‘Adds to the excitement’ – Alan Shearer delivers verdict as Leeds set to fire up promotion bid
BBC pundit Alan Shearer thinks that there will be some “freak results” as football returns this week but said that just “adds to the excitement”.
The Premier League starts first with games kicking off at 6pm on Wednesday night. The Championship returns on Saturday. Leeds United get their belated bid for promotion fired up again on Sunday when they travel to Cardiff.
Writing in his column in the Sun, Shearer said one thing that will delight Leeds fans after months of uncertainty.
“Thankfully — as long as the infection rate stays low — talks of null and void, points per game, all of that is no longer relevant. Playing and finishing the season is the best outcome.”
That’s what Leeds have been calling for and they’ve had their wish granted, with the Premier League strugglers now facing the reality of three teams going down and three coming up.
But there will be twists and turns along the way, Shearer predicts.
“This is the longest break we’ve ever had from football and probably the longest the players will experience in their careers,” Shearer said.
“There are plenty of unknowns but it will be about the players’ characters as much as their ability as they get back to the business of trying to win games.
“It’s behind closed doors, they’ve not had much of a ‘pre-season’ and this is not something they are used to.
“Everyone is different in terms of fitness, some will be ahead of others, some with more natural fitness, but managers are going to have to be clever and with nine subs, and being able to use five, they do have a little more wriggle room.
“You look at the Germany stats and home sides are not winning as many. I think we’re going to get one or two freak results — and that just adds to the excitement!”
Survival of the fittest
Shearer thinks it’s going to come down to character and fitness now.
We might be biased but we think that Leeds will come out on top of these two metrics.
Their fitness was unparalleled before lockdown and we know the Leeds players have been working hard to come back even stronger, under the watchful eyes of Marcelo Bielsa and Rob Price.
Daily weigh-ins, beating running times, sharpness at Thorp Arch as evidenced in a video that Leeds put out this week… it all points to a fast start from a side who’ve started the last two seasons like a rocket.
The Leeds players have all said they’re raring to go and they know they’re on the brink of something special.
The injury to Jean-Kevin Augustin is a blow but we’ve got this far without him and Tyler Roberts looks more than capable of providing the impact off the bench.
We’re ready, the players are ready… Let the games begin!
In other Leeds United news, ‘Talked himself out of a move’ – Some Leeds fans react to big twist in reported player hunt