Leeds United ongoing assignment is not a symptom of Daniel Farke failure — Graham Smyth's Verdict — YEP 27/10/24
By Graham Smyth
No promotion bids were harmed in the making of Leeds
United's 0-0 draw at Bristol City.
Sometimes it's fine to just be fine and Leeds were fine at
Ashton Gate. Not great, not at their best by any stretch, but fine.
Possessional dominance? Check. Defensive solidity? Check. Control? Check.
Chance creation? Check. Goals? No. But none at the other end made it seven
clean sheets from 12 Championship outings this season.
Of the eight goals conceded by Daniel Farke's men so far,
three came in that madcap freak of an opening day game. Another was a freak
goal like no other, at Sunderland. There was nothing really to suggest they
would concede at Bristol City and the longer the game wore on, the more certain
it felt that a goal could only come at the right end of the pitch.
That it didn't ever arrive is homework for individuals and
for Farke. Call it an ongoing assignment because this is not the first time
this season or even in Farke's Leeds tenure that the issue of profligacy has
risen its ugly - or in this game clumsy - head. But situations like a winger
racing clean through and failing to reproduce his August finish at
Hillsborough, or the side's best ball striker failing to fully catch a shot
from a distance shorter than the one he scored from at the same ground last season,
are not symptomatic of something festering beneath the surface of Leeds' system
or Farke's management. They were just poor finishes, which even the world's
very best marksmen are guilty of from time to time.
Ultimately, this was a game that Leeds could and should have
won but they did not lose and never looked like they would. On Tuesday a win
was a win. Away from home against a solid side in an early Saturday kick-off, a
draw was a draw. What's more, when you take out two dynamic players who have
been responsible for making Leeds' so dangerous this season, is it not
inevitable that attacking play will suffer just a little?
The suspension of Junior Firpo and Largie Ramazani's ankle
ligament injury handed Farke two enforced changes. He went with experience to
fill one and form to fill the other. At left-back the options were Sam Byram
and Isaac Schmidt - a proven quantity and a relative unknown. Farke's initial
comments about Schmidt painted the 24-year-old as more of a project player.
Young, interesting, perhaps not quite there yet. So Byram got the nod.
But for the wing vacancy, Farke's two options each seemed to
have a compelling case to start. Manor Solomon had spent less time on the
sideline than Daniel James when both were recently injured. Solomon had gone
straight into the line-up after signing from Spurs on loan, because Farke rates
his quality so highly. When the manager almost needed a winger early on against
Sheffield United, he got Solomon ready. When he did need a winger early on
against Watford, he used Solomon. James, though, came off the bench in that
game later on and outshone his fellow wide man. He made himself a factor. So
he, on form, got the nod at Bristol.
In a game that set itself up to be so physical, a player
like James who never pulls out of a challenge and relishes 50:50 skirmishes,
looked more and more the right choice as things progressed. The same could be
said for Byram too because his defensive and battling qualities are
unquestioned. We cannot yet say that of Schmidt at this level.
It was a difficult opening, full of little battles and big
challenges. Leeds did not find it easy to build up attacks and Bristol did a
good job of shadowing Ao Tanaka to stop him from running things from deep. On
the other side of the ball Brenden Aaronson did his best to nip in and win it
back and that let to the first chance. The entire sequence was a portent of
what was to come from Leeds. Promise, football that was almost good and scruffy
finishing. Willy Gnonto's overhit pass was collected by James, his cross was
headed up into the air and Joe Rothwell set himself for a volley and then sent
it well wide.
Bristol were undoubtedly the happier side initially but Luke
McNally's off-target acrobatic effort was about the height of it, before Leeds
began to problem solve and Tanaka began to get on the ball to give Leeds
control, if nothing else.
From control came a spell of moments, but no goals. James
raced away on a counter but his legs moved a bit too quickly for his brain.
There was a handball shout in the area. Gnonto delivered a giant peach to James
to play him in on goal only for Max O'Leary to make a superb stop. The stopper
palmed Gnonto's curling effort wide then gathered in Joe Rodon's header. Jayden
Bogle headed into the side netting.
The second half was more of the same. Bogle found James with
a beauty of a through ball, the winger's cut back found Gnonto in the area and
he beat the keeper but not Zak Vyner in the goalmouth. That chance was arguably
Leeds' best all game but there was time to waste one or two more. Some neat
one-touch build-up led to an Aaronson shot that whistled the wrong side of the
post. Byram headed over. So did Mateo Joseph, on for the ineffective Joel
Piroe.
What might stand out from this report is the absolute
absence of action at the other end where, not for the first time, Illan Meslier
was largely a bystander. And if that is the case, Leeds will almost always be
fine. If that is the case in games to come, then James, Gnonto and Joseph will
find the net instead of the keeper or the stand behind the goal and Leeds will
win.