Leeds United and Farke make light of 'mischievous' comparison — Graham Smyth's Brentford Verdict — YEP 15/12/25
By Graham Smyth
Leeds United did what a number of Premier League high flyers
have failed to do this season and took a point at Brentford amid comparisons
with a doomed predecessor.
Mischievously or not, the Brentford matchday programme
pointed out that Leeds' record this season prior to the game was equal to the
one they compiled at the start of the 2022/23 campaign. A campaign which of
course ended in relegation. But context is king.
After scaring Manchester City and bloodying the noses of
Chelsea and Liverpool, there could be a temptation to raise the expectations
for the trip to Brentford. After all, the Bees do not have a squad that can
hold a candle to that trio. But context, again. What they do have is an almost
impeccable home record. A direct style that has brought goals, results and
humbled some talented teams. The Gtech Community Stadium might not sound like a
particularly daunting place to go yet very few take a result away with them. A
point on the road in the Premier League is almost always a good result but in
some grounds it comes at a premium.
Not so super Sunday
This, however, was not a premium offering for the
broadcaster's 'Super Sunday' early evening billing. Neutrals hoping for
something a bit better than an attritional Tyne-Wear derby were to be
disappointed. It got off to a slow start and rarely reached breakneck pace.
Leeds were relatively conservative and direct with their
initial possession and it wasn't until the 10th minute that they really
threatened. It was the first time they turned it on, Jayden Bogle playing a
superb ball into the area and Dominic Calvert-Lewin completely foxing his
marker with his movement. Yet when the striker pulled the ball back across the
box, admittedly without giving himself much of a pause, there was no one in
place to tuck it home.
For their part Brentford created little of note in the
game's opening period. Their best moment came from a Leeds corner and a counter
attack that Ao Tanaka twice failed to deal with, but it led to nothing more
than a low cross that Lucas Perri gathered.
Though Leeds could boast a measure of control and comfort,
little decisions stopped them from taking the game to the hosts more
aggressively. Ethan Ampadu elected to keep the ball and go backwards instead of
releasing Noah Okafor. They elected to send backwards a free-kick close to
halfway, too, so that instead of sending the ball towards the Brentford box it
went back to Perri whose kicking can lack accuracy.
The game was almost half an hour old before either keeper
had a real save to make. Caoimhin Kelleher came up big for the Bees after a
loose touch was seized upon by Okafor and his pace took him into the area where
he uncorked a decent strike.
It might not have been champagne stuff but Leeds were
getting the better of it, working players into good positions and firing
crosses through the area without the final touch. Only when Leeds failed to do
the necessary or the basic did they come under threat themselves. A lack of
challenge on Mathias Jensen gave him the time to clip a ball into the area and
though John Brooks pointed to the spot for Gabriel Gudmundsson's slight contact
on Dango Ouattara. VAR came to Leeds' rescue by eventually spotting an offside.
Then Perri came to Struijk's rescue after his poor pass put Brentford on the
attack and Keane Lewis-Potter got in behind Joe Rodon for a fierce shot at
goal.
But when Leeds did things properly, they found themselves on
the attack again and should have led prior to the break. Calvert-Lewin's cross
was headed back across goal by Tanaka and Okafor skied his six-yard volley.
Leeds' start to the second half held plenty of purpose and
attacking intent, they just didn't turn territory into good chances. It was
nearly stuff. Stach and Tanaka shooting wide, Calvert-Lewin heading into
Kelleher's gloves.
Brentford go ahead
But with Tanaka struggling, the officials struggling and a
couple of soft concessions of possession, Leeds lost their early momentum and
gave the Bees some encouragement to regain a foothold. They did more than that.
Almost out of nowhere, they took the lead. Once again Leeds played a part in
it. Jaka Bijol played the hosts onside for a ball that was played inside Bogle
and when the cut-back came, the centre-back turned Jordan Henderson's shot into
the net.
Farke’s changes work again
Daniel Farke had been lining up his first changes in the
minutes immediately prior to the goal and before the game restarted he pulled
the trigger. It was not just a change in personnel but a formation switch, for
the second game running, to try and rescue something. On came Brenden Aaronson
and Willy Gnonto. And for the second game running the changes had an impact.
Aaronson swung with Okafor for a ball in the box and Kelleher had to hurl
himself through the air to keep the ball out of his top corner. There was
nothing the keeper could do when Gnonto's inch-perfect cross was met by
Calvert-Lewin's perfectly-guided header and the game was level.
Besides the substitutions, what was abundantly evident in
Leeds' comeback was their ability and willingness to respond. No one embodied
that more than Ethan Ampadu, whose belligerent refusal to let an attack break
down was what kept Leeds on the front foot and forced the ball to Gnonto.
Between the goal and the final whistle Ampadu was at the
heart of Leeds' best moment, pinging a low shot just wide of the post. At the
other end Dango Ouatarra sent one over the top. Farke's attitude made itself
known in the very final moments when Joe Rodon suggested to team-mates they
should hold back rather than pile forward for a long throw. The manager
overruled him and sent him up into the box. But no matter how winnable Farke
felt it was, a point is always a good result at Brentford. To come away feeling
like it could have been more, having created the better chances, is even better
context. And the result, in the context of the league table, keeps his side on
track for a points average that will stave off relegation.
That points average was on track after 16 games in 2022,
too. Back then under Jesse Marsch Leeds got off to a fine start, went through a
pretty rancid run of results and then briefly perked up with two wins prior to
the World Cup break. What followed was a disastrous second half of the season,
a managerial merry-go-round and a grim slide out through the trap door.
The Allardyce view
The final manager of that season, Sam Allardyce, told then
CEO Angus Kinnear that to have a chance of staying up teams needed at least one
player with world-class ability. Looking at this Leeds team, it would be
difficult to pick out an individual and put them on that pedestal. What can be
said, however, is that in Calvert-Lewin they have a bonafide Premier League
striker with an elite ability to disturb defenders. There are few better at
getting into the air and staying there to meet crosses. Around him they have a
number of players putting forward a decent case to also be considered Premier
League players.
What Leeds have shown a number of times this season is a
Premier League quality standard of character and an ability to respond to
adversity. The 2022/23 team went downhill so badly that their chance of staying
diminished as the weeks went on. This team cannot afford to do that but have
shown no real signs that they are as flaky as their predecessor.
In Farke they have a manager who has shown he is willing to
change and make changes. In successive games his substitutions have brought
goals. The details that were missing in the first half - like too often sending
the ball back to Perri in order for him to smash it long - he sought to address
at half-time and the second half was a better performance. The overall
performance and result were an improvement on what we have seen of Leeds United
away from home this season. You always want to be getting better, trending
upwards - something the 2022/23 team never seemed to be doing.
Add all of that together and it might still not be enough,
but January must be part of the context too. The manager and the team are doing
their bit to give this club a chance. The boardroom can and should play their
part next month. All anyone can expect from this point forward is that everyone
involved at Leeds United does whatever they possibly can to tread a different
path to the 2022/23 disaster, control what can be controlled and become kings
of their context.
