Graham Smyth's verdict on Leeds United's unforgettable year of stubbornness and imperfection - YEP 28/5/22

Leeds United played out a season packed with joyous moments but one which nobody wants to remember

By Graham Smyth

A season to forget came to an end in an unforgettable fashion for Leeds United.

It did not meet expectation, although it did so nearly realise fears, and it did not make for an enjoyable time for anyone involved yet the 2021/22 campaign did deliver moments.

There were few occasions when performances were so complete that they bred confidence, it just wasn’t that kind of season from start to finish.

Scanning through the results to jog memories of good days at the office only brings one or two games to the surface, like Leicester City at home when Adam Forshaw came roaring back to significance after 85 Championship and Premier League games outside the starting XI. Leeds were quite good that day and the entertainment wasn’t bad either, with chances for each side and a Raphinha free-kick that was matched, if not bettered, by Harvey Barnes’ sublime strike.

They were good against Burnley at Elland Road too, although that plainly falls into the category of a game that must be won if you are to stand any chance of remaining a top-flight club.

West Ham United away, however, presented an incredibly difficult test even before Forshaw and Junior Firpo went off with hamstring problems to be replaced by untested youngsters Lewis Bate and Leo Hjelde.

That was the day when Leeds weren’t just good, they were very good.

And other than the final day of the season when they produced a performance that defied the circumstances at Brentford, albeit with a few wobbles, it was a season that held little more than sudden bursts of joy.

You take your happiness where you can, though, and Leeds fans lapped up all the dopamine that late goals afforded them.

Patrick Bamford’s scruffy finish at Burnley was the first of them, to earn an important point against his former club and fans who still give him a hard time.

Rodrigo recovered from a season-low performance at Southampton, amid foot pain no-one at the time knew he was struggling with, to get the next late one, a stoppage time penalty at home to Wolves, once again rescuing a point.

The latter stages of that September game were played in a din, Leeds fans showing the first real signs of their acknowledgement that this was going to be a season that required their full-throated involvement.

Another 90-plus minute spot-kick, at the end of November, this time from Raphinha, gave Leeds what everyone knew was a vital win over Crystal Palace. It was only the third of the Premier League season.

“We haven’t taken many points so far this season,” said Marcelo Bielsa afterwards.

“Every game we see as an opportunity to balance this out.”

That Elland Road high was arguably bettered in the very next game as Patrick Bamford returned from a lengthy lay-off to score a 95th-minute equaliser against Brentford. The stadium erupted, Bamford raced off in celebration and damaged his hamstring. The season gave, and it took away.

There were no late goals at Aston Villa, just a comeback from 3-1 down to take a point, and after that joy disappeared to be replaced by despair. Four successive thumpings cost Bielsa his job in what was undoubtedly the season’s lowest ebb.

The introduction of a new, very different man in charge heralded the end of an era but not, mercifully, the end of late goals.

That’s how Jesse Marsch picked up his very first win, with Raphinha going round Tim Krul in the 94th minute to tee up Joe Gelhardt for a moment he will never forget.

Five days later Leeds were at it again, Luke Ayling’s 91st minute winner completing a comeback from 2-0 down at Wolves, who spent a long time down to 10 men, and securing the season’s first – and only – back-to-back victories.

And even if it was utterly terrifying, it was entirely fitting that this campaign ended with a pair of results earned with the 90 minutes elapsed.

Pascal Struijk’s 92nd-minute header at home to Brighton kept hope on life support with a 1-1 draw and, at the very last, Jack Harrison netted a 94th-minute insurance goal at Brentford to give Leeds a 2-1 win and a three-point safety cushion, and give their fans the perfect end to an imperfect season.

No-one will buy a 2021/22 DVD but few will ever need reminding of the campaign’s best moments because they all meant so much, not only at the time when limbs were tangling and voices being lost to the wind, but at the final reckoning.

Had it not been for the fact that Bielsa created a team who would run through the final whistle for him, that Marsch majored so heavily on belief and that this squad refused to ever quit, this season would have had almost nothing going for it and the Championship would be opening its arms for the embrace no-one wanted.

Criticism has been dished out in spades, much of it perfectly fair and reasonable, but credit has to accompany it, if only for the club’s stubborn refusal to go quietly into the night.

The season will be remembered for the never-ending injuries, the sad, painful departure of Bielsa and the arrival of the man who dared to stand in his place. It will be remembered for the emergence of Gelhardt as a star and the re-emergence of the Leeds fanbase as the most vociferous, throw-back support in the Premier League. It will be remembered for a highlights reel made up mostly of last-gasp drama and skin-of-their-teeth results. It will be remembered for safety on the final day. It had its moments. But no-one wants to watch a repeat.