Leeds 1-0 Southampton: Javi Gracia brings a bit of calm to Leeds' chaotic season - BBC 25/2/23
By Phil Dawkes
After leaving Watford, Gracia managed Valencia, with his
last job prior to joining Leeds being with Al Sadd in Qatar
In a season in which many of their decisions could be
accused of lacking sense, Leeds had a glimpse on Saturday of what a little
clear-headed practicality can bring.
Junior Firpo's solitary second-half goal was enough to see
off a stubborn Southampton and provide a vital three points that lift the
Whites out of the Premier League's bottom three.
The match itself was low on quality, frantic and
frustrating, played out in front of a nervy, quick to anger crowd and by
players often adversely affected by the enormity of the task at hand.
But at the centre of it was a newly installed manager in
Javi Gracia, who spoke sensibly before and after and made logical, pragmatic
and ultimately match-winning decisions in between.
The Spaniard was far from Leeds' first choice to succeed
Jesse Marsch, but the early evidence suggests he may be the level-headed man
this confused club needs right now.
Gracia may have spoken calmly and positively on Friday in
his first news conference as Leeds boss, but the club he inherits has got
itself into an almighty mess.
Choosing Marsch as the succession candidate to build on the
remarkable progress delivered by Marcelo Bielsa has been proven to be
misjudged.
Remaining loyal to the American, while admirable, was
misguided in the face of a horrific run of form and a tactical plan that too
often seemed to rely on chaos over co-ordination.
In doing so until February, the club spent what could
eventually be about £75m in the January window on players for a manager they no
longer have.
It also left them looking for a successor at a time when
preferred candidates would rather try to qualify for Europe in La Liga or win
the title in the Netherlands.
However, almost by default they seem to have landed on a
candidate with many of the qualities they need - one who has impressed in the
Premier League before, helping keep Watford up and taking them to an FA Cup
final in 2018-19.
"He seems a sensible appointment considering the
candidates out there and the risks," former Wales defender Ashley Williams
told BBC Radio 5 Live.
"Gracia has been here, is very experienced, led Watford
to the FA Cup final. Out of all the names he was probably the sensible one. He
might be the one to get the best out of the talent they have."
This was in evidence on Saturday. Having had just a day to
work with the side following the granting of his visa, the Spaniard was smart
enough not to change too much.
His only alteration to the team that meekly surrendered at
Everton last weekend was bringing in Brenden Aaronson at number 10 and the
American rewarded him with a typically energetic display that gave the Saints
defence little respite.
Noticeably, the Whites were more measured going forward,
less willing to leave themselves vulnerable to the counter as they had been
under Marsch. The kind of pragmatism that is required when points are of far
more importance than performances.
"We knew in the last game that Southampton was really
solid and organised and we knew today it would be a tough and very close
game," said Gracia afterwards.
"We prepared as well as we could to be solid and
compact, work in the game and wait for our moment, and I think we did that. The
players did their job.
"We found a good balance, to defend well to get a clean
sheet and in the other way to be offensive where we could. Neither team created
many chances but it was the game we wanted and the result was good for
us."
There was a little nod from the Spaniard towards evolution
in the future, but also a clear understanding that the focus right now is on
the needs of the present.
"I'm very optimistic," he continued. "If with
one day we play like that, next week we are going to play better.
"When I came I could feel all the people around the
club really needed a good result. Today I think is good for the confidence of
all of us. We know it is only one step, but for us it is an important
step."
It is ironic that in what was the most sensible day Leeds
United have enjoyed for a long while, the identity of the man who won it for
them made so little sense.
Firpo had become a much-maligned figure at the club - his
struggles in the side emblematic of their failure to build on the promise of
their first season back in the top flight.
Thirty Premier League games prior to Saturday had barely
yielded a shot on target, let alone a goal. He only returned to the side in
early February because of an injury to Pascal Struijk and the need for Max
Wober to remain at centre-back.
And yet, in the 77th minute of what had been arguably his
best all-round display in a Leeds shirt, there was the left-back to gather Jack
Harrison's back-heel and fire low into the net.
His unchained celebration spoke volumes - one that he
continued at full-time by repeatedly punching the air to cheers from the south
stand at Elland Road.
"You never know what is going to happen," added
Gracia. "What I knew was today we had a chance to win and we took
it."