‘Play or Farke Off’: Leeds close ranks and fight back - The Athletic 19/8/23
By Phil Hay
A formal transfer request was written on Willy Gnonto’s
behalf yesterday, in time for it to drop in Leeds United’s lap before their
game with West Bromwich Albion, but elsewhere someone had devoted more time to
writing a message to him and certain others.
‘Play or Farke Off’ the banner said, positioned halfway up
Elland Road’s East Stand, and if you wanted a stadium where people were sick of
people taking liberties with their club, Elland Road last night was it. It goes
this way from time to time, to the point where gripes with errors of Leeds’ own
making give way to a willingness to fight anyone who wants it. Gnonto bore the
brunt of what came from the barricades but the build-up of bitterness is far
bigger than him.
Word, clearly, had got around about Gnonto’s camp playing
the latest card in his battle to exit Leeds stage left and sometimes, enough is
enough. It was in that spirit that Leeds prised a 1-1 draw out of West Brom’s
visit, very much a picture of their limitations but the better side and the
embodiment of a crowd who were not prepared to leave with nothing. The morning
comes and retrospection starts again. Farke promised to reflect on Gnonto’s
untimely email when it did. But for one evening, close ranks and fight back.
Don’t trust to luck because there is very little of that in
the air. West Brom’s goal came off the hand of Brandon Thomas-Asante,
admittedly through a chance brought on by Leeds letting a limp corner bounce
through their box. No penalty materialised when Cedric Kipre stuck a leg in on
Joe Gelhardt inside Albion’s box, the sort you’ve seen given. But at 1-0 down,
a deep cross from James invited a banging equaliser from Luke Ayling, and
whoever else might be phoning it in, there were some left in Farke’s squad with
the inclination to bite down and make the best of it.
It does not seem like much to ask, professional footballers
showing up to play football, but part of Farke’s job to this point has been to
work out who is actually with him. News of a transfer request from Gnonto broke
an hour before kick-off and roughly six hours after news of Tyler Adams getting
his move to Bournemouth, both developments summing up a period in which Leeds
have been tailor-made for real-time updates. Whatever happens, their only way
out of the cycle in the immediate term is for the transfer window to close so
that, for better or worse, freedom of movement in and out of Elland Road is
suspended for a while.
The club hoped that the expiry of relegation release clauses
earlier this week would bring about a little more of that clarity but instead,
the restless fidgeting of distracted players goes on in the background and the
foreground. There has been talk of a redemption arc for Gnonto, of Farke and
the club bringing him round and back into the fold, but him doubling down on a
verbal refusal to travel to Birmingham City last weekend is dousing embers of
understanding. Leeds are replying consistently with the message that he won’t be
sold, doubling down with the same refusing-to-blink energy. But there is no-one
at Elland Road who would not prefer to be using that energy differently.
The contradiction of Leeds’ predicament is that they
desperately need this window to close, to stop the draining swirl of half of
their dressing room shaping to leave. They also desperately need the window to
stay open, to give them new players, a shot in the arm and a fighting chance of
stoking their season into life. Farke has shades of the Bielsas about him in
that he does not seem inclined to beg anyone to stick around. If you’re going,
or thinking of going, then get out of my dressing room and train over there, at
different times to the rest of us. Not for nothing does he look like he could
bench-press a tree trunk.
Farke as Leeds manager can hardly be judged until the club
have their house in order but it bodes well to a point that his side,
half-cocked, have been in games like last night’s. They are playing within
limits because there is no avoiding those limits but it was hard not to watch
them have the better of 90 minutes against West Brom and ask what would happen
if United, rather than waging war with five outfield substitutes, actually put
a credible unit together. Albion, in Carlos Corberan mode, made religious
attempts to play out from the back but were either not very good at it or too
hurried by Leeds’ press. A reply to Albion’s scruffy opener had been coming
before Ayling leapt with perfect timing to stick away Dan James’ hanging cross
with 18 minutes left.
A winner would have been nice and not at all undeserved but
in itself it was not the solution to what Leeds really need to do. Ayling cut
to the chase on Sky Sports afterwards, crossing his fingers for incomings soon.
“I can’t wait for the transfer window to close so that we know what we’ve got,”
he said, and he is not alone there. In truth, this is the time to say it like
it is. And while peak Ayling is gone and the start of the season has asked
questions of his form, his reaction to his equaliser was that of a man who
wanted to be here. There is, in the end, something to be said for that.
