Leeds United, Noel Whelan’s ‘Verdict’: Bellusci’s loan deal is good news for United

Giuseppe Bellusci 

GIUSEPPE Bellusci has joined Empoli on loan and that’s brilliant, absolutely brilliant.

I’m over the moon with it and I think it’s the best thing that could ever happen to the squad, especially so early on, with pre-season training starting.

I think it’s important that we get rid of the people that I believe are a bit of an influence in a bad way in the changing room because we need everybody singing from the same hymn sheet and people with good character in the dressing room and no divides.

Bellusci has had the odd good spells in the team, but generally, when I look over his overall performances, then he’s been very mixed and more on the bad side than good.

I just think we need better than that on the field and off it.

He’s away for a year and that will do me for now. But it’s about him going there and impressing the manager at Empoli and hopefully getting a permanent move.

He’s not a Leeds United player, he’s not somebody in the changing room and so I think it’s best for all people concerned.

Mirco Antenucci and Tommaso Bianchi have also left and Antenucci has done a decent job, for the most part hasn’t he? Antenucci has scored plenty of goals and that he will be remembered for.

But I think it comes down to attitude for me and I just think you get a better attitude from the English-born players than sometimes you do the foreigners.

They seem a little bit fragile mentally and we don’t need that. We need fighters and we need people that are going to dig in when times are tough.

Bianchi has had injury problems pretty much since he got here and standard performances. We need better than that in the side.

Kyle Bartley has come in on loan from Swansea City and I think he would do a good job.

Garry Monk knows the players and he has been around them enough to know that they have got the good character and enough quality there to bring to Leeds United to make a difference and that’s what we need.

We need somebody that is going to be fighting, somebody that is going to play for the manager and we need that from every player – not just ones coming in on loan that he knows about.

It’s got to be every player at the club doing that this season as it’s going to be a very, very difficult season.

We do need strength in depth and we do need quality and we do need the right characters in the changing room.

I feel that Garry is going about his job in a very good way and thinking about the people that he does need at the club and where he has got lots of strength already.

You never really know how a new player will do and you have had bigger names go to clubs in the Premiership and the Championship and not performed.

Sometimes it takes a bit of time but he has got all pre-season to settle in now and this period is key.

You can ask any manager or player – getting a good pre-season under your belt is worth its weight in gold.

That’s what you need to set your season off right from the first game – a good pre-season – that gets all the boys together and builds-up match fitness and sharpness.

That’s very important.

It looks like we might have missed out on striker Ashley Fletcher who is thought to be signing for West Ham United but really it depends on what he’s going to be doing.

Is he going to be sitting on the bench and warming the chairs up or is he going to be playing and making a difference?

I think at Leeds United he would have made a difference whereas at West Ham it’s probably no different to being at Manchester United sitting on the bench.

It all depends, but sometimes if you are going to a Premiership club and you are not going to be first choice then you might as well stay at Man United.

But at Leeds United he probably would have had a chance to play and establish himself as a first-team player and a goalscorer.

Time well tell and who knows what’s going to happen?

I wish him all the best but he would have probably been better off at Leeds.

We’ve also recruited James Beattie as first-team coach and we need coaches there with specialised positions.

James is there as a front man so he can work with the front players as well and that’s crucial.

With every specific role, defenders need defending coaches, midfielders need the support and strikers need striker movement and finishing and we need to cover those bases.

You have a lot of other clubs now that cover those bases and we need to form the same.

Marcus Antonsson’s signature has also been confirmed and I am delighted with that.

It’s one of those that dragged on a while but it’s nice to get the signing over the line and the fans can get excited about that and many more, hopefully, or not many more depending on how many Garry thinks he needs.

I’m sure there will be movement in the market before the start of the season and I’m sure Garry would like to get them in as soon as possible and get the squad assembled to go for promotion.

Away from Leeds there has been a big inquest into England’s defeat to Iceland but at the end of the day you pick your team and it’s the players that have got to perform. And they didn’t do it, simple as.

It’s an embarrassing result and I am sure the players will say it’s probably one of the worst moments of their careers.

But they’ve got to take some responsibility.

They are the international side out there worth millions of pounds but sometimes it doesn’t come down to that.

Sometimes it comes down to your endeavour, your heart, your will to win, your work rate and a togetherness.

But they just played as a set of individuals.

It’s not just about the quality as, if you do that, you will get beat.If I was in charge of the FA I think I’d probably go with Merlin The Magician for the England job!

CREDIT TO:http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/sport/football/leeds-united/leeds-united-noel-whelan-s-verdict-bellusci-s-loan-deal-is-good-news-for-united-1-7994797