Leeds United calculated 'curmudgeon' reassures against Thorp Arch impossibility after Wolves win
As the Leeds United players return to work after a well-earned post-victory break there is an impossibility that should reassure supporters.
It has become a sad yet established fact that when it comes to promotion to the top flight the journey can be so much sweeter than the destination. Teams who win the Championship win a lot of games and score a lot of goals. That's what Leeds United did last season and though there were still periods of grumbling, the enjoyment factor was high for most of the season. On 29 occasions Leeds fans went to a game and left with smiles on their faces thanks to the three points in the bag. They cheered 95 goals. They gathered in numbers that the city council could clearly not calculate for a parade that generations will remember for the rest of their lives. If those are not good times then no times will ever be good.
But what tends to happen when you get to the Premier League is that the good times become a lot less frequent. Even in that sensational first top flight season of Marcelo Bielsa's when they stunned the country's best teams to finish ninth, Leeds lost nearly as many games as they won. The Premier League was hard then and it's almost impossible now. It certainly proved beyond the capabilities of the last six teams to make it out of the second tier prior to Leeds' latest promotion. Even Ipswich Town fans, who waited 22 years to see them return to the top flight, must have found it difficult to maintain the excitement levels going to game after game they knew would more likely than not end in defeat or a draw at best. Last season's newly-promoted teams won 12 games between them. The joy was spread too thin.
The bar was set so low that already this season Leeds have matched Southampton's number of Premier League wins with the 1-0 victory over Everton and Saturday's 3-1 triumph at Wolves. They're now within six points of eclipsing the 12 the Saints mustered in the entire 2024/25 campaign. It was scarcely worth Southampton's while even earning promotion, which makes their Wembley play-off final win over Leeds that little bit more galling, but having replaced them in the top flight the Whites owe it to themselves, their fans and football in general to make an actual fist of it.
They've started well enough, Leeds. The main hope for most fans this summer appeared to be that their team would at the very least compete. Lay a glove on established teams. Be hard to beat. And in all but one Premier League outing that has been the case. They deservedly beat Everton, had a late chance to beat Champions League outfit Newcastle before settling for a point, lost to a freak 94th minute goal at Fulham and were well worth the three points at Molineux. Chance creation and goalscoring have been the biggest concern - taking the drubbing at Arsenal in isolation - but the seven points they hold and the performances that earned those points should have dampened any fear that this was going to go like it went for Southampton. It was no lie to suggest Leeds were at least in with a genuine chance of taking points from four of the five teams they have faced thus far.
At Wolves it took a second half show of steel to secure the win, which meant Farke's side were able to demonstrate effectiveness in both sides of their game having been so clinical going forward in the first half.
"I would have preferred to dominate the second half a bit more, but if necessary, then to show this [steel]," said Farke. "It's also important, but it was also never in doubt for me, because we had many clean sheets last season. We have shown really good defensive behaviors, apart from the Arsenal game, in each and every game so far. So for me, it was also not in doubt that we would show again that we are really good in terms of defending. And I think the first five games are proof we belong in this league. We can play on this level. We can win games and points on this level. In four out of five games, we had a chance to win points, but were definitely not the worst of the two sides in all four games. I think it's good to show this, not just in one game,but to show this with consistency."
After five games it's difficult to predict exactly what the rest of the season will look like but at this stage last season Southampton had but a single point. Ipswich and Leicester both hade three but no victories. Wolves were bottom, like they are now. Last season they got away with it largely on the merit of how poor the new boys were but if this season's trio of Leeds, Sunderland and Burnley continue to give it a proper go then there is the real prospect of at least one established team falling out of the division. Farke is keen to avoid any premature talk of that. What's more, his response to a question about why the three newcomers appear to be faring better than the class of 2024/25, should offer yet more reassurance to Leeds fans. Not only do they have a team that is giving itself a chance in games, the team is managed by a man who refuses to get carried away. It will be impossible for anyone at Thorp Arch this week to get ideas above their station.
Ever the 'pessimistic realist,' Farke could almost be described as a curmudgeon at times, but it's all very calculated. Praising players up to a point and always ending on a challenging note, issuing a reminder that they have to keep going or do more. Being pleased with performances and results but never fully satisfied. Never too high, or too low for that matter. Whatever your thoughts on his ability as a football manager, his temperament appears almost perfect for a club prone to the odd bout of hysteria and occasional meltdowns. His favourite phrase 'dancing on the table' is something you will never catch him doing. He likes to give good value when he responds to questions but he’s so keenly, almost painfully aware of the narratives that can arise. His answer to a question on Harry Gray last week was a prime example. It might take a bit of the fun out of press conferences at times, but if it keeps Leeds United feet on the ground and crucially in the Premier League then the football will eventually provide all the necessary fun.
"I like to stay humble," he said. "Of course, we have analysed the last seasons. We have analysed what you have to do as a newly promoted site, and I spoke also locally a little bit about it, but I try not to speak too much about it in public, because I don't want us to celebrate our recruitment, the way we play, the priority that we gave before we really have achieved something. Seven points after five games is good, but I think it's too early right now to celebrate us, also to celebrate perhaps some other promoted sides - I'm far away from doing this, but I just speak about us. And of course, we had our idea of how to stay in this league, what we wanted to do in order to stay there. But I don't want to celebrate ourselves or our approach too much before we really have achieved it, because this wouldn't be humble, and sometimes you have to pay for it if you are a bit overconfident or arrogant, and for that, we stay humble. We know it's a long road. I don't want to finish just on seven points, because then I have to answer different questions. I want to make sure that we win many, many points in the upcoming weeks."
The win over Wolves was not an arrival for Leeds. Firstly, the opposition were dreadfully poor and they already bear the hallmarks of a team bang in trouble. Losing every single game, shipping plenty of goals and scoring very few themselves, something will have to change and soon if they are to recover from such a bad start. That said, you can only beat what is in front of you and no matter their record so far Wolves are an established Premier League club. Leeds handled them relatively comfortably. Yet having handled Everton so comfortably, having handled Newcastle United so well and having had in their hand a point at Fulham before it was ripped from them in freak circumstances, Leeds had already arrived in the Premier League in a more reassuring fashion than their recent predecessors. The goals have not been there, until Wolves, but the competitive performances have been. And just because they fired in three at Molineux does not mean Farke will allow anyone to think they've made it just yet in the Premier League. Nor can he afford to. Bournemouth are up next and they are a tough, tough test. But it could be anyone at Elland Road, the approach and the plan will stay the same. It has to be like that. Kick off, fight, try to dominate, try to score, try to take points. Then reset and start again. Leeds got to the Premier League taking it one game at a time and that's the only way they can stay here.