Morning Leeds-in for 10 February: Leeds travel to Bramall Lane for a Yorkshire derby

Heckingbottom said that he’s not too “hung up on systems.”

When asked about how the club would line-up, after Leeds have played in a 4-2-3-1 for almost the past two seasons under Garry Monk and Thomas Christiansen, new Leeds boss Heckingbottom said,

I don’t get hung up on systems, especially in possession.

We have got principals and when we have got the ball we will us the formation if you like and it will just be based on how we defend.

We could defend as a 4-4-2 or we could defend as a 4-3-3 but in possession it may look exactly the same. That will be the messages that we will get across.

I think that fans get really hung up on formations much more than players and coaches do. Besides playing one striker vs two strikers, or playing with three centre backs or two, most formations are really extremely fluid and don’t differ that much in practice. A 4-1-4-1 is pretty much the same in practice as a 4-3-3 depending on how the midfield and wingers play, no matter if the players are labeled as part of a “midfield three” or not. Either way, we’ll see how the team lines up, takes the field and goes out and plays.

On to the links.

Leeds United Links

Match Preview and information on how to watch Leeds take on Sheffield United later today. [Through It All Together]

The kids went out and kicked Nottingham Forest in the pants, winning a U23 match 5-1. [Through It All Together]

Thomas Christiansen left a nice note to the fans and everyone at Leeds. Too bad it didn’t work out, and I wish him well in his next job. [Yorkshire Evening Post]

England and English Football Links

The thrill is gone at Hull City between the Allam family and the fans. They’d like to sell, but no one wants to buy Hull. [BBC.com]

Terrible news. Liam Miller, who played for Manchester United, Celtic FC, and even Leeds, has passed away at age 36. [The Independent]

Millwall held Cardiff City 1-1 at The Den. [Sky Sports]

World Football

If you’ve ever wondered about AC Milan and want to listen to a podcast about them, listen to The Devil Wears Rossonero, the new podcast from the AC Milan Offside. [AC Milan Offside]

Ohio officials are putting pressure on MLS to decide if FC Cincinnati is going to be picked as an expansion team or not. [ProsoccerUSA.com]

The Portland Timbers signed Sweden forward Samuel Armenteros from Benevento Calcio. [Stumptown Footy]