Leeds United demolition job cancelled as self-destruct problem kicks in — Graham Smyth's Verdict — YEP 11/8/24

By Graham Smyth

Leeds United may never change from the club that does things their own chaotic and even self-destructive way, as the Championship opener against Portsmouth suggested.

A white van emblazoned with the logo of a Portsmouth demolition and salvage firm cruised along the M1 towards Leeds on Saturday morning. Middle lane, of course. Aiming right for Elland Road. As it transpired, their services were not required because Leeds United took a sledgehammer to themselves and one of the best starts to a game they could ever hope to build. But at least, at the very least, a point was salvaged from what became a wreckage.

This season needs to end in promotion for Leeds. Not because their 49ers Enterprises ownership group have put some deadline on the Premier League mission and their boardroom stay, but because the longer you stay down the harder and harder it becomes to get back up. Profitability and Sustainability is already enough of a problem if Farke's continual reminders of sins of the past and warnings of 'limited resources' are anything to go by, even after such bumper transfer sales. Next summer, without promotion and with parachute payments dwindling away further, the P&S factor would only grow.

Last season could and maybe should have ended in promotion for Leeds, but did not. And their relatively poor start, due in so much part to the contractual mess that Farke walked into, was difficult to ignore in the 2023/24 postmortem. This time, even with the exits of Archie Gray and Crysencio Summerville, could be different because the starting XI is still in better and far more settled shape than it was at this time last year. The bench has genuine options and a bit of experience. The squad still needs more, it's at least three senior players light but there's time yet to add that. Ahead of the opener, with the injury situation being almost non-existent, Leeds looked in pretty good nick.

So after an impressive pre-season and with a newly-promoted Portsmouth providing the opposition for the opening game, expectation levels were high for Saturday's early kick-off. And what followed kick-off, for 10 minutes at least, did nothing to dampen that. If anything, a truly remarkable opening period simply injected the existing hope and excitement with steroids.

Leeds, from the off, were simply too good in possession and too intense. Portsmouth were the rabbit in headlights and the crossbar was their best and only defence as Leeds battered them and the woodwork. The threat came from open play and from set-pieces. Willy Gnonto was first to hit the bar, when teed up by Georginio Rutter. Ethan Ampadu headed Ilia Gruev's corner onto the frame of the goal. Then Gruev lined up a free-kick and struck it almost perfectly, the bar once again coming to Will Norris' rescue.

When Daniel James nipped in ahead of the beleaguered Connor Ogilvie to draw a challenge from behind and win a penalty, one that was converted coolly by Pascal Struijk, it felt not so much like the opening goal but the opening of the floodgates. Mateo Joseph had started brightly up top, Rutter hunted the ball hungrily and looked for space in which to feast, and Leeds were in total control.

Before the game Farke made the point that Leeds had finished last season top of the expected goals [xG] table and he would like similar this season, but with a better conversion rate. At half-time that particular metric told a particular tale of the first half, with Leeds generating 1.86 to Pompey's 0.09. But the thing about xG is that the actual scoreline can make it look really very silly. And at half-time at Elland Road, the score was 2-1 to Portsmouth. Which made everyone and everything look a bit silly.

Pompey boss John Mousinho felt the opening goal actually helped his side to settle. Farke felt his own players maybe underestimated the importance of small details, so easy had they found the first few minutes. Whatever the root cause, it all got a bit messy. Passes suddenly went astray. Rutter wasn't keeping possession. And when Leeds initially thwarted a long ball, they weren't aware in the slightest as Elias Sorensen picked up a position behind and between Rutter and James. Marlon Pack was the only one to see him, cutting the ball back in behind the Leeds line to put him in on goal. Jayden Bogle saw it all too late and was positioned too far from his right-back slot to make a challenge. Illan Meslier allowed the shot to go through him. And somehow in the blink of an eye it was not 4-1 Leeds but 1-1.

They did continue to create but poor decision making ensured parity. Until Joe Rodon conceded a free-kick to Callum Lang and then headed said free-kick directly to Lang, who punished the defender and Leeds with a blistering strike from 22 yards or so. Meslier, this time, had no chance. And Pompey had two goals, from two shots. Only two words could aptly sum up the events of the first half as the hosts trudged off looking a bit pale at the break - Leeds, that.

But, within a minute of the restart all was on its way to being right with the world again. Rutter fed Gnonto on the touchline, he put together a touching tribute to departed pal Summerville by heading for the middle but when he got there instead of curling for the far post he tucked the ball cutely inside the near post and levelled the game.

Leeds were back on top, dominating possession and creating chances to retake the lead. A corner flew right through the six-yard area. Bogle cut back a cross and Joseph expertly dug it out of his feet to create room for a shot that really should have flown into the net and not over the crossbar.

It was one-way traffic, albeit predictably so. Shot, block, corner. Shot, save, corner. So with 20 minutes and no sign of a change in the pattern, Farke turned to his substitutes and made a triple change. It did not immediately yield dividends and, if anything, the rhythm of the game suffered. So he turned then to Patrick Bamford, who might have been the hero with his first touch had a defender not put him under so much pressure as Junior Firpo's cross came in. If a goal was going to come, it was in front of the Kop end that Leeds were attacking because there was just no way the first half was going to repeat itself, was there?

And so to Portsmouth's stoppage time penalty, conceded clumsily and unnecessarily by Bogle, and stroked calmly past Meslier by Lang. Completely out of the blue, completely against the run of play. Completely Leeds.

But in the 95th minute, up stepped Brenden Aaronson to start repaying his debt to the fans and the club by taking Joel Piroe's incisive pass, creating room sufficient for a shot and pushing it just past the grasp of Norris to make it 3-3 and at least rescue a point. From zero to hero. The celebrations, though, were curtailed because Leeds believed they could win this one and force one more chance before Oliver Langford blew for time. Aaronson, in retrospect, might wish that the whistle had gone to the referee's lips after the equaliser, because when Bogle nicked the ball and played the American clean through he had the victory on his right boot. He drew it back, slammed it forward and sent the ball just wide of the left-hand post. From zero to hero to zero. The whistle went, the game was drawn. Not lost, but not won either, so disappointment had to be the prevailing emotion because whether it's the first game or the last, a home outing against a newly-promoted side has to be won if you want to call yourself a title contender.

Leeds can perhaps take comfort in the knowledge that their problems were largely self made and can therefore hypothetically be avoided in future. Poor individual defensive behaviour Farke called it, rather than weak tactical defensive behaviour. But foundations of promotion charges are not built on conceding three goals at home and missing golden chances. Not if you want to demolish a league like the Championship.