Leeds United grubby backdrop fails to hide beautiful Daniel Farke reminder — Graham Smyth's Verdict — YEP 29/4/25
By Graham Smyth
Football is a grubby business but we all owe a debt of
thanks to Daniel Farke and Leeds United for a reminder that it's also a
beautiful game.
Leeds is a club that has struggled to get its timing right
in the past. Ending its 16-year Premier League exile in the middle of a
pandemic so fans couldn't be there to see it was a prime example. Deciding not
to sack Jesse Marsch before a World Cup break and waiting until a transfer
window was closed was another. And had they won at Wembley last season to go up
at the first attempt under Farke then we likely wouldn't have talked about his
position much at all. But even if not achieving promotion until the second time
of asking is enough to warrant a debate on the manager's ability, the timing of
reports casting doubt on his future was crass at best.
The promotion hangover had barely kicked in when the
headline headaches took over. "49ers Enterprises considering a
change." Last Monday Farke's present was glorious - celebrations,
champagne, cake and coffee - but by Wednesday his future was uncertain. It
should never be the case that those who have toiled to achieve something
special, and promotion with 94 points was certainly that, are denied even 48
hours to bask in it before the business of the game sucks the joy out of it
all.
Farke facing job questions
Blame the national media if you like, or come up with your
best theory as to where and why the noise began because it began somewhere and
not simply in the imagination of two separate journalists on rival titles but
someone, maybe all of us should feel a little dirty for the fact that Farke was
facing questions about his job security on Friday and not simply waxing lyrical
about his players, his club and the journey to the Premier League.
On Monday, one week on from the initial promotion
celebrations, Farke should have been allowed to focus on the job at hand
because there is still a league title to be one. He likely paid it no heed - he
was so tuned into the match preparations that he missed the artist impressions
of the proposed redesign of Elland Road - but a fresh report dropped in a third
national newspaper, this one naming potential successors. Whether or not the
call is coming from inside the house, someone is talking and what they're
saying might not yet be definitive but it's strongly suggesting an openness to
change in the Leeds ownership group. Chairman Paraag Marathe could have done
some talking himself on the pitch after the Bristol City game but opted not to.
He could have gone on record to clear all of it up, rubbish the reports or
affirm his backing for Farke. He may well do so soon but he has not done so
yet, which makes it reasonable to arrive at a conclusion that 49ers Enterprises
have not yet made their conclusion on whether or not to stick with their
manager. Only Leeds United could win promotion in such impressive style and run
head first into such a situation.
And yet even with this as a backdrop, Farke, his team and
Elland Road put together a spectacular advert for the beautiful game. They
played like a team wanting another excuse to party, rather than a team
suffering the effects of the previous week's shindig. They played with the
freedom of already having achieved the main goal, but with the hunger to follow
it up with a second. It was one-touch stuff, combination play, slick moves and
relationships built up over a season or longer. It was too much for Bristol
City and they were smothered from start to finish, then picked apart.
No moment better declared the mood of Farke's men than
Brenden Aaronson rouletting his way out of a challenge and into space. A player
who at times has played like he carries the weight of the world on his
shoulders suddenly looked like he wanted to take on the world.
A performance that began with such promise needed a goal to
underpin it and keep it on track, so Ao Tanaka's smart back-post finish from an
invitation of a cross from Manor Solomon was priceless. It came on 21 minutes.
Another could easily have followed almost immediately had Solomon beaten keeper
Max O'Leary having been played clean through by Ilian Gruev. It should have
been 2-0 when Tanaka was found at the back post again by Solomon but headed
wide.
Elland Road atmosphere at its best
With the team at their free-flowing best, Elland Road was
challenged to match the intensity of what it was watching and more than met the
mark. The noise levels were deafening and the tone jubilant. What was going on
out on the pitch simply asked more and more of those in the stands and their
response seemed to inspire even greater attempts to batter the visitors in the
second half.
O'Leary's sublime double save and the post denied Leeds an
early goal after the break but the Robins were in obvious peril. Right-back
Ross McCrorie almost looked relieved to leave the fray having been tortured by
Solomon and each pass in a prolonged spell of possession drew an olé from the
crowd.
Play was concentrated in the Bristol City half but even when
it wasn't Leeds looked dangerous. Ten minutes after the break Joel Piroe looked
up to spot the run of Willy Gnonto and curled a perfect ball round the back of
the defence to play the winger into a one-v-one scenario that did not go to
waste.
The third goal did not arrive until eight minutes from
full-time but it was worth the wait and the prettiest of the bunch. Patrick
Bamford, Solomon, Brenden Aaronson and Junior Firpo were all involved before
the latter's inch-perfect cross was guided into the net by Largie Ramazani. The
game was won at 2-0 in truth but the greed that Farke has instilled in this
team kept them going right to the end and they finished with a bang. Gruev
played the ball over the top, Ramazani stole in behind the defence, cushioned
the ball brilliantly and hammered the exclamation point past O'Leary.
This was no dead rubber. This was a title-chasing side
taking on a play-off hopeful who could yet slip out of the top six, and yet
Bristol City were so well beaten they might as well have stayed on the coach.
Leeds were, as they have been this season, relentless and for that Farke
deserves credit. When the boos were ringing out at Luton he remained convinced
of promotion and his bullish statement to that effect was backed up by Leeds'
best run of results all season. They have now won five on the spin to sit one
win from the 100-point mark. The German likes to use the phrase 'like a flag in
the wind' as a metaphor for an attitude that has pervaded football but he has
stuck to his guns all season long, often in the face of external doubt, and the
rewards for Leeds United are now obvious.
49ers Enterprises decision time
The celebrations that followed the final whistle were
raucous but what preceded them was a complete assault on the senses. It was Leeds United Football Club at its very
best on and off the pitch. It showed the Premier League what could be in store
and what 49ers Enterprises could have if they get their decisions right this
summer, as they did two summers ago when they appointed Farke and as they did
last summer when they signed Jayden Bogle, Tanaka, Solomon and Rothwell. The
first is to decide if they are wavering when it comes to the manager they
appointed to get them out of the Championship, the manager who has now achieved
that goal, the manager they said did not get a fair crack at the top flight at
his previous club. There are arguments to be made and found for any
eventuality, not least when you look at how unfriendly the Premier League
welcoming committee has become in the last few years and how short the top
flight stays of newly promoted teams have been. In the meantime, while all of
that is discussed and debated, Farke will continue to do the job that right now
remains his and try to add a league title to the promotion for which he is owed
so much credit.