Only one other team has managed to keep pace with Leeds United this season, and once again, Marco Bielsa’s intense, high-tempo, possession-based style has confounded many weaker adversaries. With the Whites guaranteed to spend Christmas in an automatic promotion berth, the signs that Leeds have learned from the mistakes of spring 2019 are in full evidence.
Even so, the same praises about Leeds under Bielsa were being sung exactly one year ago. Leeds also spent the Christmas Day of 2018 in an automatic promotion spot, only to fall short.
Leeds are, in fact the sole team of the last six ‘top-two’ Christmas teams to fail to gain promotion after cementing that status. This, combined with the sheer length of time Leeds have been absent from the top flight, has led to isolated calls from the more superstitious Leeds fans that the club is ‘cursed’.
While the effects of Leeds’ excessive spending spree under David O’Leary nearly twenty years ago have certainly created a deathly ripple effect, an entirely new generation of white warriors looks primed to right the wrongs heralded by the new century.
However, the optimists self-impose an entirely different question – would Leeds survive with their current personnel as the foundation of a Premier League squad?
Midfield Focus can Serve Leeds Well
Bielsa’s strong starts to his first two seasons in West Yorkshire have been down to ensuring that players know their exact role and what is expected of them.
While the tactical flexibility of the previous two Championship winners (Norwich and Wolves) is less prevalent within Leeds, Bielsa’s regime still enjoys a reputation for spontaneous ingenuity. Bielsa is particularly well-known for operating with a holding midfielder, who will seek only to avert danger and find the pass, but seldom at the price of positional integrity.
For a team in Leeds’ current situation, playing with at least one designated stopper in midfield establishes good positional practice, especially in preparation for the potentially brutal start to life in the Premier League. Kalvin Phillips provides an apt service in that regard, and his experience in acting as the midfield’s sole anchor point can only develop his composure under pressure.
Having done a lot to keep Leeds’ Marathonbet promotion prices short, such composure, and the ability to retain a ball, would be crucial in depriving Premier League teams of possession. From the very worst squads all the way up to Arsenal’s band of ‘Invincibles’, there is not a single team that can win without enjoying large spells of possession.
Most recently, prioritising shape, fitness and structure over creativity has proven successful for fellow Yorkshire club Sheffield United, who have risen from the depths of League One to the top half of the Premier League without making much in the way of radical change.
While Leeds have enough collective character to survive without simply blueprinting Chris Wilder’s well-disciplined charges, the formula is there to draw upon in the event of Bielsa needing a ‘Plan B’ in any future Premier League clashes.
Aces in the Pack
In addition to the base virtues of fitness and discipline, any squad that aspires to last in the Premier League also needs a strong leader and a source of regular goals. These days, merely being promoted is a very lucrative business, but teams aspiring to get anywhere will usually be overcharged for signings that may not necessarily add the necessary degree of quality to survive.
New signings would unquestionably be needed. As demonstrated by Leeds’ capitulation to Cardiff last weekend – alongside their shock elimination in last season’s playoff semi-finals – Leeds can all-too-quickly fall apart when teams can match the intensity of the Whites under Bielsa and withstand the high press.
Liam Cooper was conspicuous in his absence from the squad that surrendered two points to Cardiff, and his return cannot come soon enough. He has thrived under Bielsa thus far, and would be described on the terraces as a consistent ‘7/10-er’ who can keep Leeds in a good place, rather than an erratic figure that could just as easily score a ‘9’ on the back pages as much as a ‘5’.
Meanwhile, the current quality of the Leeds attack might not give the Whites everything required to survive, and their ability to create the requisite chances in the Premier League is hard to predict. Nonetheless, the character of Leeds’ present crop in the final third is encouraging, implying that they will look beyond merely pinching one and holding out in a Premier League game should they avoid being replaced by megastars.
The form of Patrick Bamford has been a great asset thus far, with the Grantham-born forward averaging 2.71 points per game ahead of Leeds’ yuletide trip to Craven Cottage. Ahead of said clash, Leeds are also unbeaten in any of the seven games where Bamford has scored, winning six times and drawing just once. Though just two of his strikes this league season have been matchwinners, his ability to lead the line is self-evident.
Having already twice found himself part of a failed promotion charge, Bamford has more reason than anyone to grasp a shot of Premier League football with both hands and take the initiative. His positional versatility would also give Leeds a distinct element of surprise in the final third, even potentially allowing him to drop wide or into a number ten role, while the marquee acquisition of the summer receives the goods.
Transfer Window Less of an Issue Than Many Believe
On current evidence, bare survival is not beyond the team as it currently stands. Certainly, those currently occupying the Premier League relegation zone would struggle to match their pace and commitment. It has also been oft-argued that Bielsa ‘belongs’ in the Premier League, with links to teams like Everton and West Ham prior to becoming Leeds manager.
While Leeds fans may dare to dream of a glorious return to the top-flight – such as that experienced nearly 30 years ago, setting the club on-course to win the last ever top-flight First Division trophy – others remain coy about the near-future. One such individual is Patrick Bamford himself, who has stated in no uncertain terms that Leeds are ‘far from the finished article’.
With Leeds’ last top-flight return coming in 1990, there are no topical ways to gauge how Leeds would perform in the 2020/21 Premier League, having gained promotion from what is now the richest second-flight division in the world.
Regardless, Bielsa appears to have made all of the right moves thus far. In acquiring the likes of Patrick Bamford and Eddie Nketiah, he has shown his desire to recruit (in the key roles) only those that have some existing connection to the Premier League – even with minimal playing experience – rather than be overcharged for in an ever-inflating transfer market.
