We stand four points ahead of fellow promoted club and next opponents Burnley who occupy the first place below the relegation dotted line. Early indications are that this season there will not be a relegation clean sweep of all three promoted clubs as has happened in the previous two seasons.
On the positive side, we have shown ourselves to be competitive in the Premier League apart from the 5-0 drubbing we received from Arsenal at the Emirates in our second run out which largely accounts for our negative goal difference. As no Leeds fan expected anything from that fixture, it is not something that caused us too much distress, losing to the likely (IHMO) and long overdue eventual Champions. More disappointing was the forfeiture of three extra points due to a stoppage time equaliser by Bournemouth at Elland Road for a 2-2 draw and the real gut punch of a tragic own goal by Swedish international full back Gabriel Gudmondsson (who has had an outstanding start to the season) at Craven Cottage which granted Fulham a scantly deserved three points in a 1-0 win. It was also sad to see our year long unbeaten home League run ending courtesy of a 2-1 win by a notably more physical Spurs side on the last outing before the international break but again we competed well and had the opportunities to take something from the game but were thwarted by an outstanding Spurs goalie. I think Thomas Frank is moulding them into a less “Spursie” outfit!
We kicked our latest return to the Promised Land with a 1-0 win over Everton at a raucous Elland Road with a late penalty from new signing Nmencha in a game of frankly few chances. Next came the rout at Arsenal and a stabilising scoreless draw at home to an off-colour, post-Isak Newcastle United.
Questions about where our goal supply would come from became louder after again failing to find the net at Fulham. The answers came the following week with a three-goal blitz in a twelve-minute spell in the first half at pointless Wolves; this after we had gifted the hosts an early lead. Dominic Calvert-Lewin, signed on a free transfer from Everton, scored his first Leeds goal with a brilliant header; German international midfielder Anton Stack put us in front with a blistering free kick and Swiss international signing from AC Milan Noah Okafor made amends for his part in that early concession of a goal completed the scoring. Truly the season was up and running.
As just alluded to, a heavy responsibility rests on the shoulders of Calvert-Lewin to deliver the goals which will keep us afloat at this level. His injury record is a concern which contributed to the frustration of the fan base at the failure to land an another de facto striker on Transfer Deadline Day as well as another midfielder in the form of Welsh international Harry Wilson who we were poised to sign from Fulham but who the 49ers, the club owners, were not seemingly prepared to meet the £10m asking price. But he is steadily regaining fitness and the necessary predatory instincts for his trade. In the first quarter of the Bournemouth game, he had three gilt edged chances; at Premiership level a conversion rate of at least one in three is a sine qua non.
The major notes of discord at Elland Road so far have been the discontent of Ao Tanaka, the standout Japanese international midfield performer of last season, and Jaka Bijol, Slovenian international central defensive signing, at their lack of game time so far. Their dissatisfaction is fuelled by their need for such in a World Cup season with Japan having already qualified for next year’s tournament and Slovenia in contention for most likely a qualifier play off place. It is to be hoped that the manager Daniel Farke’s considerable people management skills can resolve their grievances to everybody’s content.
Other than that, things are fairly relaxed among the squad, the terraces, and the wider global Leeds United community. But maximum points must be a target from the next two games, away at Burnley and home to troubled West Ham United as they are likely candidates for the drop. At any rate, it is imperative for Leeds to bank as many points as possible before our collision with the Triple Crown of Thorns in the week 29th November and 6th December: Man City (A), Chelsea (H), and Liverpool (A).
Marching on Together
⏩Barry Gilheany is a freelance writer, qualified counsellor and aspirant artist resident in Colchester where he took his PhD at the University of Essex. He is also a lifelong Leeds United supporter.
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