Luton Town boss Rob Edwards must have felt a wave of dread as the third batch of Leeds United substitutes prepared to enter the pitch at Elland Road.
With the score already at 3-0— and threatening to become more — Daniel Farke was able to call on Josuha Guilavogui (seven caps for France) and Largie Ramazani (three goals in eight appearances this season). This reflected the rich depth available to Leeds.
Compared to some others in the Championship, United’s strength in depth is something to behold this season. It says something that in the last two games an only recently fit Max Wober has been deployed out of position at left-back for the final portion of the game when Sam Byram comes off for a well-earned rest.
There are few other second-tier teams with a third-choice centre-back who is a 30-cap Austria international capable of filling that role from the bench. And while Farke might point to a left-back shortage as Junior Firpo served his final match of a three-game suspension in the 3-0 win over Luton, it is reflective of the whole squad approach Leeds have built this season.
Unity has been a big theme for Farke in the past few weeks. It was an essential trait to secure the win in the 4-3 fightback at Swansea City, spurred on by a pre-match team talk by Guilavogui. A player buying into the team spirit and not affecting the dressing room mood was a non-negotiable for Farke when considering free agents outside the summer window. Guilavogui has exceeded all expectations in that regard and performed well in his role in defensive midfield once introduced.
Where Leeds had players of supreme quality last season in individual standout performers Crysenio Summerville and Georginio Rutter, this year meaningful contributions have been shared among a balanced squad. In the last two games, goals have come from three of their four wingers (Willy Gnonto, Dan James and Manor Solomon). Leeds have 10 different goal scorers and are the Championship’s best team in front of goal with 31 scored in the 17 games played.
In both talent and character, United have built an elite team with a healthy equilibrium. From the off against Luton, Farke’s side oozed confidence and never looked likely to sacrifice their spot at the top of the table. Luton did not look like the more recent Premier League side of the two and while they were off the pace, Leeds were showing a connection of thought between players that is hard to coach.
The opener, via a Sam Byram scissor-kick volley, was a classy start to a dominant display. Both full-backs were able to create problems going forward and Leeds were able to load their attack with a front six as Luton tried to sit in a low block. Their undoing was, in the words of manager Rob Edwards, that they “stepped out and pressed when we had worked on not doing (that) and left too many spaces, which was frustrating.”
United’s dominance resulted in 77 per cent possession with a goal-line clearance from Pascal Struijk one of only two clear-cut chances for Luton. It was a near-perfect performance in Farke’s eyes, where defensive solidity comes first.
He has quietened early-season accusations that his style of football is stodgy and boring with the recent displays that have seen his team extend their winning run to six in a row at Elland Road.
While Leeds’s second goal was scrappier than the other two when Joel Piroe prodded home on the rebound from a corner, it reflected the steady improvement from set pieces and provided an important buffer before halftime. James’ goal, Leeds’ third, on 81 minutes was pure class as he sprinted in behind and lobbed Jayden Bogle’s clipped pass over Thomas Kaminski.
With another few days at the top of the league secured it is easy to wonder if, despite the fears that they had lost irreplaceable talent in the summer, this new look Leeds is a better side in all aspects than last season.
“Overall, you can argue that we lost lots of individual quality last summer,” Farke said. “We are the club who earned more money than all the other clubs in western Europe with the sale of Rutter, Summerville, Archie Gray and also Glen Kamara. We bought players in — Ao Tanaka, nobody knew who he would be. Joe Rothwell, I heard concerns, then to go with a striker like Mateo Joseph who had never started a league game before but is a crucial part to the season.
“Largie Ramazani was just relegated to the second tier in Spain and didn’t have the best eye-catching second half of the season. They were more or less bargains. But when you compare last season with right now, in terms of points and all statistics, how we dominate and play, we are better this season than last season.
“The only problem is that just 17 games are played. I am more willing to make a comparison after 46 games.”
The final and conclusive answer to the debate will be settled only if Championship Leeds 2.0 achieve what version one could not: promotion.
(Top photo: George Wood/Getty Images)
