He’s Junior effin’ Firpo - The Square Ball 22/9/21

RUN UP POSTAGE STAMP

Written by Patrick Gunn

I’ll be completely honest. When Junior Firpo stepped up to take his penalty in the shoot-out against Fulham, I was certain he’d miss.

There were several reasons for this. Number one is simply that I’m the world’s greatest pessimist. I could find anxiety in paradise. Number two is that I’m a Leeds fan and, as such, generally expecting disaster at every turn (which may explain number one). Number three, we’d just gone from 3-1 to 3-3 in the shoot-out; it was now sudden death. Fulham had the momentum, and we were shaking. Maradona could have been stepping up for that spot kick and I’d have expected him to miss. Last (and I said I’d be honest) was because it was Junior Firpo stepping up to take it.

The left-back position has had a tortured existence at Leeds United in the last two decades. After Ian Harte (and, let’s be fair, while he was here at times), it’s been a mark on the team-sheet causing significant issues, which have rarely been solved. Ben Parker fought injury after injury to no avail, Charlie Taylor solidified it for a short while before his ignominious departure, even Gaetano Berardi gave it the old college try after Taylor had gone, but more often than not it’s a notoriously hard hole to plug. Even under Marcelo Bielsa it’s been a problem child. Barry Douglas was brought in to reprieve Berardi and lock down the left side, but when his injury-prone tribute act rocked up at Thorp Arch, nobody seemed willing to call Wolves and ask what they were playing at. Wolves obviously enjoy this game, sending us a Helder Costa look-a-like a few months later that they’d found at the back of a storage cupboard somewhere.

But this summer, after a season of Stuart Dallas, Gjanni Alioski, Jack Harrison and anyone capable of passing with their left foot filling in, we finally signed a proper one. Junior Firpo — Barcelona, Real Betis, Spain U21 international. Here was a guy with some real pedigree. The YouTube highlights looked good, the stats looked good, he even managed to look good in a white shirt with yellow highlighter Adidas stripes. I mean, if we could finish 9th in the Premier League with Alioski running around the pitch like some sort of wind-up toy with an overactive motor, surely a guy who played alongside Messi could slot right in and take us a step further?

Simply put, reality is often disappointing compared to what we imagine.

Not to say that Firpo has been awful, because he hasn’t, but he hasn’t yet lived up to the expectations we built up for him. We’re yet to see him marauding down the flank the way Alioski would, without a care for what was left behind him, but he’s also been caught out of position on multiple occasions during defensive transitions, and hasn’t added any semblance of calm to a defence living on the edge so far this campaign. When you combine that with the lack of attacking output, something doesn’t quite add up. It seems distinctly unhelpful, no matter what style you’re playing, for a full-back to be caught in the middle of an attacking or defensive approach. There, you’re not helping anyone.

His miss at St James’ Park, blazing over the bar when the goal was gaping, seemed to sum up his start to life at Leeds: willing to make the effort, getting in the right places, but lacking the polish or understanding to really work in Bielsa’s side. It’s easy to say here and now, with the luxury of hindsight, but it’s hard to imagine Dallas or Alioski missing that chance last season, and Firpo was supposed to be an upgrade on both.

So, as he walked up to the spot last night, Fulham’s Marek Rodak cleverly taking his time before heading to his line, it was easy to feel pessimistic about Junior’s attempt. The away end, so raucous just a few minutes before, now muttered with nervous energy. His own face, showing confusion as he looked to referee Tim Robinson for some kind of direction, painted a picture of a man uncomfortable with everything about the situation. Hands on hips, eyes shifting wildly from side to side, he waited.

Then he thumped it into the top corner and jogged away.

Nothing to it. Run up, postage stamp, nod at the home fans, head back to the halfway line. Why was anyone worried? He’s Junior effin’ Firpo. He’s played at Camp Nou, at the Bernabeu. He’s experienced football on the biggest possible stages. Craven Cottage? It’s a training ground. Fulham? What is it? A town? A village? It’s a notch on his belt now. It doesn’t matter what it is. As soon as that shot hit the top corner, all the anxiety I’d felt during his journey to the spot seemed thoroughly ridiculous.

It was a statement piece. A reminder that, despite the rocky start, this is a good footballer. Six-and-a-half games into his Leeds career, it’s not been perfect, but very few players come into Bielsa’s side and get it right straight away. Very few existing members of the squad have really nailed things down yet this season, so new additions definitely shouldn’t be asked to shoulder the responsibility for our slow start alone. On top of that, like many things with our coach, there’s a lot more to being a left-back under Bielsa than pretty much anywhere else, so I think we can afford the man a little more time before writing him off as another underwhelming custodian of the position. Tony Capaldi he isn’t. Yet.

That said, if things don’t improve soon, we’ll have to make the call to Barcelona’s complaint line before they send us “Ricky Pig” in January.