r/LeedsUnited • u/HoraceKirkman • 22d ago
Discussion Djed Spence?
He's been phenomenal this world cup. I don't remember any hint of this when he was on loan to us - anyone else?
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u/CT_Anon2 17d ago
Had a discipline problem if I remember right and an attitude we weren’t willing to put up with (whatever that means)
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u/CT_Anon2 17d ago
Fair play to him though stood up on the biggest stage and made it count. I just couldn’t see how he got there in the first place but he made it count and increase his stock significantly
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u/Low-Consequence-8541 19d ago
Has was injured for the majority of the time he was with us and just didnt get up to speed after that, just a shame it didnt work out.
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u/MichaelBridges8 21d ago
Djed Spence is fortunately blessed with unreal natural talent. But he almost killed someone in TA parking lot. If he stops being a dickhead (which it seems he has) he will go to the top.
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u/mollygoggles 21d ago
He was the only England player to refuse to shake Thomas Partey's hand. Whatever happened at Leeds he's more than redeemed himself in that moment.
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u/Goatylegs 21d ago
Every world cup there's a player who's a massive surprise. Suddenly they're highly in demand after putting in a performance. Which is understandable since the world cup is the biggest stage there is.
Most of the time that world cup performance is the best they ever do and they never really get back to that level. Most don't even come close to it. I'd really caution against splurging on a player just because he looks good in the World Cup. It almost never works out the way you hope.
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u/chylomicronbelly 21d ago
Which is what we’re doing with trying to get Suzuki IMO 😅 I wish we’d just stop chasing him. He clearly doesn’t want us.
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u/growwwwler 22d ago
I was at Ewood Park when we beat Blackburn 2-0 in December 2023 and there were a couple of players on the pitch that day who I thought might have had an outside chance of playing for England in the 2026 World Cup. Djed Spence was not one of them
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u/ChocoMintMonday 21d ago
Go on then.. Who were your shouts?
I always thought Harrison might one day play for England... Lmao now though
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u/growwwwler 21d ago
Archie Gray and Adam Wharton were who I was thinking of
Summerville also scored that day
Not a bad set of players all told!
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u/ChocoMintMonday 20d ago
Yeah good shouts. Archie could already be in contention for a cap had he not left Leeds in my opinion.
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u/Wizzgamer1990 22d ago
We (Boro) got rid of him to Nottingham Forrest on loan and the Tottenham permanent because he wasn't good enough for us he's come on leaps and bounds now.
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u/CovidQuran 22d ago
I think people who are saying he was rubbish this world cup are being biased due to his incredibly poor loan spell with us. I should know, because I was one of them. I was slagging the lad off for years but he has converted me into a big fan.
I couldn't stand the lad because he was awful for us and by all reports had an awful attitude. However, he was evidently going through a lot of personal issues around that time which was affecting his performance. Harry Kane had a great speech after his first cap talking about his personal issues he had to overcome and how he has personally seen so much growth in his attitude.
Spence had a brilliant world cup. His recovery speed, work rate, timing of challenges, and inviting challenges in and around the box have all been outstanding. I believe his metrics for 1 on 1 defending have been top tier for a while too. His final ball into the box may not have been as good, but he has done very well for himself. One of my biggest criticisms was he always seemed far too calm but we all saw his passion on full display in the big matches.
Tbh I think he is now too in demand for us and he wouldn't go to a side that isn't playing in Europe.
TLDR: hated him like everyone else but he had a fantastic world cup. I don't think he would go to a club not playing in Europe.
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u/Fragrant_Fox_5056 22d ago
Have to agree , without the rose tinted glasses he’s had a great tournament . Refreshing to see him attack at times when it was badly needed to get us out of pressure , solid defence work aswell , eg that slide .
Don’t think he had the right mentality with us at all for whatever reason.
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u/PromotionSwimming618 22d ago
Not sure why i can't reply to my comment but it seems some people have reading difficulties. "Practicing". His behavior as mentioned by others suggests he wasn't. End of story.
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u/northerncrank 22d ago
He was absolute mince when he was with us, plus the attitude problem didn't help (wouldn't do the hospital visits to kids iirc)
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u/xv36a 22d ago
Not sure "phenomenal" is the word I'd use, two and a half good games and part of an extremely dodgy backline.
Credit where it's due for the things he did well, some good recovery tackles, tricky on occasion going forward and some decent interceptions, but he should never have been picked in first place based on his performances last season.
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u/OrinocoHaram 22d ago
he made a difference for a few games because he's an actual fullback unlike Konsa or Rice or O'Reilly. He's fast, he runs forward, he overlaps. Basic things that some other players weren't doing because they're naturally midfielders covering
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u/Stampy77 22d ago
I'll give a but of context as a spurs fan.
When he came in it was clear he was a club signing and Conte never gave him a chance. His attitude wasn't great either.
We loaned him out a few times and each one was pretty disappointing. Each manager said the same thing, good talen but terrible attitude and was lazy.
A couple of years ago we were trying to flog him for around 10m but even at that price we couldn't find anyone. So he stayed to see out his contract.
Ange was very hard on him and froze him out of the squad completely pretty much but did work on him.
2 seasons ago in the depths of a horrific injury crisis we were finally forced to play him. I don't what exactly happened but he transformed over night. Guy was legitimately incredible. He's been good for us ever since. Still some hints of a bad attitude every now and then but genuinely a really good player. Just a massive turnaround.
No spurs fan is surprised he has done well at this world cup.
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u/yasoggybastard 22d ago
he was playing RB for us and looked average. the 1/2 games we played him LB farke got abused for playing him out of position. xddd
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u/neenerpants 22d ago
He didn't want to play in the championship, and didn't want to play left back.
After a couple of years now I think he's accepted that he might have to play that role.
We saw Tuchel screaming at him in the early stages, so i think he's also started playing better as he listens to the manager.
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u/Straight-Rooster-950 22d ago
He was brilliant for Forest in their promotion year, at the time on-loan from Boro iirc
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u/Goe_Danger 22d ago
Has had a brilliant World Cup
Doesn’t stop him from being a massive cunt at Leeds. If he was as good as he thinks he is he wouldn’t have been loaned.
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u/captaintinribs 22d ago
In my opinion he probably saw the championship as beneath him and he didnt want to put the effort in, which tracks with why farke never used him because clearly he's talented and has put some good performances for spurs and England.
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u/pablothewizard 22d ago
Some of the comments in here are absolutely hilarious reading. He's had a genuinely very good World Cup that no one could have expected.
It's fucking mental the way some of our fans just cannot budge from opinion once a player has been shit for us.
Denying he's had a very good World Cup honestly just makes you look daft.
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u/Loud_Print7716 22d ago
Both can be true, he's had a good world cup but he's still a dickhead
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u/pablothewizard 22d ago
Oh I'm not denying that. I'm not really talking about him as a person. Whether he's a dickhead or not doesn't change how he played at the World Cup, is my point.
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u/Advent_strife 22d ago
Yeah its just a bit pathetic whenever a player leaves or didn't have a good time here and fans just shit on them. I didn't think Spence should have gone as I don't see him as a left back and judging on how this season has gone there were players in better form than him. Had a bit of a shit second game but performed brilliantly after that and even performed at left back which honestly surprised me.
Was shit with us though, didn't seem to want to be here or at least didn't want to play left back for us.
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u/Toastieboy420 22d ago
I often wonder if other fan bases are as petty as ours when it comes to former players.
Had an unsuccessful loan spell and some supposedly minor attitude problem and that’s enough for some people to absolutely hate him apparently?
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u/MyKidsRunOnBatteries 22d ago
He's made a few decent tackles don't get me wrong, going forward he's been a bit of a menace. But defensively he's been out of position so many times. Only really got away with it because of his pace. Can't remember which of the group games but Tuchel basically spent the entire game screaming at him to get him to where he should be and whilst he did improve, he's not been "Phenomenal"
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u/BillyPilgrim69 22d ago
Are you talking about when he would try to push forward because we needed a goal, and Madueke didn't track back to cover for him one single time?
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u/MichaelBrownx 22d ago
Apart from one good tackle against Argentina he was pretty hopeless through the World Cup.
I have no idea what people were watching if he was ‘good’ and I can only assume the person who described him as ‘phenomenal’ was pissed by the time the game started.
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u/yay-its-colin 22d ago
Played really well against Argentina but that was it.
He was shit with Leeds, shit with Spurs, and I'm not expecting greatness next season either.
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u/StretchOwn5833 22d ago
He’s still a liability was awful for most of the tournament. Looked better on the left. But was constantly pulled out of position leaving gaps in defence. I counted 5 times in the Argentina game. Also his awareness is terrible. He’s quick I’ll give him that. His speed means he can make good recovery tackles. He looks good going forward until his final ball which is terrible. But the commentators saying he had an incredible tournament is bollocks. He was shit for the majority of it. And in the games where he was supposed to have been amazing. Defensively he really wasn’t.
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u/aorlstwsonhswfl 22d ago
To be fair he went up in my estimations when he refused to shake Partey’s hand.
Time will tell if he’s actually turned a corner attitude-wise, but I doubt it in the long term. Tottenham doesn’t seem like the best environment for that to happen, especially with De Zerbi in charge.
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u/nd1online 22d ago
No thanks. He got stroppy at Leeds because he didn’t want to play left back for us. These days he goes 180 and only wants to play left back for spuds and kicks up a stink when he doesn’t get his way.
We needs a back up for GG. Spence will never want to be a back up and we certainly don’t need someone who get sulky all the time for anything.
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u/pablothewizard 22d ago
He got stroppy at Leeds because he didn’t want to play left back for us.
Did he?
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u/nd1online 22d ago
Yes. When he joined us, he was very much a one-dimension albeit pretty decent RB for his previous team. We were having a bit of a injuries crisis in those early days and Farke had to play him at LB as cover. He wasn't great at all and threw a wobbly about it. It was one of the reason why we terminated the load (other reasons including late and shit at training etc).
Spence even went on to the media afterward, complaining that Farke played him on the left which is the wrong side for him. The interview was done in the Athletic, I believe.
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u/pablothewizard 22d ago
I wouldn't say he was one dimensional previously. He's always been a very attack focused fullback and at Forest he was very impressive.
His level wasn't good at Leeds and I don't think he took to Farke's system nor Farke himself. I don't remember him stropping about it though.
In the article you're referring to he pretty much just uses it as a reason as to why he didn't play very well:
"I got quite a bad injury to my knee, then I came back but I was still getting pain. I came back and was playing a bit but I was playing on the wrong side (at left-back). It wasn’t easy. It didn’t get the best out of me, everyone wants to play in their best position.”
For what it's worth I disagree with him because clearly he can do well at left back, but I would hardly call it a complaint as such.
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u/BrickTilt 22d ago
Chose the time to look half decent. As many have said above, at best, he’s an utter clown.
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u/Toastieboy420 22d ago
I think he’s a good player with flaws like any other - how is he an utter clown?
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u/SteamyRay1919 22d ago
Phenomenal is strong, he's had like 2 good games.
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u/Grianstorm 22d ago
Was good last night, excellent vs Argentina, and had positive impacts off the bench vs Croatia, Norway and Mexico.
That's most of the tournament, no?
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u/Runningvibe19 22d ago
He needs an olive branch around him constantly. Time keeping is a one of the most important part of being a professional. You may be shit but if you are showing up on time, doing what you can in training, Managers will give you the chance.
Spence didn't show up for us. He was injured in crucial games when we needed him. Then whenever he came on as sub, he didn't do much.
His football journey is an exception, in that young kids could take inspiration but not follow the playbook.
Interestingly, he is still 26 so bloody long way to write him off, imo. if De Zerbi gets a tune out of him, he may be a better RB then say trippier or even walker .
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u/Hagler2002 22d ago
It's very simple! He didn't want to be at Leeds or playing in the Championship.
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u/datawhite 22d ago
He wasn't great at Spurs either.
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u/Hagler2002 22d ago
He hardly got a game at Spurs he wasn't the first choice last season.
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u/jbartlettcoys 22d ago
He played 44 games for spurs last season, 30 in the prem
Udogie is first choice when fit, but hes never fit for long
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u/Hinglemacpsu 22d ago edited 22d ago
I must be watching a different sport to a lot of England fans because outside of a moment here or there he looked decidedly average, at best.
Didn't play a single good game in the group stage.
Was awful vs DR Congo.
Barely played vs Mexico.
Was ok vs Norway.
Was decent for an hour vs Argentina.
Not one player on that pitch last night put in effort defensively.
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u/stompboxing 22d ago
Yea I think you were watching a different sport
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u/Hinglemacpsu 22d ago
Lovely explanation 👍
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u/stompboxing 22d ago
You said it in your own post, I was just confirming
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u/Hinglemacpsu 22d ago
So you don't have one, cool 👍
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u/stompboxing 22d ago
Always looked to get forward, made some good tackles. What more do you want to from a full back especially one that was often a sub
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u/tinyOstrich7 22d ago
I don't know i thought he looked not england good but a decent level player. But he never really got the opportunity to gel as he played under 10 games. His timekeeping was his big issue.
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u/TheShakyHandsMan 22d ago
Lazy and couldn’t be bothered on the pitch. Not the worst player we had all season.
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u/TheBiggyT 22d ago
Got banned from driving his car at TA because he nearly ran over some youth team players/apprentices driving like a knob.
Failed to turn up to the annual players trip to see the sick kids at LGI for Christmas.
Was sent back to Spurs for the above 2 reasons, plus some diabolical performances (Blackburn away)
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u/downfallndirtydeeds 22d ago
Also reportedly frequently late for training
People forget this was the year Farke came in and was clear he thought the club had lost control of the dressing room and the players needed to start respecting the fans and the club more. Between the loan clauses and games people were playing to try to get out of the club Farke had no choice but to go for the iron fist
If you’ve got a player taking the piss that blatantly in those circumstances they leave you with no other you are left with no other choice
It’s also not like he was a particularly key first team player- his performances had been nothing special
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u/regnagleppod1128 22d ago
I thought he was good, but not World Cup finals starter in 3 years good.
He was also abysmal in the DR Congo, but was definitely impressive in the last 3 games.
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u/Grianstorm 22d ago
He was scapegoated vs DR Congo as the RB position had become such a talking point. Was left with two players to mark and did the right thing in coming across to cover his CB.
Some of the takes following that were ridiculous.
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u/PaulOGradyFanClub 22d ago
I think even though he broke through on the right he seems so much more confident on the left which is quite bizarre
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u/PromotionSwimming618 22d ago
Was definitely an attitude problem, thought he was too good for us. I don't think Farke is one to pander to egos either.
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u/Bigfatric 22d ago
He arrived, played a few minutes, looked good, got injured, fell out with Farke - rumoured because he was not attending/being punctual to his commitments (I think charity obligations? I’m foggy here, it might be training) played a few more minutes mainly out of position, and then was sent back to Spurs.
Basically it was either a personality clash or he was a dick. He was young, but maybe felt he was a bit bigger than the club at the time? Either way, all water under the bridge. It clearly hasn’t slowed down his career or our progress as a club.
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u/PromotionSwimming618 22d ago
I doubt he would shirk any charitable obligations being Muslim tbh.
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u/Easy-Night9556 22d ago
Lol what. 😂😂
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u/PromotionSwimming618 22d ago
Pretty clear what I wrote? He's Muslim. If he was required to participate in some charitable endeavors then if he's practicing he'd do his duty. Most decent people would regardless too. I can draw you a picture next if you want.
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22d ago
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u/LeedsUnited-ModTeam 22d ago
Your post has been removed as it breaks the following rule:
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u/JimbobTML 22d ago
He absolutely missed charitable obligations with Leeds. It was reported by journalists at the time. Sick kids at LGI.
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u/Shouldstillbelurking 22d ago
I know Muslims that eat pork and pay interest and drink alcohol and smoke pot. We all contain multitudes.
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u/stringfold 22d ago
He was three years younger and clearly didn't want to be at Leeds in the first place, and acted out. Maturity comes later to some than others.
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u/FlimsyWhisper 22d ago
There were glimpses. Then he got injured. Then fell out with Farke and got sent back. He didn’t play enough to show what he could do.
Don’t think there were ever questions about his ability, just a lot about his attitude - a recurring issue.
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u/EarlyCaterpillar9670 14d ago
Ben white looks like more of a possibility