Leeds United have already fallen to their first defeat of the new Championship season and the club’s fans did not hold back in their Whites assessment upon the 1-0 defeat at Birmingham City.
Here is what our YEP Jury had to say on the weekend’s reverse at St Andrew’s including a warning to the club’s owners, a brutal striker assessment and feelings about Willy Gnonto upon the Italian’s refusal to play.
DAVID WATKINS
Leeds United! Ruining Saturdays since 1919, or so it feels. For the umpteenth time in recent seasons, we were sat on a perfectly respectable 0-0 draw away from home only to shoot ourselves in the foot right at the death.
A needless challenge gave away a penalty and that man Lukas Jutkiewicz, who has punished us in the past, stepped up to blast it past Illan Meslier. We specialise in finding new ways to self-destruct. I can’t say we deserved to win the game, but equally, I don’t think Birmingham did enough to win it either. It should have been a draw!.
As Daniel Farke admitted, this squad needs reinforcements, particularly when we appear to have a couple of players effectively on strike. We named two goalkeepers on an eight-man bench as Farke stated those were all that were ready to play.
Leeds were neat and tidy at times but lacked any punch up front while Birmingham quickly realised their best hope was to send the ball down their left for Siriki Dembele to chase. Fortunately, Birmingham were as lacking in quality as we were. Just three strikes on target in the whole game tells the story. As Farke says, “We must be patient”, this will be a difficult month until those new faces arrive.
KEITH INGHAM
You know when you are definitely back in the Championship when one of our scourges of the past scores a last-minute penalty to beat Leeds. I’ve got to be honest, as soon as Jutkiewicz came on I knew he’d score, he always does. It’s very hard to take anything positive out of the game. Working hard but with no end product might see us drop down the league very quickly.
The situation with Gnonto must be affecting team morale and that’s the last thing we need. The obvious need to get a striker at least in must be the first priority. The ones tried aren’t up to the job.
I will keep saying it until I’m blue in the face that until the owners get additions in this is where we are and Farke must be wondering why he came to a club in such a mess. He might decide that it’s better to ‘walk’ before it’s too late. The club is a mess.
You always hope when a new season starts that there should be a renewed optimism but, even at this early stage, the hope is draining away. The off-field situation is past a joke.
You look at Leicester and they are two wins out of two and even promoted Ipswich Town look far better than Leeds. At least the Lionesses made it to the semi final of the World Cup. Well done ladies.
Man of the match: Ethan Ampadu.
MIKE GILL
Our last trip to St Andrew’s was a pulsating affair which produced nine goals and a well-earned win for United. This year’s encounter could not have been more different.
Leeds took a threadbare squad with two goalkeepers on the bench once again. It seemed that a grim scoreless draw was to be played out against the backdrop of Birmingham’s dilapidated stadium. The result was even worse when veteran striker Jutkeiwicz converted a penalty after a Dan James infringement.
Jutkeiwicz had just joined the proceedings as a makeweight substitute and is no stranger to finding the net against United. It was a cruel blow as a draw would have been the only fair outcome for two sides who struggled to produce anything positive between them.
Daniel Farke has a lot of work to do and badly needs both new blood and players to return from the treatment room. The position regarding Gnonto is clear but brings no comfort to anybody, not least to the badly- advised youngster himself. Now it would seem that there is also a problem with Luis Sinisterra – we shall see. Troubled times.
Man of the match: Ethan Ampadu.
ANDY RHODES
If Gnonto’s behaviour this week amounts to an internal misdemeanour then as far as entertainment goes, this game was a crime against football. Chances were at a premium in this one, particularly for the Whites, but United’s threadbare squad ultimately left with nothing.
The fact that Leeds could only name eight substitutes tells you where the club are at the moment. Reinforcements are needed fast as, worryingly, Leeds already find themselves five points behind the league’s pace setters.
Of course, around 11 players are currently injured and many of those would go straight into the starting XI. However, those who are match fit are not at the standard required. Others, meanwhile, are reportedly refusing to play, showing that once certain players taste Premier League football, the “side before self” mentality goes out of the window.
We don’t know for certain what events are unfolding behind the scenes but if United’s new owners want promotion this season they need to get serious quickly.
Man of the match: No-one.
NEIL GREWER
Another crazy Leeds United week (although perhaps crazy is the new norm for LUFC) ends in defeat. In a game which deserved a 0-0, the footballing gods decided upon an injury-time penalty defeat to cancel last week’s injury time gain, but Leeds have to avoid these situations.
The problem is, avoiding these last minute game changing positions is not helped by the crazy world of LUFC. On/off transfers and requested transfers do not give certainty to the squad preparing for a game, and I agree with Daniel Fake’s stance on these issues.
Are there any other Championship teams with a squad containing over six wingers, yet only two are available for selection? And only naming eight substitutes, including two keepers, is ridiculous for the second game of the season for a club of Leeds stature.
Birmingham are not a top Championship team – and neither are Leeds currently, The end of the transfer window cannot come soon enough for me as whilst there will definitely be ‘outs’ I expect a number of beneficial quality ‘ins’.
Man of the match: Ethan Ampadu.
