The Schreuder in the stadium
Alfred Schreuder felt a lot like the elephant in the room on Sunday afternoon. Noises had begun to circulate online across Saturday night of the Dutchman’s presence in the city.
There was chatter suggesting he was booked into one of the city’s hotels ahead of yesterday’s clash with Manchester United, with an interest in taking the job. There were counter-claims about a friendship with Erik ten Hag and attending as one of his guests.
During the match, The Daily Telegraph would report the former Ajax man was indeed inside the stadium and being considered as a successor to Jesse Marsch. One hour after the full-time whistle left us in no doubt at all.
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United’s head of European recruitment, Gaby Ruiz, would walk with Schreuder through the John Charles Stand and into the directors’ box ahead of Sunday evening talks about the position. It was clear and obvious he was there and he was a guest of Victor Orta’s.
In his most recent post, Schreuder was at Ajax for nine months, with a win percentage of 46 per cent (Ten Hag’s was 74 per cent in Amsterdam). The 50-year-old oversaw a winless run of seven matches before the club acted.
In the announcement of his sacking last month, chief executive Edwin van der Sar said: “This is a painful decision, but it’s necessary. Regardless of the good start to the season, we lost a lot of unnecessary points.
“The football itself was precarious too. Due to the World Cup, we had an early and long break during the winter.
“We gave Alfred our time and trust to change the way things were going. It became clear to us that he could not change the tide.
“Regardless of the many transfers that took place, we consider the squad fit for a championship. We lost a lot of points over the last few weeks and sadly saw a lack of progression.”
As the retired goalkeeper said, Schreuder had overseen a run of seven wins from seven in all competitions at the start of the campaign. He had also arrived last May off the back of a Belgian top-flight title with Club Brugge, though he only oversaw 21 games in four months there.
It remains to be seen if Schreuder does prove to be the next appointment, but a lot of talking can be done via the telephone and Zoom. He’s unlikely to be at Elland Road without there being legs in this move.
If he is hired, questions will be answered in due course, but at the outset, it’s fair to look at the stumbling blocks with the first targets Leeds had and see a shift in the strategy from the boardroom. Andoni Iraola increasingly sounds like the first choice Leeds wanted, but his boss is not playing ball.
Arne Slot then ruled himself out on Friday, while Marcelo Gallardo, another coach admired by Orta, is insistent on seeing his current break from management out until the summer. There remain two other managers of interest, who are in work.
The Whites know they have to act sooner rather than later because of the situation in the league table and Michael Skubala’s perceived inexperience. The Everton date is looming and they know they need to move quicker with finding a successor to Marsch.
Let’s see what the week brings.
A much better week than many expected
When Marsch was dismissed last Monday, with the Whites stuck on two wins from 17 Premier League matches, the short-term future looked daunting, to say the least. Managerless Leeds were faced with two matches across four days against their most-hated rival, who happened to have won 13 of their previous 15 games in all competitions.
Skubala, who had no frontline experience in the professional game, had an immense job on his hands to come away with anything better than two heavy losses based on recent meetings with the Red Devils. As it was, four, if not six, points would have been justifiable based on the performances.
While he was hardly trotting out chapter and verse for the media in his press conferences (his job is winning matches not satisfying the press), Skubala impressed a large section of the fan base with his efficient, discreet, down-to-earth manner. He did not say a lot, but what he did say was considered and to the point.
The under-21 chief was relaxed on the touchline and did not seem perturbed by any aspect of the job in either of the games. He released some of the shackles of Marsch’s regime and, in broad terms, trusted the players as well as the incomparable adrenaline matches with Man United trigger.
Yesterday especially, for long periods of the second half there was control and menace from the hosts. Crysencio Summerville was cutting through, Jack Harrison was carrying the ball from deep, Tyler Adams and Weston McKennie were wrecking shop in the centre, while the backline was reading everything coming it's way.
As has so often been the case this season, however, they could not find the killer touch of quality they needed to turn a strong display into three points. For 80 minutes, they were marvellous, but one moment of quality from two England internationals swung the match entirely against the run of play.
Ayling’s best week in Leeds colours
The totem of last week’s class was undoubtedly Luke Ayling. The stand-in captain was virtually flawless across all three hours of football against the Champions League chasers.
From being someone we considered on the wrong side of a battle with not only Rasmus Kristensen, but even youngster Cody Drameh, Ayling inspired the 20 other performances around him across both matches. It can be very easy in football, especially in this correspondent's line of work, to write players off all too readily.
As soon as some players go beyond 30 and find themselves dropping down the pecking order to the bench, there is a natural tendency to look for the next, shiny new toy for the club to play with. It has not been an easy 18 months for many of the club’s promotion-winning old guard.
Leeds have not looked comfortable for a sustained period at any stage since the start of last season. Some of Marcelo Bielsa’s heroes have moved on, some are on the bench and some have remained constants in the XI.
Ayling was among those easily written off when form or fitness abandoned him, especially with the aforementioned younger models waiting in the wings. The 31-year-old had the complete package last week.
Whether it was Alejandro Garnacho at Old Trafford or Marcus Rashford at Elland Road, Ayling adapted to any and all challenges. He was vocal, he lead from the front, he won his tackles, timed them perfectly, showed attacking ambition to overlap and got stuck into the grittiness matches like these need.
It’s not that Ayling even rolled back the years. These were performances built upon the years of priceless experience he has amassed in a 13-year professional career. A wise head.
Serious business at hand
While Skubala’s caretaker role and the free-hit nature of last week’s matches proved something of a refreshing distraction from the league table, reality hits hard again this morning. Give it until 10pm tonight and you may choose a different phrase.
At the time of writing, the Whites are 17th and one point above Everton, who play their game in hand on Monday evening at Anfield. Historically, that’s a nasty fixture for the Toffees, but the very recent swing in momentum at both clubs has opened the game up to all kinds of possibilities.
Sean Dyche would need a win to take Everton above Leeds tonight, but, either way, United know they are not in a good situation. It is now two wins in 19 league games, officially half a season.
Few of you will need to be told an average of four wins across an entire campaign is not good enough to keep you in the division. This all rolls into the overhanging argument about the head coach search and the merits of an interim appointment, but it’s all just words when the reality is Leeds badly, desperately need cold, hard points.
Two wins from the next two would go a long way to restoring some faith in what May may bring, but anything less than four is only keeping the alarm bells ringing. Chelsea, who absolutely have to improve based on their squad talent alone, sixth-placed Brighton & Hove Albion, rejuvenated Wolverhampton Wanderers and championship-chasing Arsenal come after that.
The further you look down the fixture list, the more sporadic the opportunities for wins become, interspersed with daunting top-half clashes that can kill momentum. It all just piles more and more onus onto these next 12 days.
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