Leeds United's farewell to 2022 shows the struggle of the have-nots as important January transfer window looms - Yorkshire Post 30/12/22
If ever there was a week to remind Leeds United that when it comes to Premier League football, they are one of the have-nots, the last one of 2022 is it.
By Stuart Rayner
Fresh from an Elland Road mauling by Manchester City, the
Whites end the year with a daunting trip to Newcastle United.
Since being bought by Abu Dhabi United in 2008, City have
been English football's biggest financial heavyweights but now the Saudi Public
Investment Fund owns Newcastle, that status is under threat.
Leeds, by comparison, are also-rans, having been out of the
Premier League picture for 16 years where bank balances overflowed and
financial fair play rules tried to pull up the drawbridge to sugar-daddies
arriving at the wrong time.
That £18m Rio Ferdinand was the club's record signing for 18
years until the disastrous acquisition of Jean-Kevin Augustin in 2020, speaks
volumes.
It matters because in the Premier League more than any other
English division, finances dictate finishes, and Leeds are about to enter a
transfer window where shrewd investment could seriously improve their chances
of avoiding relegation.
Having only escaped it on the final day of last season,
Leeds go into Saturday's game at St James' Park just two points above the
relegation zone with a game in hand at Manchester United.
Since Patrick Bamford injured his ankle on Tyneside in
September 2021 – if not before – the Whites have looked a genuine striker
light. Left-back cover has been a constant problem back in the top-flight too.
As Stuart Dallas recovers from a broken leg with Junior
Firpo's fitful fitness limiting him to one league start in 2022-23, centre-back
Pascal Struijk has had to fill in. The division’s fourth-worst goals conceded
record would make further defensive reinforcements reassuring.
But Leeds have been unable to throw their weight around in
the transfer market, proving much more effective at uncovering cheap future
first-teamers than ready-made stars.
There are plans for the investment arm of NFL franchise San
Francisco 49ers to buy a majority stake in early 2024, but whilst they hold
just 44 per cent, team-building has been modest and plans to expand Elland
Road, widening revenue streams, remain that.
"Money is always helpful," concedes Leeds coach
Jesse Marsch. "You don't want to slight (Newcastle manager) Eddie Howe
because he has done an amazing job but we all know this world of football is
different to American sports where we have salary caps and everyone has a
chance when the season starts.
"I'm sorry, but the way European football works, that
is just not the case so how do you build?
"One is a process and continuing to invest every penny
the right way, which we are continuing to do, another one is a massive influx
of money. Take Chelsea 25 years ago and Newcastle now, take Man City 15 years
ago. It's a difference-maker.
"It's for every phase of what you are doing as a club –
manager, players, everything.
"But we like us, we like who we are. We like our
identity, the mentality we have created. We are going to keep building in our
own way."
Marsch’s immediate job is to make the most of what he has,
not worry about what he does not.
Bamford is due back in training on Sunday or Monday after
minor groin surgery.
"We know Patrick can score goals in bunches," says
Marsch. "He has not been at 100 per cent since I have been here. That
being said, he's created a ton of chances and it's unfortunate some of them
have not fallen in the way he'd have wanted.
"We're hopeful this diagnosis and surgery can really be
a big part of the physical equation and solution for Patrick."
Many fans are not sold on Diego Llorente, who lost his place
at centre-back when Liam Cooper's season belatedly got started, but Leeds have
handed the Spain international a new contract.
"We think he has quality and centre-backs aren't easy
to find, so when you have a good one, you want to keep hold of them," says
Marsch.
Even in an era where the only mystery about the
end-of-season top seven (a six before Newcastle's takeover early last term) is
the order, Marsch refuses to accept cash is the be-all and end-all.
"It's not the only factor," he insists. "I
don't look at it as the glass is half empty, but trying to maximise our
potential every day.
"I know with the history of this club and what has been
achieved here that the expectations are high. Maybe unfairly high, but who
cares?
"I have to do the best job I can to help this club and
team to be the best they can possibly be.
"Our true competitors are the mid-table,
bottom-of-the-table teams and now it's about trying to do better than we have
done against them. That's the reality.
"There's the history of the club, infrastructure,
player pool and playing style, manager, time – a lot of different factors. But
in almost any league around the world the teams at the top are typically the
ones who spend the most."
In the long-term, Leeds have to try to buck the trend but
now –somewhat depressingly – it is just about being the best of the have-nots.
