akin to the role Victor Orta enjoyed.

Poor Sam Byram has no song, no music in his heart, not even a ditty. Should we write something for him? Daniel Farke reveals Leeds United academy graduate’s Elland Road complaint and future question (yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk)

RIP. A great manager although didn't get much of a chance with us. Was sold a pup to be honest. Could have been a great appointment a few years earlier.

Just watching Big Brother - yes, more fool me. And one of the presenters is wandering around supermarkets asking random thickos what the capital of Scotland is and where Scunthorpe is. Feck me, they were thick.

There's a surprise. Barcelona are defaulting on their transfer staged payments.

Let’s feckin win this one.

Signed a new five year contract, great business by the club.

A big welcome to Max Wober. Have to say, I'm unsure about this signing, he's injury prone and we already have four established CBs plus Cresswell and Hjelde. I do wonder what will become of Struijk now as Koch and Cooper are the first choice partnership, and I have to question why Llorente was offered a new deal. But, if he has been signed to be a LB, that might well solve a perennial problem position. FIFA CM rate him as 75 with potential to reach 80 which is the bellmark of quality. He was captain of his club so will add much needed leadership. He has played for Marsh before and he was the most expensive Austrian player ever. So, despite some reservations, I wish Wober the best and am happy to get behind him.

With great sadness, Pele has passed away from complications due to multiple organ failure. A legend in his lifetime. We won’t see his like again. RIP.

Get voting for our willy https://www.tuttosport.com/sondaggi/calcio/golden-boy/2022/10/14-98460412/golden_boy_ecco_la_top_20_finale_votazioni_aperte

There has not just been an overhaul in the playing staff but Marsch has been revamping his management team this summer. The latest is Michael Skubala's appointment as u23 manager. Formerly the FA's Development coach, this is quite a coup for LUFC and demonstrates club commitment to making the u23s a success. Acting u23 Boss Andrew Taylor, returns to his role as loans manager. Austrian Rene Maric is also expected to come in as Assistant Coach. At 29, he's younger than many of our players, but has still had time to coach at Borussia Dortmund, Borussia Manchengladbach, Red Bull Salzburg and TSU Handenberg. He will replace Frankie Schiemer who is continuing to work as a coaching consultant from afar. Ewan Sharp has also arrived over the summer as Coach. One year older than Maric at 30, he's worked at Man Yoo, Lokomotiv Moscow, and a host of American clubs. Pierre Barrieu is the new fitness coach - comparatively elder statesman, aged 50, who has previously coached at Swansea and Sheffield Wednesday as well as the US National Team, LA Galaxy and New York Red Bulls. Mark Jackson and Cameron Toshack have signed new contracts and continue as First Team coaches. Marcos Abad and Alessandro Barcherini remain as the goalkeeping coaches. Observations - it's a management team that Jesse is very familiar with. They bring a host of experience from the USA. And, the emphasis is all on youth - young coaches, young players, giving youth a chance.

Signs Liverpool shirt runs for the hills.

Apparently Leeds lead the way as one of only three clubs to have fully double vaccinated squads. The other two being Wolves and Brentford. This does not surprise me in the least given that Bielsa always follows the evidence and science. It also further reaffirms the unity within the squad.

No it's not Deena. It's Clueless Tim Arsehole Sherwood, making sh1t up. https://www.teamtalk.com/leeds-united/marcelo-bielsa-certain-leave-tim-sherwood-shocking-claim You would think the halfwit would read what players actually say. Tim Sherwood. Arsehole!

Scotland fans have been gushing with praise on Twitter over Liam's performance on Thursday against Moldova. The Daily Record described it "as a strong showing at the back from the Leeds skipper, he won all his duels. Came close to adding a third when his header was cleared off the line". It's great to see our captain finally getting the praise he rightly deserves. Over the last five seasons, he's improved year upon year. And it's not just his defensive qualities, his passing rate is top notch, and he starts more attacks from he back than anyone. I've highlighted before that the Daily Mirror have already rated him as one of the top performing centre backs in the premiership, and the stats back that up. https://www.premierleague.com/players/3622/Liam-Cooper/stats?co=1&se=418

Have to say I'm with he FIFA on banning players who weren't released to play for Brazil, even though it impacts on us. The clubs knew what they're doing when they signed South American and African players. They knew this was a possibility. They can't cry about it after the event. The Home FAs and the UK media would have a field day if we did it to England. I also believe the club put Raphinha in an impossible position. I'm afraid our club was in the wrong, but the consolation is that it hurts Liverpool even more than it does us.

This is a real insight into how we train and why pre-season training is so important. It also highlights why any further signings will have minimal impact for the early part of the season.