Unfolding outcome of 49ers Enterprises' Leeds United decision is no real surprise — Graham Smyth's Verdict — YEP 14/2/24
Graham Smyth gives his verdict from the Swansea.com Stadium on a night Leeds United squeezed into the automatic promotion places
By Graham Smyth
Leeds United's seven-game winning streak should come as no
surprise because this is Daniel Farke doing what Daniel Farke does
He did it at Norwich City, twice. Lengthy winning runs
underpinned his pair of successful Championship title bids. In 2018/19, as part
of a 14-match unbeaten streak, his Canaries won eight times on the bounce. Two
seasons later they went one better, winning nine in a row as part of a 13-match
unbeaten streak. His ability to get a team clicking and then keep them ticking
is exactly what 49ers Enterprises wanted when they made him their first ever
managerial hire, at the outset of their ownership tenure. And Leeds are now
ticking in a way that should have the rest of the Championship glancing
nervously in their direction
An explosive start at Swansea City on Tuesday night did
untold damage and obliterated any confidence the Swans had taken from their
weekend win over Hull City. The 4-0 win was a sort of mirror image of how
things have gone for Farke since he arrived at Elland Road. He and the club had
to overcome summer turbulence to get to where they wanted to go - a place from
which they could challenge for what they want this season. Farke's steady hand
on the controls was vital as he guided them clear of a contractual mess and a
mass exodus and onto what he routinely now calls 'a good path.
At Swansea, they had to overcome the late loss of a key
player from the starting line-up. Patrick Bamford suffered a last-minute
problem in the warm-up and was replaced by Joel Piroe. But Leeds rose above any
potential dip in performance to thrash their hosts and move into second place
in the Championship table. Before the game Farke told of how he likes it when a
coach's fingerprints can be seen in the way a team plays and on a miserably wet
night in Wales nothing could wash his imprint from this game. It was indelible.
Where Leeds have previously, at least prior to this run, let
teams off the hook for long spells to their own eventual cost, they were
absolutely ruthless at Swansea, giving the manager exactly what he has been
asking for. An eighth-minute opener, from the inevitable right boot of
Crysencio Summerville, was followed by a 10th-minute strike from Joel Piroe.
The first was teed up by the skill and ball retention ability of Georginio
Rutter, whose tidiness on the ball was a hot topic for his manager until such a
time as Farke felt the Frenchman could be trusted in the 10 role. The second
goal was laid on by Willy Gnonto, whose very place in the team owes so much to
Farke's willingness to give second chances
Gnonto could have killed the game inside 20 minutes when put
clean through by Summerville, but spurned the chance. There is always a second
chance, though, when you play for a team with Leeds' attacking prowess. Archie
Gray's excellent work on the right released Gnonto again and this time, with
much more work still to be done, he made no mistake. A jink inside and a
whipped, low finish inside the near post made it 3-0 with 36 played.
Swansea escaped down the tunnel at half-time without further
concessions, yet could still think themselves lucky. Farke had impressed on his
players the need to be almost perfect in their pressing and the pressure they
exerted on a beleaguered home side was almost too much to bear on a number of
occasions. Simply put, the Swans were put to the sword in the first half.
What followed after the break was not quite as good, for a
spell. The rain made the pitch increasingly difficult, Leeds' intensity was not
quite what it had been and Swansea did muster a couple of promising moments,
one of which was hammered over by a well-placed Jamie Paterson.
Any faint hope harboured by the hosts was entirely
extinguished by Gnonto's second, which was counter-attacking perfection.
Summerville sprang free of his marker on the right and played the ball beyond
the last defender, backing Gnonto's pace. Gnonto did the rest, positioning his
body just right and patiently waiting to see the whites of Carl Rushworth's
eyes before drilling home. Daniel James is fit again and that poses a question
of Gnonto and that right wing position, so two goals and an assist was just about
the best possible response.
A turning point?
With that, off came Gnonto and Summerville and on came the
first of Farke's five eventual substitutions. The beauty of winning games as
handsomely as Leeds have won their last couple is that you can share the
minutes and the workload among the squad. The beauty of this Leeds squad, right
now, is that they want more. They went after, but could not quite create, a
fifth goal. Rutter came off and could not quite hide his disappointment, so
Farke stepped in to manage the moment.
Elsewhere, Southampton were losing, at long last. Bristol
City inflicted the Saints' first defeat since September and so Leeds ascended
to second spot, two points clear of Russell Martin's side. The table and how it
is changing is yet to draw anything like excitement from Farke, who pointed out
once more that the time to worry about points and positions is right at the end
of a season. It's difficult not to sense a turning, however. Whether this
Tuesday will be seen as a turning point remains to be seen but with each win
that comes Leeds are turning up the heat on their rivals. Farke has them
cooking.