When it rains it pours
When it rains, it can pour in football. There was an island of two wins amid an ocean of 16 draws and defeats before Leeds United kicked off at Aston Villa.
Dry land, a paradise, an oasis, would be spotted by this Whites team, but the only problem was they had already put a bullet through the planks of their raft en route. The Whites were taking on water in a familar fashion from the third minute and would rue that moment until Jesse Marsch briefly acknowledged the travelling support from a safe 40 to 50 yards away after the final whistle.
At last, for the first time this side of the World Cup break, Leeds delivered a performance which deserved praise for the majority of the 90 minutes. United were the better team on the night and deserved all three points, but returned to West Yorkshire with nothing except a nervous wait for their slide down the league table.
READ MORE: Jesse Marsch insists on Leeds United's 'most complete performance' after sacking calls from fans
This was no vintage Leeds by any means, but it was so much better, and sustained, than anything else seen from Marsch’s side since the trip to Tottenham Hotspur. And yet the entire game was spent cursing that entirely avoidable third-minute concession, the fly in an otherwise promising ointment.
The second goal, and what felt at that stage like the knockout blow, was the salt in the wound and another knock just as Leeds were tightening their grip on the game. It is hard to avoid feeling like the world is against the Whites on nights like these.
With no points to show for it, the only redeeming feature of the night was a blueprint for how to play in critical matches ahead. If Leeds do not build upon this and successfully replicate it in the weeks ahead, it may go down as one of the sliding doors moments of Marsch’s tenure.
The shining lights get brighter
As this underwhelming season stutters towards its midway point, there are a couple of silver linings which continue to shine brightly. Tyler Adams has rarely, if ever, dipped below a seven out of 10, regardless of the carnage going on around him, while Marsch must wonder if any footballer has ever proved him more wrong than Wilfried Gnonto.
Adams equalled his season’s best tally of seven tackles in one game on Friday night at Villa Park. The midfielder was, as ever, always in the right place at the right time with the right challenge.
The USA captain has a sixth sense for sniffing out danger. His positioning, anticipation, tackling, determination and aggression is ideally balanced for getting Leeds back in possession and on the front foot.
In a season which is thin on the ground for positive narratives, Adams’s consistency since day one has him out in front for the player of the year gong this season. Don’t count out Gnonto just yet, though.
For someone who was initially considered by Marsch to be unprepared for Premier League football, Gnonto is ripping trees out of the earth on a weekly basis. Like Adams, even a basic performance by his high standards is standing out among the team.
Friday was shaping up to be a quieter night for the Italian forward and then, just as you’re rounding off an average mark out of 10 for him, he comes alive with the glorious assist for Patrick Bamford’s goal. So few attackers in this squad have shown the strength, composure, dribbling, flair, passing, vision and technique needed to craft that move before the goal.
The 19-year-old is going from strength to strength and has to be one of the first names on Marsch’s teamsheet right now. There is something to be said for the squad combinations Marsch has been reeling off in recent weeks.
When Leeds do have all of their forwards fit and firing it could be quite the force in the top flight. Gnonto and Rodrigo look undroppable at the moment, so you might have the likes of Luis Sinisterra, Patrick Bamford, Brenden Aaronson, Jack Harrison, Crysencio Summerville and, hopefully, Georginio Rutter all going for one berth.
It has the makings for something exciting, but, for now, we will have to make do with the joy Gnonto brings all on his own. Let’s just hope the opposition doesn’t kick too many lumps out of him.
The firing line, a sit-down and a reset
Pascal Struijk and Brenden Aaronson have been encouraging staples of this Leeds season to date, but the time may have come for them both to have a breather. The former has had a very challenging week and with Max Wober waiting in the wings, that seems an obvious change for Marsch to make.
The Dutch defender’s errors and misjudgements at Cardiff City in the cup bled into his performance at Villa Park, where Leon Bailey cruelly exposed him as a centre-back playing out of position. Even Marsch would admit, after the game, the players knew Bailey favoured his left boot and yet Struijk let him come inside time after time.
It wasn’t just the two Villa goals either. Struijk was tied up in knots by the Jamaica international. It’s an easy stick to beat Marsch with in hindsight, but the pressure to play the man Leeds signed to play left-back next week will only grow from here.
Aaronson seemed to spend the match either on his back appealing for fouls he was never going to get or apologising to teammates for misplaced passes or going down blind alleys with the ball. The tone was set by his meek, faint challenge on Boubacar Kamara after his pitch-long counter before the first goal.
There are options for Marsch to go without his compatriot now. At his best, Aaronson has been an excellent addition for the Whites, but during what is his only lull of the season to date, there is a lot to be said for giving him time on the sidelines.
Bamford’s back
Four hundred and four days after his last competitive goal for Leeds, Bamford finally returned to the scoresheet when it mattered on Friday night. The number nine has high expectations of himself and a long way to go before he’s satisfied with where he’s at, but as starts go, he could not have done much more in Birmingham.
It was never going to be easy for him coming into a match with the team 2-0 down and a lot of rust for him to work off. He got about, won some flick-ons, battled with Tyrone Mings and made a nuisance of himself before popping up in the right place at the right time.
That’s what Leeds need back in their ranks: a six-yard box poacher who focuses purely on sticking the ball in the back of the net. Whether that’s alongside Rodrigo, as his replacement or working off a Rutter (hopefully), it’s goals the Whites need.
Marsch under fire and doubling down
Less than an hour after hearing pockets of the away support call for his head, Marsch would sit with the media at Villa Park and describe Friday night as the most complete performance of his tenure. The head coach would go further in saying he had never felt more positive about his project at Elland Road, despite watching the team’s record stretch out to two wins in 17 outings.
Redeeming features? Yes. Deserved to win? Almost certainly. The best performance of Marsch’s spell? Nowhere near it. The home win over Chelsea remains the zenith of the American’s time at Leeds. The home defeat to league leaders Arsenal was far better than what was seen in the West Midlands last night.
It was a jarring comment from Marsch and so emphatic, in the face of such adversity, you wonder if it’s a defence mechanism or an attempt to ensure the undoubted progress made on the pitch, despite the loss, is not forgotten among the increasingly concerned wider headlines. Marsch has every right to fight for his job and say to the media whatever he feels gives him and the team the best chance of moving forward from this.
Marsch may not be feeling any pressure on his employment from the boardroom, but it’s the fan base he has to turn around. While it would be wrong to say every away-end spectator was calling for his head, there were enough of them shouting for it to be heard on the other side of the stadium.
This had the hallmarks of the mutiny under the lights of King Power Stadium, except this time the team was so much better and Marsch did wander over to face the music from a distance. Losing to Villa was never going to be what did for Marsch, but it tightens the screw and now only adds more pressure to next week’s Elland Road double-header.
Cardiff City in the FA Cup cannot afford to be a banana skin while Thomas Frank’s Brentford visit cannot afford to look anything like their first meeting of the season.
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