A good balance, with Sean McGurk - Square Ball 4/10/23

LITTLE MAN - LITTLE MAN

Written by: Rob Conlon

Sean McGurk had already scored two penalties for Leeds’ Under-21s this season, fizzing both powerfully to the right of the ‘keeper and into the inside netting to give United a 2-1 win over Stoke last month. McGurk had scored twice since, so when Leeds were awarded a penalty while 2-0 down at Wolves on Monday night, it was obvious who was going to take it.

LUTV commentator Tom Hill reminded the audience of McGurk’s penalty record as he made his run up. “He hasn’t done too badly,” Hill said, just as McGurk once again put his laces through the ball, this time shooting to the ‘keeper’s left — and wide of the post. “And this time he gets it wrong.” The ball was hit so sweetly it just kept going, until it was eventually stopped by a thud against the wall at the back of the stand. Bugger.

It was unfair on McGurk, who has been one of the U21s’ best players so far this season. He’s carried his swagger from last season’s successful (and ultimately meaningless) play-off promotion into the current campaign, scoring five times. “I think it’s a big year [for him] because he’s a little bit older,” Skubes recently told the Leeds View podcast, slipping into #AccidentalHecky:

“He started the season probably the best I’ve seen him, with and without the ball. You know, one of Sean’s challenges is he has to compete without the ball as well. But I think in the second half against Reading, he was probably the best player I’ve seen without the ball or his best version of himself we talk about that we’ve seen. But he’s definitely a talent with the ball. There’s no doubt about that. But his all-round game needs to keep growing.”

McGurk will be well aware this is a big season for him. The teenager who joined Leeds from Wigan is in danger of becoming the old man of the U21s. He’s already playing in his third iteration of the side, starting with Mark Jackson’s class of Charlie Cresswell, Sam Greenwood, and Joffy Gelhardt, before Championship loan interest in the summer of 2022 failed to materialise and he stuck with Skubes and the gang of Archie Gray, Mateo Joseph, and Sonny Perkins.

The contrasting fortunes of his former peers provide a warning about how important it is to get his next decision right. While Archie is destined for the Ballon d’Or, Jack Jenkins has joined non-league Scunthorpe and Stuart McKinstry is about to drop down the leagues in Scotland with Queen’s Park. Both were players Marcelo Bielsa if not admired, then was at least intrigued by, and both disappeared on unproductive loans last season, so perhaps McGurk was lucky he remained with the U21s and didn’t risk drifting out of sight and out of mind.

Daniel Farke isn’t blessed with a natural number 10 among the grown-ups, but McGurk’s cause hasn’t been helped by wearing the number 9 shirt in recent weeks, with Joffy Gelhardt and Mateo Joseph required to warm the first team’s bench. While Farke is trying to fashion a 10 out of two 9s, Skubes has the reverse problem, naming a Little Man—Little Man partnership of McGurk and Lewis Bate against Wolves. Their limitations were exposed by McGurk being blinded by the floodlights and missing a header from a throw-in, and Bate trying to win the subsequent flick on only to head the ball backwards.

Wolves went into the game 23rd of 26 teams in the revamped PL2, but were buoyed by the inclusion of five first-team players I’ve never heard of. Whoever they were, they were good, smothering Leeds out of possession and regularly fashioning chances from set-pieces and open play. It took Leeds until midway through the first half to have a spell of possession in Wolves’ half. Unfortunately once the hosts got the ball back, they countered, and punished a loose touch from Charlie Crew in his own penalty area to score the opener they should have already had. By half-time, it was 2-0, Leeds caught out by a cross to the back post after a set-piece had been initially cleared, with a defender remaining down in the box injured and playing the Wolves attackers onside.

At the start of the second half, Bate and Crew suddenly appeared in midfield, delighted to be passing the ball to each other. Wolves continued playing two touch and bullying Leeds at set-pieces until Harry Christy and Diogo Monteiro eventually clattered themselves. But Leeds had more about them, particularly after the introduction of striker Luca Thomas allowed McGurk to play in his more natural position after a big debate by the touchline with Skubes. McGurk immediately started getting on the ball, dragbacking space into existence and keeping things moving. One such moment prompted Charlie Allen to cut in from the right and hit the post, but by that point McGurk had already missed his penalty and it had become blatantly obvious it wasn’t going to be Leeds’ night.

United dropped to 13th in the PL2, having won three and lost three of their opening six fixtures. But as Skubes told the Leeds View, the restructuring of the division means there’s no reason to worry:

“I really like it, probably because we now run more games. I think it’s good for the U21s players to have more games and more exposure to playing more often. More akin, if you like, to a first team schedule. The challenge for the younger players is getting used to going Tuesday, Saturday, Wednesday, Thursday, Saturday, rather than [how it’s like in the] U18s, where they go Saturday, Saturday, Saturday.

“So, you know, learning to live on the road and learning to live with two days of training is part of being a professional player. I really like that. But within it, you’ve got the ability to use different players because, you know, you haven’t essentially got to win the league. You can finish in the top sixteen [and] go into the play-offs, so I think there’s a good balance to it.”

The schedule means Leeds can’t dwell on their defeat, because they’re hosting Luton in the Premier League Cup on Friday, briefly turning their focus away from the quest to finish 16th. Maybe such a holistic environment is the best way to develop young footballers, but as McGurk quickly sulked off down the tunnel at full-time after losing to Wolves, he might have been wondering whether he needs to be aiming a little higher.