I’ve got to admit, when I first saw the Premier League fixtures when they first came out, I wasn’t exactly excited about our first game of the season – especially with us having lost away at Nottingham Forest last term, with the City Ground being a tough place to go.
Even right before kick-off, I’d have taken a 0-0 draw and it seems quite a lot of the media were predicting a similar outcome. Though, I was happily surprised about the win; there are some top sides that will go there this season and struggle to come away with something.
With three of our four new signings all starting, I was really intrigued to see how we would perform; especially defensively. Forest have goals in them and can be dangerous, so for James Trafford, our high-profile upgrade between the sticks, it was his first real test.
The 3-4-2-1 Mirror Match: How Farke Out-Maneuvered Oliver Glasner
New Forest manager (Oliver) Glasner was in the dugout for his first competitive game in charge, making him their fifth manager in 12 months; making me realise how fortunate we are as Leeds fans that our club isn’t being run by a clown (at least not for a long time). I have to sympathise with Forest fans; I think its good to have the club in the Premier League and Glasner should do well.
But, on this occasion, I’m glad to report that it was Daniel Farke’s 3-4-2-1 system that got the better out of his counterpart’s. The defence we fielded, that includes new signing and, for me at least, and upgrade on the departed Pascal Struijk; Tarik Muharemovic, Jaka Bijol and Joe Rodon is probably one of the strongest in the top flight (not forgetting, new signing Nico Elvedi and quite possibly more additions).
We brilliantly stifled our host’s attacking threats with both Morgan Gibbs-White and Dan Ndoye suffocated and starved of space on the transition and I thought Trafford’s impact was top class. He swept away any set-piece panic with his calm, aerial collections, made some superb saves and commanded the area very well while having a bit of deserved luck.
In previous seasons, we’ve lost these types of games, or completely crumbled but I think Farke was tactically brilliant with this. He would have expected a tight game and emphasised the importance of concentration at the back while encouraging chance-creation going forward; especially from wing-backs, Jayden Bogle and James Justin, both of whom provided great energy.
The Double-Pivot Shift: Ampadu & Stach Carrying the Burden
Another aspect that is impressing me is that Ethan Ampadu and Anton Stach now look like serious Premier League midfielders who have proven they can cut it against the best. Containing opposite numbers; Ibrahim Sangare and James McAtee is a task that many opponents have found difficult – especially at the City Ground, but the performance from our central duo was impressively mature.
Both of them essentially controlled the central areas, looking assured and composed at all times; Ampadu, typically tenacious and efficient on the ball, while Stach’s high energy and physical approach really helped us to make an impact.
Since his arrival at Elland Road last summer (one that I was both excited and intrigued by), he has come on leaps and bounds. Granted, it took him until November to settle in (perhaps no coincidence at around the time Farke changed our system), but I reckon he would walk into most starting XI selections in the English top-flight and has become a top player for us, which I thought he could develop into.
Obviously, his set-piece quality has been an added bonus and this is another weapon that we have in our armoury; something that proved effective on Saturday afternoon, when he curled in an accurate 86th minute winner from the corner of the 18-yard box to catch out Forest custodian Matz Sels at his near post.
To have this in our locker is a brilliant bonus and just one highly effective component of the squad that Farke is building for us. Another trait was on show on Saturday afternoon as well; one that was put in place last summer and has continued in our recruitment again – imposing height. New recruit, Muharemovic almost bagged a debut goal when he powered an accurate header towards goal, only to be met by a great fingertip save by Sels.
Ironically, fellow new recruit, Harry Wilson (another superb free signing, no less), had turned in Bogle’s cross in the first half only for this to be deemed offside – had Dominic Calvert-Lewin who was ghosting in behind him hollered to leave it, I think we could well have taken an earlier lead!
The Strategic Takeaway: Foundation First, Polish to Follow
Overall, I honestly don’t think this could have gone any better for us. On a scale of one to three, three being the most difficult, I think this fixture was a high two, so to come away with three points on the back of a very professional and efficient performance is something that as a club and a fanbase, we can be really proud of.
Defensively this season, we look very strong, as proven by this latest performance, on top of an encouraging pre-season. We do have the ability to score goals and play attractive, fast, counter-attacking football as well, which we demonstrated last season. The addition of Wilson has been a masterstroke, especially on a free transfer though we do need more attacking reinforcements.
I don’t think our need is absolutely urgent either – we proved last season, we have enough to get three points consistently and this has clearly been reflected by our patience in the market. Certainly, we could have been a bit more creative from central areas, I think on Saturday; another spark alongside Wilson and someone who can provide competition for Calvert-Lewin and Lukas Nmecha could see us be really competitive this term. If we get it right, finishing in a European place could be realistic I think. There are definitely a pool of three or four clubs that could do this and I believe that we’re one of those.
In what will be somewhat of a deja vu though, we revisit the City Ground again tonight for the Third Round of the Carabao Cup. I do think Farke will rotate the team, as he showed last term, he likes to do in cup competitions. The silver lining I think though, is we can only really play Trafford at the minute until a capable back-up comes in, so we could nick another 1-0 result and reach the Fourth Round of this competition for the first time in five years!
