Six big positives to cling to after nightmare end to dramatic week for Leeds United - YEP 5/9/22
All was not well with Leeds United come 5pm on Saturday evening.
By Graham Smyth
A dramatic transfer deadline week briefly threatened to
deliver a huge star in the form of Cody Gakpo and then a promising-sounding
striker in Bamba Dieng, before merely bringing forward the signing of
18-year-old prospect Willy Gnonto.
Everyone at Leeds was pleased to get Gnonto confirmed,
although as Jesse Marsch packed him back off to Zurich to collect his things
instead of making him part of the weekend plans for Brentford, it was clear
that the Italy international is not yet ready to make an Premier League impact.
The departure of Daniel James, on loan, was easy to
understand from the player's point of view given the threat to his game time,
although Jesse Marsch would later intimate that the winger rather wanted to
stick around, and less so from a club point of view.
It may be the case that end product has proved a struggle
for James and there are those in the squad now well ahead of him, but reducing
and not augmenting Marsch's senior options on the last day of the window was
not a well-received move among sections of the fanbase.
What's more, the game at Brentford was a chance for everyone
to get deadline day out of their system and move forward but instead of
appeasing any angst, it merely gave it fresh fuel.
A 5-2 capitulation owed far more to defensive frailty than
the failure to land one of the club's priority striker targets, or even the
contested decisions that led to Marsch's red card.
The performance and the scoreline left everyone in need of
some positivity, particularly with such a long wait to the Nottingham Forest
game next Monday.
Here are six positives for Leeds to cling to in the
meantime.
Bamford is back
The sitter was bad, one he may well count among his worst misses as a Leeds player, but there will be other chances and there will be goals.
Bamford can be forgiven for showing some rust in the heat of
battle given the length of time he spent out last season and the stop-start
nature of his comeback this season. And the fact that he was in the right place
at the right time to try and finish Pascal Struijk's delivery is a good thing.
That's where he will help Leeds, by adding a presence in the areas where a
centre forward is needed, along with his involvement in the build-up of
attacks.
Joe Gelhardt has, at times, looked a little lost as a number
nine among giant centre-backs, and Leeds probably don't want him playing with
his back to goal. They want Gelhardt running at defenders with the ball at his
feet. Back-to-goal football is something Bamford has done very well for Leeds.
If he can get 60 minutes against Nottingham Forest, a game he'll be desperate
to play in, and move closer to full match fitness then all the better for the
Whites.
Centre-back options
Diego Llorente had a mare against Brentford but the good
news for Leeds is that Liam Cooper, the club's most consistent central defender
since promotion, was on the bench and nearing a return to the side. When he
does come back in, likely alongside Robin Koch who until Brentford had put
together a fine start to the season, he should give Leeds central defensive
solidity. He might not be as inventive in his passing as Llorente but Cooper
comes without much of the drama that seems to follow Llorente around.
Pascal Struijk, who has performed admirably at left-back and
is probably happy to be getting so many Premier League minutes, is another
option for Marsch to consider. So too is Leo Hjelde. If a centre-back drops out
of form, as Llorente seems to have, there are options open to Marsch.
Summerville time
A deadline day winner, Crysencio Summerville has watched a
more senior winger depart and found himself bumped up in Marsch's plans. It
could and should lead to more game time for the young Dutchman who continues to
show flashes of his uber-confident attacking play. He should have had a penalty
at Brentford and at some stage soon will be rewarded for his willingness to
take on defenders with a goal or an assist at senior level. He has had to be
more patient than some of his peers but it feels like there could be
opportunities for him this season if he keeps his head down, his nose clean and
his form good.
Sinisterra finds his range
Luis Sinisterra is a threat from outside the box in exactly
the same way Raphinha was. Twice in two games the Colombian has gone for the
path of least resistance with a blast from distance and shown a wonderful
ability to find the net. Even if his goals have brought just one point from
those two games, it bodes well for Leeds that their new winger is already among
the goals.
The only concerns with Sinisterra are whether or not he can
replicate the workload that Raphinha got through defensively and how long it
will take him to get fully up to speed. But it's already clear that he's going
to be a genuine goal threat and a horrible player to face when he's in full
flight.
Older and wiser
Leeds United's bench, for the first time in a long time,
boasted serious experience on Saturday. Bamford, Cooper, Adam Forshaw, Luke
Ayling and Mateusz Klich all give Marsch options that he would have no issue
turning to in a game. In recent seasons Leeds' bench has, through injury
crises, taken on a cherubic appearance. Right now it's a mix of youth and
experience and there are pending battles for shirts that were previously worn
relatively comfortably by one player. At right-back and centre-back in
particular, Marsch has choices to make. Ayling will want that right-back slot
and Rasmus Kristensen will fight him for it, while Cody Drameh will hope he can
nick a few more appearances too.
Eight points
Leeds’ start to the season was very good and although it has
gone a little awry with one point from the last three games, there are plenty
of clubs who would swap places with the Whites in a heartbeat. As long as they
get back on track with a better defensive performance against Nottingham
Forest, they should consider that game winnable.
