Leeds United game-shy unused sub Isaac Schmidt gets replacement explanation as Firpo update emerges — YEP 2/1/25
By Graham Smyth
Leeds United boss Daniel Farke says his door is always open
to a player questioning their game time but has offered an explanation for why
Isaac Schmidt was left on the bench against Blackburn Rovers.
With the second half not yet five minutes old and Max Wober
already on for Sam Byram, Farke had a decision to make at full-back on the
other side of the pitch. Jayden Bogle went down with a dead leg and Schmidt, a
natural replacement, was sent out to warm-up. But when Bogle limped off and the
change came it was club captain and central midfielder Ethan Ampadu who ran on
to play on the right-hand side.
When asked if he would offer an explanation to Schmidt, if
the Swiss defender had questions over his lack of game time after such a
scenario, Farke offered one publicly.
"My door is always open, once a player comes he always
gets an honest answer," said Farke. "Sometimes you're proactive in
order to explain if you feel there is a bit to explain. Of course there are
some differences, a player who plays each and every game deserves more of an
explanation than a 16-year-old or 17-year-old like Sam Chambers for example.
There will always be an honest answer.
"This [situation] was more or like, I was already
thinking to change to a three-man formation. And in this difficult game I
wanted to have my captain on the pitch and then we had a chance to play with
more or less three centre-backs. This was the reason I chose to bring him in
and not a natural replacement like Isaac."
Schmidt had made seven appearances for Leeds since arriving
in the summer from FC St Gallen, but those substitute cameos have amounted to
just 25 minutes of Championship action. Even with Junior Firpo out injured,
Schmidt has found involvement hard to come by and that situation appears
unlikely to change in the near future. Firpo is almost back in team training.
"He's more or less in the final stages of his
rehab," said Farke. "He's not in team training yet but I hope pretty
quick after Hull he can return to team training if everything works out. I
expect him to be back available after the FA Cup game, perhaps even for that.
I'm not sure he'll make it for that but it's looking pretty good."
The picture is made more difficult still by the return of
Wober to fitness and match action. The Austrian international gave a good
account of himself in a 45-minute appearance against Blackburn that was not
planned but worked out well for Farke and less so for Schmidt.
"I liked [Wober's] performance in the second
half," said the manager. "He looked sharp, had good chances, played a
role for the penalty. I was a bit worried, I thought for 20 or 30 minutes Max
could chip in but we couldn't afford Sam Byram to play another 20 and he looked
so exhausted. It was perhaps a bit risky to play Max for 45 but he's an
experienced player, I thought he could manage himself. It's good for him to
have another 45 minutes under his belt."