Harmony is hard to achieve when a manager has as many talented players at his disposal as Daniel Farke does at Leeds United.
Nearly every Championship team — and a handful in the Premier League — would be glad of the depth of talent available to the German, particularly from his wide players.
It is a testament to Farke’s man-management skills that he has been able to keep his wide quartet of Dan James, Manor Solomon, Willy Gnonto and Largie Ramazani happy when they have needed to be rotated this season.
Injuries have played their part, with all but Gnonto spending time on the treatment table at various stages of the season. But with all four back to full fitness, regular rotation seems to be the key to keeping four ambitious players content as Leeds target promotion.
In stormy conditions against Derby County, Solomon and James got the nod to start, with Ramazani and Gnonto coming on later to continue to stretch their opponents. All were influential in creating chances and getting in behind Derby’s back line, with Leeds securing a comfortable 2-0 win. Goals from two defenders in Joe Rodon, who headed in from a corner, and Max Wober, who scored with a close-range finish, were a reflection of the diversity of scorers in this Leeds team this season.
Farke is not a manager who makes sweeping changes often but the intensity of the Championship schedule means that, on three-match weeks such as this one, rotation is required. On the wing is where he is most willing to do that, with the win over Derby the sixth game in a row where he has started a different wide pair.
Each personality among the four wide players requires different handling by the manager. James is a man for all occasions; his commitment to Leeds on show every day via the facial scar from his challenge with Southampton’s Kyle Walker-Peters in the Championship play-off final. Solomon has needed nurturing and patience as he finds his rhythm again after a long injury absence at Spurs and a disrupted start to his loan at Leeds with back and hamstring injuries. His brace in November against Swansea City was a reward for the belief Farke has shown in him.
Ramazani returned to matchday squads last month following an ankle ligament injury after a positive start to life at Leeds and has the potential to reach the levels of the departed Crysencio Summerville under the right guidance. Farke is the right man to see him through the pressures and challenges of reaching those heights as a Leeds player, as he did with Summerville, Georginio Rutter and Archie Gray.
It feels a long time ago now that Gnonto was among those trying to force a move out of Elland Road in the summer of 2023 but Farke’s influence on the young Italian saw him come back into the fold and he is now one of Leeds’ leading men. Though the 21-year-old remains fiercely competitive and was visibly frustrated to come off in last weekend’s 1-0 defeat to Blackburn Rovers, he has understood the changes to his role in the past few weeks now that all four wingers are available to play.
Though he was dropped to the bench against Swansea City after spending the international break away with Italy’s under-21s in November, Gnonto came on to score the winner — a welcome boost in Farke’s eyes given he had gone eight games without a goal.
Tactical decisions also come into Farke’s thinking when rotating against Derby, with Gnonto’s risk of suspension if he picked up a fifth yellow card of the season in his mind.
“We have lots of competition in the winger positions,” Farke said. “Willy has played the last two games. We have a busy week right now with three games in seven days but I have to say, the other players, like Daniel James and Manor Solomon, had pretty effective end products in the last games.
“I was happy with Willy’s performances but he lacked a bit when he was in the starting line-up, the end product. He scored from the bench; I had this a little bit in my head but also the yellow cards. Also, due to the upcoming week — three games in seven days — we want to share the load a little bit. Especially in this position, we have lots of competition. It’s important to mix it up a bit.”
Farke’s assessment that he is willing to rotate because “we want to be flexible and not be that predictable for our opponents” reflects his attempts to negate the impact of opponents turning up and setting up to defend against Leeds. Despite small blips against Blackburn and Millwall, United have shown often enough that they have the answer to break that low block down to score goals — even if, as against Derby, that came from unexpected sources.
Scorer Wober could be needed again when Leeds face Middlesbrough on Tuesday night, with Junior Firpo’s hamstring complaint unlikely to clear up inside such a short turnaround. With Ethan Ampadu returning to the bench against Derby, United are near to full strength in time for a busy Christmas period and have the potential to pick up nine points in seven days this week.
(Top photos: Willy Gnonto, left, and Manor Solomon; Getty Images)
