This is the time of the season for rolling the dice.
A few weeks ago, nobody would have bet on Leeds United looking this defensively frail and the wins being this chaotic. During the period when they were 15 unbeaten and made up ground on the Championship’s top two so fast it looked like this would be plain sailing, it was easy to get carried away.
But now every throw-in and every misplaced pass is huge. The pressure is smothering, the football erratic and every decision by Daniel Farke is a gamble given the potential consequences in such a tight promotion race.
Even the teams with little left to play for are unwilling to roll over — Monday’s hectic 4-3 win at Middlesbrough was a case in point.
Knowing when to hold to your principles and stick to the blueprint or take a punt on something different can define a season. Farke has been criticised for being too wedded to his plan and too slow to make substitutions during Leeds’ recent three-game winless run, but against Boro, he gambled and it paid off.
Opting to start with Patrick Bamford — a forward who is forensically judged like no other for his performances in a Leeds shirt — was one of the biggest decisions Farke could have made before kick-off after opting for Joel Piroe in the last game against Blackburn. Though the faith and favour of many at Elland Road blows hot and cold when it comes to Bamford, Farke has never wavered.
Perhaps it was to be expected that Bamford would return to the starting line-up given Farke’s heavy backing of his striker when asked about the 30-year-old’s performances in recent weeks — but talk and action are two different things and this was a chance for Bamford to shine on his return to his former club. Where Leeds’ attack has been misfiring and stunted in recent performances, the match-up with Boro required them to be clinical and ready to outscore their opponents after some questionable defending.
Bamford celebrates scoring Leeds’ second at Middlesbrough (Ed Sykes/Getty Images)
All three Boro goals were preventable, even when tasked with handling a player as dangerous and hard to track as Emmanuel Latte Lath. Willy Gnonto lost the ball too easily from a Leeds throw-in for Boro’s first, scored by Isaiah Jones, before Latte Lath took six Leeds outfielders and goalkeeper Ilan Meslier out of the game with a dummy and long-range strike. His header from a long ball over the top to catch Meslier off his line deep in the second half hammered home how easily it was for Michael Carrick’s team to unpick Leeds.
And so amid the frantic pace of the first half, Leeds called on their forwards to produce the goods. Crysencio Summerville, the Championship’s player of the season, rightly got the plaudits for another two goals, taking him to 20 this season, from a penalty and a trademark cut inside and curled effort.
Bamford’s decision to hand Summerville the ball for the penalty, then his well-timed run for Leeds’ second which saw him turn home a Junior Firpo cross from close range, showed a player stepping up to the occasion. He played a role in Leeds’ fourth when he held the ball up before setting Firpo and Rutter away on a break to feed Summerville to provide some breathing room at a point in the game where they were sat deep and riding their luck. As can be seen from his touch map below, Bamford was involved all over the pitch.
Luck was on Leeds’ side with their third goal — with Gnonto a yard offside — but Farke is realistic to know that luck and gambles do not always go his way. The decision to start Bamford could as easily have made him a villain.
“Yes, it’s tempting because when the spotlight is more on the games we are tempted to do something exceptional or something special,” he said before the game. “But it’s also important not to overdo it. It’s hard not to feel like a chess match between the managers, it’s important also to stay humble and help the team.
“You don’t want to overload them with too many changes in your approach, but you have to take risks sometimes to improve in so many areas. But if it’s worse to take the risk, the result will tell you. If you get a good result, then everyone will tell you it was a good risk to take, but if not, then everyone will tell you — that’s the fate of a manager.”
With Leeds up to second in the table and one point behind Leicester City, it is a crucial win that helps them regain some momentum after the recent blip. Farke will know as well as anyone that Leeds cannot afford to leave the door open defensively as easily as they did against Boro. With two games to go, his invitation to the fanbase last week to believe — in him, his decisions, in players like Patrick Bamford — feels as important as ever.
“It feels much better if you are a believer,” he said. And until the next twist in this exhausting race, Leeds believe again.
The Athletic’s match dashboard, showing how Leeds created better goalscoring chances (2.5 xG) despite Middlesbrough’s dominance of territory and possession
(Top photo: Ed Sykes/Getty Images)
