Leeds United manager Daniel Farke on the impressive Championship reaction of Illan Meslier — not once, but twice — Yorkshire Post 15/2/25
By Leon Wobschall
FORM is temporary, class is permanent.
A couple of high-profile gaffes from Leeds United keeper
Illan Meslier may have assumed notoriety this season, most notably against
Yorkshire rivals Hull City and Monday night opponents Sunderland, but shrewd
footballing observers including Daniel Farke are minded to focus on something
else.
Namely, the Frenchman’s overall consistency.
Meslier has kept 20 clean sheets in 32 Championship matches.
In the Golden Gloves stakes, only Burnley rival James Trafford has a better
record. Meslier shared the award with 18 last term.
His response to a tough afternoon at Hull on January 4 has
been strong. He has not conceded a league goal in six matches since - just as
his form was pretty exemplary after his horror moment to allow Alan Browne to
level at the death in a 2-2 draw on Wearside on October 4.
In his next 15 league games, Meslier registered nine
shut-outs, with Farke full of praise for not just his aptitude, but mindset.
The Leeds chief said: "Illan is a pretty self-critical
young man and also has high standards and is not happy when there is a game
like that (at Sunderland).
"It was similar at Hull when he was not at his best.
"The only answer is after perhaps a bit of a shaky
period is to work even harder on the training pitch and that is what he did,
especially in the recent weeks.
"I see him each and every day as being pretty focused,
concentrated and settled. This is also what you have to do when you play in a
side who dominate many games because quite often, he has had to be there with
the first save after 60 minutes or whatever.
"Compliments to his good work. He played a major part
in having so many clean sheets so far this season, it is pretty impressive.
"He got labelled as the best goalkeeper last season in
being named in the team of the season. We expected him to deliver these saves
and consistency and performances like in the last weeks and months. We want him
to keep going and if you want to be successful in this league, you need a top
number one goalkeeper.”
Leeds head into Monday’s game on the back of an imposing
14-match unbeaten league sequence stretching back to November 30, but face
another side who have yet to see their colours lowered at league level this
year in Sunderland, who boast an eight-game run without defeat.
In a four-horse race for the top two, the Wearsiders are the
surprise packages. Farke, for his part, is not surprised.
He commented: “No, because Regis (Le Bris) is a pretty
experienced manager and has proved this in his career. We know about the
potential of Sunderland and I was fully aware before the season started that
they had really good individual players and lots of you and energy and young
talent, but also experienced players in this level who could lead the group.
"They play with enthusiasm and fire and also have
individual signings in the offence who are shining. The young players have
confidence and are developing from week to week.
Farke says that striker Patrick Bamford (hamstring) will not
be involved in the Yorkshire derby against Sheffield United on Monday week
after suffering a slight setback in his return to full team training.