Graham Smyth's Verdict – Leeds United’s Daniel Farke only in danger of falling victim to two things — YEP 17/12/23
If Leeds United manager Daniel Farke is in danger of falling victim to anything it is his own success and the fact that this season really is like no other.
By Graham Smyth
So much has happened since the German arrived at Elland
Road, so much in the way of player turnover and transfer drama, that it is easy
to forget he has been in post for just under six months. And because, as he
joked this week, it has felt more like six years, it is easy to forget just how
much he had to wade through in order to get a team together, gelled and
cohesive enough to be more than competitive in the Championship. And because he
did so, in pretty quick fashion after the turbulence he himself predicted, it
is easy to forget that things could have gone quite differently. Even at the
end of a poor week, Leeds sit third and have just two points fewer than last
season's runaway champions Burnley did at this stage. There was no guarantee,
when players were leaving left, right and centre and a new team was being put
together even as the transfer deadline came around, that this would be the
case.
So because he has taken Leeds to 42 points without making
much of a fuss or a noise, because he has done it twice before with Norwich
City, weeks like this, with its loss and a 1-1 draw with Coventry City that
should have been won, feel out of place. They feel unacceptable, somehow. Leeds
were seven unbeaten before Tuesday night's defeat at Sunderland, they had won
seven on the spin at home, so any drop off in form was always going to
disappoint but there is a real frustration at play around the club this weekend.
However what is more likely to be driving that, than unmet
expectation, is what is going on above Leeds in the table. In any other season
there wouldn't be much of anything to look at above them, because they would be
there or thereabouts at the top. This isn't any other season, though. Herein
lies what Farke must contend with, because whenever Leeds fall down it is
viewed in the context of what Leicester City and Ipswich Town are doing. In
midweek Leeds lost and Ipswich, then Leicester, both won. The gap grew. So too
did the ever-present and understandable fear of the play-offs that lives and
abides in Leeds fans.
On Saturday, Ipswich did not win, they were held by Norwich
City and opportunity opened its arms to beckon Leeds towards it. Until, of
course, they failed to win as well, letting the Tractor Boys off the hook and
inviting The Foxes to run even further into the distance. For a while now it
has felt like Leeds need to be damn near perfect and hope that the top two will
slip up in a significant way, so when Ipswich didn't win their derby game,
Farke's men had to beat Coventry City at Elland Road. Alas, Leeds’ own
imperfections stopped that from happening and left an entire stadium in a
disappointed fugue.
A first half scarcely worth writing about, given how boring
it was for the most part, still brought chances for Leeds to go ahead. They
dominated possession and managed to do something with it from time to time,
without overly exerting Brad Collins in the Sky Blues' goal. The whereabouts of
Georginio Rutter's shooting boots continues to be a mystery, despite the
excellent positions he gets himself into, and Daniel James went to ground
instead of finishing off his one-v-one situation. Perhaps Farke's words about
the youthful naivety of Crysencio Summerville, who stayed on his feet in a
last-man scenario at Sunderland, were ringing in James' ears, but in any case
there was no penalty, no red card and no goal. Referee Geoff Eltringham had one
of those days, one of those awful days, but the 0-0 half-time scoreline was
down to Leeds, their own inaccuracy and some ponderous moments in build-up.
In the second half they were better, good enough in fact to
take the lead. Players as good as Summerville cannot be contained forever and
he burst onto Rutter's excellent pass to provide another top notch finish and
reinforce the notion that he really is a fantastic footballer. And at 1-0 up,
with the game opening up, a Leeds win by a two or three-goal margin would not
have seemed an outrageous punt.
There were further chances to go further ahead, Rutter again
was wayward and James ran onto a beautiful Ethan Ampadu pass only to square it
to no one, right through the six-yard box. Perhaps, as was Farke's suspicion at
Rotherham, Leeds were once again guilty of enjoying their advantage a little
too much, because it was alarming just how simple Coventry's equaliser was. A
giveaway in midfield led to a breakaway, and though Leeds got numbers back, a
cross from the right allowed Bobby Thomas to get up in between Archie Gray and
Pascal Struijk to nod down into the net.
Then, with Elland Road living and dying on every chance, or
even every phase of possession, Farke went for it with 12 minutes remaining,
throwing on Patrick Bamford and Willy Gnonto. Joe Gelhardt was to follow.
Chances came and went, for Rutter, Joel Piroe, Joe Rodon and, best of all,
James. The Welshman went clean through, again, and this time stayed on his feet
but shot wide from five yards out. The scoreline did not change and nor will
the opinion of those who believe Farke is not getting what he needs from his
attacking substitutes because he's not playing them enough, or those who still
won't have Piroe at 10 and Rutter at 9, or those who see an urgent need for an
attacking midfielder in the squad. You can find someone who will stick their
hand in the air for just about every belief these days, so even with the points
he has amassed so far it's no surprise there's already a spectrum of views on
Leeds United's manager and his management, but facts matter and the fact is
that he is unbeaten at Elland Road. More than half a season remains. Beat
Ipswich Town next weekend and suddenly the frustration dies down again, because
facts are all very well but results are what change hearts and minds in
football. Opportunity is about to beckon once again.