No doubting Max - The Square Ball 9/3/23

SAVE US

Written by: Patrick Gunn

January 1st, 2021. Two men sit, back to back, in a gym in Salzburg. They are answering questions about themselves, proving how well they know the other person. So far, the mood has been jovial. Who pays for dinner most often, who is more popular with the other players, who speaks the best Dutch… the men, a Dane and an Austrian, have laughed and ribbed each other, as team-mates tend to. They speak in English, the Austrian translating at times. Their coach, an American, speaks some German, but perhaps English is the lingua franca in this group.

Then the interviewer asks his eighth question: Who is the more talented footballer?

With a look of considered acceptance, the Dane points his thumb behind him almost immediately. After a pause — almost reluctantly — the Austrian raises his hand. There is no discussion. No jokes. “No doubt,” declares the Dane. The Austrian does not speak.

Eighteen months later, in the summer of 2022, Leeds United revealed the Dane as their latest signing. He arrived, shaven-headed and full of gusto, ready to electrify the Elland Road crowd with big tackles, expansive forward play, and the kind of passion that can create legends around this place. Throughout pre-season, he sports a black eye — a sign of his commitment to the cause. His early appearances, however, are nervy. A little underwhelming. But time is needed to adapt, we say. He’ll come good, as so many have done in the past. Besides, we say, the right side of defence is not our problem, it’s the left we need to worry about. Far too often, the left has proved a thorn in our side. We need to find someone who can, as our enigmatic coach put it, “stop the bleeding”.

January 3rd, 2023. Almost two years to the day since he sat, back to back, with the Dane in Salzburg, the Austrian arrives in Leeds to play alongside him again. Reunited by the same coach who led them to so much success in Austria, the pair now find themselves in a situation contrasting those days in the Alps. Victories are hard to come by, fans are turning, and the pressure is not that of leading the pack, but fighting to remain part of it at all.

The Austrian, however, was confident. Of the two, keep in mind, it was he who was the better player. “No doubt,” the Dane had said. He had won three league and cup doubles in his homeland, captaining Salzburg in their domination of the domestic competitions. He had played in Amsterdam and Seville, becoming the most expensive player ever in his native league on his move back home. This was a man ready to deal with pressure. Perhaps, one could argue, it was the Austrian, not the Dane, who should have come to Leeds in the first place.

Despite his credentials, however, questions remained. What purpose was the Austrian coming to serve? For almost his entire career, he had played in the centre of defence. A position in which, by numbers at least, Leeds were well-stocked. Those concerned were told not to worry: in recent games, he had been utilised as a left-sided defender to great success. Since the start of the season, they pointed out, Salzburg had lost just one game, with their captain proving a more-than-capable replacement on the left side. For the relatively small fee Leeds were paying, they argued, the Austrian would plug the gap and stop the bleeding.

In a season defined by deliberate chaos, this stoic aura has been a god-send

On paper, it seemed a fair assessment. There was no denying this new man had, indeed, performed well on the left side all season. Salzburg were, indeed, flying in the league as well as holding their own in Europe. But, the doubters pointed out, Salzburg flew in the league every year. The Dane, for example, had shone in Austria, earning admiration from across the continent. Leeds had been considered lucky to pick him up when they did. Now, months after his arrival, he was resigned to the bench, stuck behind the ageing hero he was supposed to replace. Their fellow former team-mate, a scrappy midfielder from the state of New Jersey, had found life in West Yorkshire equally tough. Once a combative, energetic presence, the physicality and demands of the new league had taken their toll, leaving him struggling for form.

It didn’t exactly help that, on his introduction to the Leeds faithful, the Austrian found himself thrust into a side that were 2-0 down to a Cardiff team struggling in the lower ends of the Championship table. Though no blame could be apportioned to him, eyebrows were raised when the centre-back signed to play left-back came on with thirty minutes to go — in midfield. Those eyebrows relaxed somewhat as Leeds came back to force a replay, but questions remained: what was he here to do? It was hard to ignore the possibility that, once again, the powers that be had ignored a clear issue in the squad, instead bringing in another favourite of the coach who, himself, was hanging on by a thread. There were few who doubted the quality of the man, even after just thirty minutes on the field, but did Leeds really need him at this time?

Just over a month later, it’s safe to say those questions have had answers. Though he has played a grand total of zero minutes in the position he was, supposedly, bought to fill, the Austrian has made the kind of impact too many have failed to make in the last few years at Leeds. There is little beauty in what he does on the pitch, though beauty is always in the eye of the beholder. But there is a quiet solidness in his presence, an unspoken promise that, whatever he can do, he will do. In a season defined by deliberate chaos, the introduction of this stoic aura to an oft-maligned back line has been a god-send. Like blowing smoke into a beehive, the madness just seems to temper with him around.

“I’ve always had it in me,” he says. “I’ve been a captain all my teenage years… I think it’s just a part of my personality that I take care of my team and bring them into shape…”

It would be hard, I imagine, to find a member of the squad who disagrees. It doesn’t seem a coincidence that, since his arrival, the players around him have calmed and improved. The left-back signed to be a left-back, who had failed to make any kind of impact, suddenly looks more competent, knowing that mistakes will be covered. His partner in the centre, possibly through their shared language, has taken a more commanding role in the air, knowing he has protection alongside him. It may not be beautiful, but Leeds are well beyond the need for beauty at this point.

A relegation battle will always create nerves within the fanbase. Poor performances are scrutinised in more detail, and mistakes are criticised with anger and frustration. Every decision, whether on or off-field, is picked over and questioned to the furthest degree. It’s no surprise that, when yet another member of that Salzburg side arrived in Leeds, there was doubt about what benefits the Austrian would bring.

Perhaps we should have listened to the Dane. “No doubt,” he said. No doubt.