Leeds United are climbing the Championship table, but they must now find consistency in their results. It’s fair to say that Leeds United has turned a corner in recent weeks. After a difficult few months, Whites fans have entitled to be optimistic, and as Daniel Farke’s team finds their stride, optimism is beginning to flow freely through Elland Road for the first time since the days of Marcelo Bielsa.
It’s fair to say that Leeds United has turned a corner in recent weeks. After a tumultuous few months, Whites fans are justifiably beginning to cheer, and as Daniel Farke’s side finds its stride, optimism is beginning to grow.
to flow freely through Elland Road for the first time since Marcelo Bielsa’s days. You won’t find many Leeds fans lamenting the end of summer right now, but it’s fair to say the month of August was as taxing off the field as it was on it. Leeds fought hard to retain their team intact, so transfer rumors dominated the agenda in West Yorkshire.
With some players refusing to play and others already on their way out, Farke failed to select a complete bench on two occasions in the Championship, creating an ominous picture of a club engulfed in uncertainty. The results didn’t arrive, with the loss to Birmingham City being a disappointment.
distinct low point of the campaign so far. Few will spend much time looking back at the draws against Cardiff City and West Bromwich Albion or, indeed, Leeds’ short and not particularly sweet Carabao Cup campaign, as a depleted Whites squad coughed and spluttered into life. To his credit, though, Farke was always confident that things would start to turn around once the club had made the necessary additions and he wasn’t wrong. In the month that has passed since the closure of the transfer window, Leeds have scored six goals without reply and picked up eight points to climb into the Championship’s top six. Millwall and Watford have been dispatched in ruthless and clinical fashion, while they had to display spirit in the face of adversity to dig out a 0-0 draw with 10-men at Hull City.
It could be said that the difficulties of August, and the criticism that came with it, has created something of a siege mentality within the gates of Thorp Arch and perhaps it has to some extent. But, it’s obvious that this new look Leeds squad is settling in with Farke’s message hitting home in every training ground session and nothing quite proved that like Saturday’s dominant showing against Watford.
Leeds cruised to victory in the end, making one of the Championship’s more expensively assembled outfits look hopelessly out of their depth. Contrast that performance with those over the first two or three weeks of the campaign and the strides forward Leeds have made in such a small amount of time look plentiful.
The Whites were hardly troubled at the back as they claimed their fourth straight clean sheet, while their piercing attack play was a joy to behold at times, slicing Watford open at will, particularly in the second half. The improvement in individuals is clear, too, with the turnaround in Georginio Rutter being perhaps the perfect symbol for what Farke has achieved at Elland Road. Illan Meslier, as well, who is already looks like he has fully recovered from his loss of form and confidence at the back end of the season, while Pascal Struijk looks like a new man.
What’s frightening is that Saturday’s performance wasn’t perfect, far from it, suggesting Leeds have plenty more to give and probably the most important thing they need to build on right now is consistency. Despite the progress they’ve made and the promising position (6th) they find themselves sitting in at present, the Whites still haven’t strung two results together.
Their three league wins have all been followed by frustrating draws, and that’s a trend they’ll be desperate to buck this weekend as they travel to face a Southampton side who have lost their last four fixtures in the second tier. Consistency seems to be the only difference between Leeds and the runaway leaders in the Championship right now.
Leicester City and Ipswich Town have both won seven of their opening eight league games to collect 21 points, eight more than Leeds’ total of 13, while Preston North End have won six and drawn two to amass 20 points. There’s already a five-point gap between third place Preston and fourth place Hull City and at present the top three are showing no signs of slowing.
That gulf is the difference between the strongest sides this season so far and the rest and Leeds, despite their six-game unbeaten run and dominant showings in those tied contests, are still amongst the latter at present, even if they are the only team to take points off the Tractor Boys. It’s a long season and every side will have hiccups along the way, but Leicester and Ipswich are the pacesetters, they’re the pinnacle that Leeds are chasing at present and they know that consistency in results is the first step towards that.
They have the opportunity to demonstrate the first serious evidence of it this weekend at St Mary’s Stadium, before facing QPR at Elland Road in midweek and Bristol City a few days later. The upcoming week and a half presents an opportunity to express dominance, highlight their challenger status, and maybe close the gap between themselves and the automatic promotion slots.
Predicting what will happen in the coming weeks and months is difficult, but one thing is certain: Farke is on to something at Leeds United.
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