Leeds United might have ‘dropped’ two points on the opening weekend – but I don’t think it’s a case of making up for lost time or anything like that yet, writes 
New manager Daniel Farke has now had more time to work with the group and he has seen them twice competitively now in Sunday’s 2-2 draw against Cardiff City and also the midweek Carabao Cup win against Shrewsbury Town.
We know fundamentally what Daniel wants to do with the team in the Championship which is to dominate possession of the football and create opportunities. That sounds all very straightforward and that’s what football is – passing the ball and scoring. But Leeds need to make sure that Daniel has got the weapons that he needs at his disposal.
Can he get 20-25 goals out of one of his strikers and if not can they get someone in to do that? Has he got the type of players behind that striker that can provide the ammunition for him? Once again, we’ll see how that pans out.
But as much as we can talk about Leeds and what they are doing you could also talk about a Southampton side that doesn’t have Romeo Lavia and James Ward-Prowse by the end of the transfer window for example. For Southampton that sucks but for everyone else they are rubbing their hands together.
Leeds left it late to bag a point on the opening day of the season but credit has to go to Cardiff for battling on. I thought Leeds did potentially what we’re going to see Leeds do which is dominate possession. But old bad habits are dying hard with regards to defending and the two goals that Leeds conceded.
It was felt so bluntly and brutally in the Premier League and you’ve got to make the opposition work for their goals. But that hasn’t been the case at all with Leeds consistently over the last six months and probably longer. It’s not been the hardest task to get the ball in the back of the Leeds goal so that’s something t
You obviously have to chuck in what’s happened with Liam Cooper and his injury and I wish him all the best in his recovery, of course. It was a really good header that he scored, fantastic. But I think broadly there is going to have to be a lot of patience at Leeds under Daniel Farke.
hat needs to be addressed.
He didn’t go into Norwich and instantly transform them. He took a bit of time which I think is understandable. Whether he is afforded time by the people that run the football club at Leeds or by the fans we shall see but I’d like to think that from a fan point of view, that would be the case.
If you look at his win percentage in the Championship and if you look at what he can do at this level, it’s something absolutely not to be sniffed at and to be broadly welcomed and supported at Leeds and cherished at the moment. But that has got to turn into decent results on the pitch.
Obviously they have got to address who plays up top. Hopefully strikers getting back fit will help with that and with the way he picks a team going forward. But there were lots of things to like from the first game of the season.Archie Gray certainly did himself justice and he got about the pitch. There is a lot of expectation for such a young player and it was nice to see him do so well.
I was chatting to Devante Cole from Barnsley who started the season with a hat trick and a 7-0 win. It’s always nice to start a season like that but it’s probably unrealistic. A win would have sufficed but Leeds getting that goal late and hearing and feeling the atmosphere showed that life is very much in that stadium and they’re alive and kicking. I thought it was a good sign. It could have been better but it could have been worse without sounding too middle of the road about that.
Today’s hosts Birmingham obviously started the season with a draw as well but you get the feeling that there is possibly a spring in the step around their place. Boss John Eustace has done a tremendous job under very extenuating circumstances last season. Obviously the big name signing there that is nowhere near the pitch is Tom Brady.
Whether that breathes fresh life and fresh impetus and interest in Birmingham I don’t know because it has been tricky shall we say to be a Blues fan for the last decade or so given what’s happened off the pitch and given the travails at times on it. But with Birmingham, these are the types of teams already that Leeds need to be beating if they have got any expectation about automatic promotion.
It seems that a lot of people do have that feeling for Leeds even though there has been a lot of chat about Leicester with the money that they have spent and also Southampton with the players that they have got. Leeds are still very much in that debate and quite rightly so but it’s tougher to turn debate into something tangible.
Joe Rodon has now joined Leeds on a season long loan from Tottenham and he should be a good signing with the pedigree that he has got. He understands what a big club is now obviously having had the move to Tottenham.
It’s a tough place to go and establish yourself at but the fact that he is part of the Wales international squad shows that he’s got a particular type of pedigree. From what I’ve seen and what I’ve heard of him, he is a good player and a good teammate who ticks a lot of boxes.
He’s a good age as well at 25. We’re not talking about anyone remotely knocking on anywhere near the latter stages of their career. The fact that he has joined on loan also reflects the fact that someone from within Tottenham thinks that there is going to be an element of development with Joe working under Farke in the Championship.
Spurs like to play football in a certain way whereby you have to be comfortable on the ball. You have to be that to be in Leeds’ team too.
