Leeds United Match of the Day reality after Farke's stark words — Graham Smyth's Fulham Verdict — YEP 14/9/25
By Graham Smyth
If Daniel Farke's words are heeded then the Match of the Day
planners will be pencilling Leeds United in for that dreaded last match slot
for the foreseeable.
The game at Fulham was already a familiar sight because in
three of Leeds' four Premier League outings so far they've been solid and
competitive. Up for it. Physically up to it. Defensively sound. Yet offensively
toothless. And according to Farke, keeping things tight and hoping to nick a
goal is just how it's going to be. It's how it's got to be. These are the cards
he has been dealt.
Speaking after a game that would have and probably should
have ended 0-0 had it not been for a freak 94th minute own goal, Farke laid out
the stark reality facing him and Leeds United in the English top flight.
"We have to have this approach for the whole season, we
need to be rock solid at the back," he said. "No criticism of my
attacking players. As a newly promoted side this is exactly how we have to
approach the game. Of course we're lacking a bit. We have to make sure we're
rock solid, have many clean sheets and to score here and there in order to win
or draw a game. I would have preferred to have a few more but this is our
squad, we have to approach games exactly like we did today."
When the transfer window shut it was obvious that Leeds'
biggest problem was going to be the scoring of goals. After four games there is
already a body of evidence to back up the concerns and suspicions. One goal,
scored from the penalty spot, is all they have to show for themselves from
their final third endeavours. There was an element of misfortune at Craven
Cottage, where Sean Longstaff hit the crossbar. It hit the very top of the
crossbar though. And by hit, what we really mean was clipped ever so slightly.
But that situation was one of a number that at the very least held promise
without delivering joy.
Leeds' first spell of possession saw them keep the ball
moving and ultimately ended with them going backwards. Fulham's first sustained
spell on the ball saw Leeds come under pressure and drop closer and closer to
their own box. Yet for all the hosts' superior territory and sharper passing,
they conceded the first chance. Anton Stach's header invited Noah Okafor to
counter and he won a corner. Fulham defended the delivery, Brenden Aaronson
hooked the ball back in and Dominic Calvert-Lewin headed straight at Bernd
Leno. He could have done better with the direction on the header, even if power
was difficult to generate.
As the half developed Fulham found Leeds impossible to break
down. Karl Darlow was largely untroubled as Ethan Ampadu marshalled the
midfield and the back four coped admirably with Fulham's considerable threats.
Aaronson, selected precisely for his ability to run and defend, helped Jayden
Bogle lock down the right hand side. On the left Gabriel Gudmundsson and Okafor
represented a bit more adventure.
Reaching the break goalless, Leeds could take real heart
from how comfortably they had matched the hosts. It was a confident start to
the second half too and they might even have taken the lead early on. Clever
interplay unlocked a pocket of space for Stach to cross and Aaronson prodded
goalwards only to be denied by Leno.
It seemed to open up momentarily for Okafor thanks to
Calvert-Lewin's dummy and when his first shot was blocked he tried again from
his backside, sending the ball wide. Bogle strode forward and tried his luck
from range without really making Leno work.
And then Fulham began to take over. They might not have cut
Leeds open but they did start to build momentum and spent more and more time in
the final third. Darlow had to be at his absolute best to claw away Harry
Wilson's free-kick. The substitutions said it all about how difficult it would
be for Leeds to see out the draw. For the hosts on came Emile Smith-Rowe, Adama
Traore and £34.6m winger Kevin. Farke brought on Lukas Nmecha, Jack Harrison
and Daniel James. Premier League quality versus Premier League question marks.
As Kevin embodied the very difference-making ability that
Leeds sought and failed to acquire in the transfer window, the tide turned
fully in the home side's favour. His skill, movement, speed and crosses had the
Leeds right flank creaking. When he played a one-two and cut inside his curling
effort looked a goal all the way until Darlow's fingertips intervened. The
keeper's next touch was to pick the ball out of the net. A disputed throw-in
decision went the way of Fulham, they won a corner and the ball in caught
Gudmundsson by surprise. His body shape left him unable to direct his header
anywhere but his own goal. When your luck is out, it's really out.
This is the point to labour on because even midtable sides
in the Premier League can bring on wingers who could be considered unaffordable
for Leeds. Because they did not get the set-piece taking magic man they so
badly needed, they're relying on a combination of defensive steel, hard work,
near-total efficiency from the chances they do make and a bit of luck. Because
they did not take their chances, because they could not score a goal they were
always at risk of having all their good defensive work undone by a moment of
Fulham quality. Or by rank bad luck. That it was such a freak goal was no
consolation for Farke or his team.
You could perhaps quibble over the side he picked. Not so
much the back four because no matter how good you think Jaka Bijol is going to
be, Pascal Struijk barely put a foot wrong. Not the midfield either because
Ampadu, Stach and the excellent Longstaff are exactly who you want making life
horrible in the middle for away games. Calvert-Lewin and Okafor were signed to
be starters so should probably be doing just that. That leaves Aaronson. Farke
lauded the American for his hard work. Willy Gnonto, whose only minutes came
due to the injury James picked up late on, might well have brought more going
forward but in Farke's view a more defensive profile was needed to combat
Fulham's marauding left side. The inescapable realisation is that if Farke had
a right winger who guaranteed elite level creativity then he would play him. He
does not have that player.
