Leeds United Plan B argument and the cheek of a good manager — Graham Smyth's Blackburn Verdict — YEP 2/2/25

By Graham Smyth

There is nothing quite like the Championship to sober up an expectant, giddy and merry stadium full of Leeds United supporters.

Even on a day synonymous with new beginnings, resolutions and determination to go a different way, this league can drag you back to a place that feels old and depressingly familiar.

A 1-1 draw with Blackburn Rovers was a bit like that. So much so that there is simply no way anyone would want to relive it or read a blow-by-blow account of a 100-minute contest that was largely forgettable. It didn't explode to life until 88 minutes were played.

So instead of a traditional YEP Verdict, here are some of the things we can debate, fall out over or agree to disagree on from a stinker of a New Year's Day fixture.

Daniel Farke had a Plan B and it worked

One of the criticisms of Marcelo Bielsa was that he did not have or believe in a Plan B. When Plan A wasn't working, Bielsa's belief was that you should stick to Plan A but do it better. Farke has said in the past that of course he believes in a Plan B and a Plan C, a Plan D and so on and so forth but after games in which Leeds have struggled to break down a stubborn defence, the German has been lambasted by those perceiving him simply to throw on lots of attackers and hope for the best. Another criticism is that he waits too long - until around the 70th minute usually - to make any kind of a change.

Well against Blackburn when Plan A wasn't working, he very nearly changed to a Plan B on 50 minutes because as Jayden Bogle was limping off to be replaced by Ethan Ampadu, Joe Rothwell's number also went up. The midfielder, wearing the look of a man not altogether pleased with his new reality, started to make his way towards the touchline and Willy Gnonto prepared to come on. Farke then put Plan B on hold, ironically until the 69th minute when Rothwell did make way for Gnonto. Manor Solomon and Joel Piroe went off and Mateo Joseph and Patrick Bamford came on.

Plan B was to go to three at the back - Ampadu, Joe Rodon and Pascal Struijk - with Daniel James and Max Wober as wing-backs. Gnonto was to play as an attacking midfielder alongside Brenden Aaronson, ahead of Ao Tanaka. Bamford and Joseph partnered up top.

And while the entertainment value did not rise all that significantly, the game did open up a little. Farke's changes changed things. Blackburn were tempted into more frequent forays upfield and things stretched enough that James and Wober had some space in which to attack the flanks.

When the penalty came, it was from a Wober cross, a Bamford flick and Joseph's dart into the area. A wing-back feeding a striker who linked up with his strike partner. Plan B, working, with a little help from a wild lunge in the area. Had that lunge not come, perhaps Joseph would have stuck the ball away to open the scoring. Regardless, down he went and in went the spot-kick from the boot of Struijk.

What Leeds lacked was not ideas

Had Daniel James exhibited the crossing ability that he has shown recently in this game then Leeds would have created more chances than they did. Taking possession into good areas, getting players into dangerous areas and crafting space in which to deliver were not always an issue. They were an issue sometimes because Blackburn Rovers know how to defend and do it very well indeed.

Beyond the penalty, though, were other moments that could and should have resulted in more. Manor Solomon put a wonderful ball through the six-yard box. Aaronson tricked his way past Tyrhys Dolan and needed to hit the target from a good shooting position. Wober cleverly stole in behind and his shot was really well saved.

Where Leeds lost two points was in a little bit of naivety. What the game called for, in the minutes immediately after the goal, was the kind of dark arts and game management that Blackburn had been displaying from minute one. Farke lamented the concession of the corner, believing it to be needless. Then the defending for the corner itself was poor and an equaliser was scrambled in. Rovers should not have enjoyed a chance to get into any kind of rhythm or even a promising position immediately following the goal. Leeds had to be utterly ruthless, clever and play the game in the right areas. This is a team that is capable of playing scintillating football. It's a team unbeaten since November fighting it out for top spot in the Championship. But it is still a young team with lessons to learn. They had this one won and should have seen it out.

John Eustace has some cheek

You can and should credit Blackburn for their defensive ability and for the spirit they showed in fighting back having conceded a goal so late on. Eustace clearly knows exactly how to get a result against Farke and Leeds, given the evidence of the last four meetings. But his anger at the officials for adding on 10 minutes at the end of the game was quite incredible, given the time wasting tactics employed by his side. If you live by the sword you should be prepared to die by it and suggesting that Blackburn were somehow wronged by the addition of so many minutes is laughable. Are supporters not entitled to a bit more football for the large amounts of money they shell out for tickets? Football where the ball is actually in play, that is, and not football where a player goes down for 30 seconds to a minute and then gets up without needing treatment.

Blackburn fans, evidently, were delighted to take another point from Leeds and halt the home side's Elland Road winning streak before it reached double figures. But even they would surely understand why it might stick in the craw for Leeds fans or perhaps even neutrals, that what was at times an anti-football approach should be rewarded with a point. This is football, though, and aesthetics have come to matter less and less. Eustace did say after the game that he wanted his side to be better with the ball than they were and they showed at Ewood that they do have good players who can play some nice stuff. So maybe the plan was not simply to come and spoil the New Year's Day fare.

He’s a good manager - penny for the thoughts of those in Birmingham who did not see it - and Blackburn are a good side. They have a real chance of making the play-offs. But please, let us not see them again against Leeds this season.

You can't win them all

Winning your home games and drawing away is a perfectly acceptable way to go about promotion, in most reasonable minds. So winning two on the spin away from Elland Road should therefore make it a little more palatable that Leeds picked up just a point at home to Blackburn. This is sixth-placed Blackburn, who are a genuine promotion hopeful with play-off aspirations. If you can’t win them all, then don’t lose 1-0 - not again. There should be no shame in a 1-1 draw against them and certainly not in the wider context of Leeds' recent results. Annoying? Yes. Enraging? No.