Leeds United really needed to win yesterday. A draw is not disastrous, especially against a team pushing for Europe, but three points for those pushing for safety at this stage of the season is vital.
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Last night was a chance to heap pressure on relegation rivals and to send a message with a hearted performance. That was a whimper. It’s not a loss but Leeds are playing a risky game if they are to draw their way to safety.
Leeds will likely need more than 38 points to stay up, and Daniel Farke believes they still have it within them to go over that line. Maybe they do, but they did not show it last night. This international break comes at a good time to reset with Leeds in a slump.
Their last Premier League win came on February 6 and their last goal a month ago. The last open goal they scored was in the 2-2 draw at Chelsea on February 10, via Noah Okafor. He has been out with a month-long hamstring injury and returned in the time since.
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Farke says he is “not alarmed” by the lack of goals but many supporters are. This two-week break is a chance for him to work out what he can tweak ahead of the FA Cup quarter-final and Premier League run-in.
The need to adapt after going goalless again
Ahead of last night, Leeds had gone three games without scoring and therefore were at risk of going throughout March having failed to hit the net in the Premier League. This was the case at kick-off, half-time and full-time – yet little creative ambition was shown at any stage.
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It is true that Brentford set up a back five for the first time since December, perhaps a sign of respect, but there is an issue at hand after a fourth goalless league game in a row for Leeds: Teams are finding a solution for their own solution that was first found back against Manchester City in November.
Leeds adapted and morphed but now must do so again. Once is not enough. Yes, they might not have the individual quality – as Farke often says – but these individuals need to take more onus, responsibility and far more risk.
Leeds’ xG has declined over the past four games, but Saturday was a recent low – 0.55, their worst since the January defeat to Arsenal. And suddenly the final home games don’t look to have had as foregone a conclusion as they once did.
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Has the Premier League become boring?
This is a wider point, not just on Leeds. Only 18 months ago, there were complaints about playing out from the back and being too tippy-tappy – so much so that one former Leeds manager named his podcast on it, Sam Allardyce’s ‘no-tippy-tappy’’ show.
Yet now, it has swung the other way. The Premier League game now revolves around set-pieces and dead-ball situations. It is breaking up the game and making it a dire spectacle to watch at times.
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Both in the Brentford draw and the Crystal Palace trip, both teams sized up launching one into the box whenever they could with no thought for another avenue, as did Leeds. A team might win the first ball but hardly then the second and this just creates a numbing see-saw contest.
This might only be a trend, as in all eras of Premier League football. The sooner this one is over, the better.
Touching tributes
It’s right to reserve one of these talking points for when the annual home tributes are paid ahead the anniversary of the passing of Christopher Loftus and Kevin Speight. It’s been 26 years now and Leeds have kept their memories as alive as ever since that dreadful day.
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Ahead of the game, chairman Paraag Marathe and managing director Robbie Evans laid wreaths beneath the commemoration plaque outside of the East Stand. And just before kick-off Ethan Ampadu and Brentford captain Nathan Collins did the same by the dugouts, with a minute’s applause following.
Fans also took to their feet again on the 26th minute, with backs turned to the pitch in defiance over the lack of justice over the murders. Leeds will always make sure the pair are never forgotten.
Chris and Kev would have certainly been among those who gave Mick Jones a rapturous reception as he received his Leeds United lifetime award on the Elland Road pitch at half time.
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The Whites legend was also bestowed a club-first heritage cap, an initiative started by the Marching On Forever group, made up of former Leeds players, to recognise those who have played a significant role in the club’s history.
The tributes throughout the evening were heartfelt, stirring and the best of Leeds United FC.