Leeds United green shoots sprout amid Daniel Farke's bleak picture - Graham Smyth's Monaco Verdict - YEP 23/7/23

Leeds United arrived fashionably late to York Community Stadium on Saturday, very much in keeping with their summer theme.

By Graham Smyth

Everything from Daniel Farke's arrival to the 49ers Enterprises' takeover has happened later than anyone at Elland Road would have liked and, as a natural consequence, their transfer business will have to follow suit. Getting to the ground just under an hour before kick-off, therefore, felt fitting.

Farke is making no secret of the size of the challenge facing Leeds to be ready to pick up points from what, on paper, is as charitable looking a start as you might hope for in the Championship. The new manager is, in fact, doing the opposite of making a secret of it because he talks about it at every given opportunity.

The game itself against Monaco, just the second public outing of the new era, could have left supporters quite enthused because the beginnings of a system and the nice football it can produce were there to be seen. But like Leeds, the worry arrived late, thanks to Farke's post-match huddle with the assembled local press.

Max Wober? He didn't play because of a transfer and contract situation. Tyler Adams and Jack Harrison? They won't play until September. Junior Firpo? He won't make the start of the season.

The Wober situation is a hammer blow, even for a man as rooted in reality as Farke. Leeds really wanted to keep him and up until Farke opened his mouth it looked and sounded as if they could keep him. Players who don't turn out in friendlies due to the delicacy of transfer situations don't tend to stick around, however.

As for Adams and Harrison, it's bad news with the faintest hint of a light drizzle of good. Harrison would be considered an elite winger in the second tier. Even if Adams is not the most progressive of midfielders on the ball, his ability to go and win the thing and give it to a more expansive team-mate would put him right up there in the Championship. Kicking off against Cardiff with both men in the team, or at least the squad, would breath confidence into Elland Road, so the prospect of missing them for such a chunk of the season is less than ideal. Consider, though, the reticence that bigger league vultures might have now, having been poised to swoop and pluck either man away from Leeds. Splashing £20m-plus on a player who might not be back until after the first international break is a gamble, to put it mildly. Perhaps Leeds not having them until September might guarantee having them until January, at least.

To top off his bombardment of revelations, Farke finished with news that Junior Firpo, a player widely expected - if not hoped - to depart, has a five-week injury absence ahead of him due to some ligament damage, throwing the possibility of an exit up into the air.

At least, at the very least, with new owners in town champing at the bit to invest in their new toy, Farke will soon have several new signings to go with first-through-the-door Ethan Ampadu. On that, Farke didn't exactly pour cold water but he did make the case for patience, citing the club's profit and sustainability related inability to throw cash around with reckless abandon.

The German has thus far, albeit without complaint, painted a picture on the bleaker side of realistic.

Perhaps, for those of a nervous disposition, it'd be wiser to focus on what Farke does rather than what he says, or even just focus on Farke himself if some comfort is needed.

His football is already starting to show and the green shoots of recovery, when it comes to reacquainting these players with their fondness for the football, were there to be seen against Monaco.

After a rocky start in which the Ligue 1 side looked by far the slicker in possession, Leeds actually took over and properly got going. The midfield pairing of new boy Ampadu and young lad Archie Gray helped pull the strings with the former playing dangerous long balls over the top and the latter dropping into the right-back area to pick up possession and then link up with Luis Sinisterra.

Herein lies the greatest source of comfort for Leeds fans in need of some. Farke-ball is good to watch and there are players in the squad who look quite suited to it. Ampadu was composed and steely. Gray, with his quick feet, forward thinking and penchant for one-twos, found real joy in the first half. Sinisterra threatened. Crysencio Summerville showed glimpses of his dribbling ability. Georginio Rutter was trying things, some of which were good. When you take your eye off transfer window possibilities, both good and bad, and just look at what currently exists within the squad there is definite promise. The makings of something.

Some of the quick, flowing football resulted in good chances and situations that, if applied to Championship opposition, would yield opportunities. It was at the end of those moments that what the squad currently lacks showed itself. They still need a number nine, one who guarantees 20 or more goals. Summerville or Joe Gelhardt provided flashes in the number 10 role but a needle-threading magic man in the Emi Buendia or Pablo Hernandez mould could make the difference between a good Championship side and a Championship-winning side.

There's the left-back situation too, one exacerbated by Wober's potential pending departure.

Leo Hjelde did well in the position, where he could slot in as a capable understudy to a first-choice full-back, and in the second half he was replaced by a right-back, in Sam Byram. The ex-Norwich man's appearance was a rather large hint that Leeds are doing a little more than just letting him get fit. They're plainly eyeing him up. A fit Byram would be an undoubted boost to a second tier squad, he just wouldn't dispel the notion that this club is allergic to signing actual left-backs. Not converted wingers, not sideways shuffled centre-backs, not right-backs, but out and out, dyed in the wool left-backs.

By the time Byram was in the game Leeds were a goal down, Willy Gnonto conceding a penalty that Wissam Ben Yedder converted. It was a bit difficult after that, a raft of subs struggling to find the same rhythm that the first-half team generated. Kevin Volland headed a deep, curling cross beyond Illan Meslier for 2-0 and that was largely that, only a late, missed Patrick Bamford chance threatening to alter the scoreline.

A second proper friendly now under their belt, Leeds have taken another step towards a season that was already rushing in their direction. They have also taken some steps in the direction Farke wants, growing more used to a formation and style of play that is proven to work in the Championship.

The overall picture remains a confused one, with so many moving parts yet to settle. It feels increasingly like Leeds have a little too much to do and too little time in which to do it. But Farke himself is reason enough to believe that when the Championship party is in full swing, Leeds will be there. They just might be fashionably late.