Growing Leeds United change narrative quickly shot down after Daniel Farke springs surprises – YEP 9/10/23

Just as quickly as a Leeds United 'changing of the guard' narrative sprang up on Saturday, Daniel Farke shot it down.

By Graham Smyth

The German's team sheet for Leeds' Elland Road meeting with Bristol City, a game they won 2-1, sparked a number of talking points. The first was the right-back position and who would play there and even when the team warmed up out on the pitch there were no clues. Farke's centre-back pairing warmed up together as per usual but there was no obvious gathering of a back four and so everyone, Bristol City included, had to wait until seconds before kick-off to discover it was actually 17-year-old Archie Gray filling in at right-back.

Robins assistant manager Curtis Fleming said: "We weren't sure, even when the team came in we thought Ampadu would maybe play right-back. We thought he was a bit more experienced, but Gray did."

The second feature of Farke's team that merited discussion was the absence of both Liam Cooper and Luke Ayling. This was a first for Farke, who had included one or both in every starting XI since the Championship campaign began in August. There had been a growing feeling that if Cooper was not involved for whatever reason then Ayling would almost certainly be, in order to take the captain's armband and give the necessary leadership.

But on Saturday it was Pascal Struijk wearing the armband and playing in the spot where Cooper has featured so often in his 270 appearances for the Whites, and of course Gray was in Ayling's spot.

Gray will predominantly play in the middle of the park this season but Struijk's return to form after a difficult 2022/23 and the potential held by Tottenham Hotspur loanee Djed Spence have given rise to a belief that times are changing at Elland Road. There are those who believe, more specifically, that time is moving on from the so-called old guard, the players upon whom the last promotion bid was built. They took Saturday's line-up as evidence that time has perhaps even moved on now.

Farke is not of that opinion. More than once this season he has highlighted the importance of every player and how a five-minute cameo from the bench can be just as vital as an 85-minute contribution. He brought both Cooper and Ayling into the side late on to see things out with the game finely poised and the home side's lead as slender as can be. Ayling was a second right-back, playing ahead of Gray. Cooper was a defensive midfielder.

And after the victory on Saturday, when asked to define Struijk's leadership capabilities, the manager felt the need to talk more about the leaders who started the day on the bench.

"Yes, today [Pascal] had the armband, but our club captain is definitely Liam Cooper," said Farke.

"It's always good to have him because he's a leader together with Luke Ayling, both with experience leading the group. I'm pretty grateful that they were also there today as leaders with the group because we had an average age in the starting line-up, I don't know exactly how young it was, but must be one of the youngest in the last decades here for Leeds in a league game.

"We need this leadership and for that Liam and Luke are really, really crucial and although they perhaps both would have preferred to play each and every second, they were outstanding in the dressing room and I can just praise their characters and their behaviour and how much they are there for this group. This is crucial."

Within that response and others that Farke has issued this season about Ayling's age, there have been nods towards the fact that the squad's principal leaders will at times hold down a different role to the one to which they are accustomed. That does not mean, however, that they won't play or that Leeds United is moving on without them.

Having made his point about the squad's elder statesmen, Farke remembered to address Struijk's wearing of the armband and his ability as the leader. The 24-year-old has been around for a while now. He's seen some things. The horror of Cardiff City on his home debut. The joy of a win over Barnsley that all-but sealed promotion. The insanity of a win over Manchester City, away, with just 10 men. The rise and fall of the Marcelo Bielsa era. The subsequent managerial madness. A relegation. An ownership change.

Were he not a man of such few words - Struijk never told the dressing room he was an expectant father because no one asked - he could tell you some stories. Though his introversion has made him a surprise candidate for admittedly rare captaincy duties under Jesse Marsch and now Farke, the latter sees leadership increasingly in the Dutchman's future.

"When they're not in the starting line-up, of course, and someone has to wear the captain’s armband, it's also not that Pascal won this in the lottery," said Farke.

"He's also done a lot for this group. He’s important for our group and I think he's on the way to grow more and more into this leader role and play a more significant part I think from year to year, that he will add to his CV. We need also young players to grow into this role in addition to Liam, to Luke and Stuart Dallas, it is quite important for us."

The Championship season is a long one, it takes a squad to come out with your stated aim and the more leaders Farke can count upon the better. This is perhaps not yet the changing of the guard but at long last its evolution.