Leeds United spend time preparing for 'good guy' and weapon that struck Sheffield United blow
This week at Thorp Arch Leeds United have been preparing physically and mentally to face one of the Championship's good guys and his not-so-secret weapon.
It did for Sheffield United, brought a goal against Norwich City and now Will Vaulks' long throw will become a 'key topic' for the division's leaders Leeds.
Vaulks is a special individual. As a Rotherham United player he forged a beautiful connection with Bluebell Wood Children's Hospice as a volunteer. At Cardiff City he joined a local charity's Feed the NHS campaign to deliver food and drink for staff on hospital wards. The Oxford United man has also become an ambassador for the UK's largest suicide prevention initiative, The Baton of Hope, a move inspired by the loss of both grandfathers to suicide. He's a three-time winner of the EFL's Player in the Community award and has mastered the art of giving back. A good guy. He is also a master in the art of hurling a football into a penalty area, which makes him the bad guy on Good Friday.
Speaking to the Oxford Mail earlier in the season Vaulks admitted it doesn't exactly dovetail with the idea of an attractive, passing-based philosophy but sometimes you just have to throw the kitchen sink. His throw does that for the U's and it can change momentum.
“If you can really turn the screw against opposition and make it tough to play against, and I know that’s not always been Oxford’s way, but there are times when needs must," he said. “Look at Arsenal. How good are they at set plays? You have to use every trick in the book. When teams feel pressure, then they start to wilt, and that’s why it’s the best sport in the world. You can go from cruising to a goal from a set play, and momentum swings. It happens every week at this level, and that’s not down to technical ability."
Sheffield United downfall
Sheffield United's inability to defend the throw led directly to the goal that cost them three points when they visited Chris Wilder's former club earlier this month. Just last weekend Sheffield Wednesday were undone by a goal that came from one of Vaulks' howitzer deliveries.
Leeds boss Daniel Farke needed no encouragement to delve into the difficulty his side could face as they attempt to take another big step towards automatic promotion. A details man, he was unhappy recently after his players appeared to switch off at QPR in expectation of a long throw delivery, only for the opposition to take a quick, short throw and then deliver a cross into the box that was headed home by Steve Cook. Even more recently Leeds were a little too slow to react to throw-ins during the first half of their win over Preston North End.
When the ball is in play out wide almost anywhere on the pitch, the Whites will have to do their utmost to avoid an Oxford advance down the touchline towards areas from which Vaulks can bombard the box.
"Yes, it's definitely one of the key topics against Oxford, especially with Vaulks - he throws the ball longer than many of my players can kick the ball," Farke quipped. "First of all, of course, you have to defend the wide area, because if there's a quick throw-in, you have to make sure that you deal with the situation. In our last game in the first half there were a few situations when I would have preferred us to be a bit quicker and switched on, because otherwise the opponent can create another throw-in closer to your goal, or perhaps even a corner kick or something like this.
"And on the other hand, they still have the option to bring the ball up front [with a Vaulks throw] and then they try to create chaos by sending the centre backs up front. And if you have a physical side, like Oxford, with many good headers, you can't avoid that the ball comes in. So it's not like a cross you can block or you can put the player who wants to cross the ball under pressure. But if it's a throw-in they can also plan, if you have such a top class player who is so good at throw-ins like Vaulks, you can't influence where he brings the ball in. Then it's up to us to show steel and to win the first ball, to win the second balls, also to be switched on for the second phase."
Leeds United approach
Leeds are not a team who want the ball to be in the air for long periods. In Joe Rodon and Ethan Ampadu they have a pair of central defenders who can consider themselves highly competitive when it comes to aerial duels. Per 90 Rodon wins five for every two he loses, and Ampadu's win-loss ratio sits at 2:1. Junior Firpo is good in the air too but Leeds are far from a big team. They boast speed and technical ability out wide but are not blessed with height in attack or particularly in the centre of midfield. On occasion this season life has been made difficult by bigger teams playing a more physical brand of football. This is an occasion when they will not only have to stand tall to fight in the air but prepare mentally for what at times could be a frustrating, stop-start affair.
"We expect there will be a few moments when we have to be competitive in the air, and that's always quite important," said Farke. "Will definitely also be a key factor in this game, to control their throw-ins and these moments. From the mental side, quite often the ball is not that much in play. It always takes a while till the throw-in is taken. And sometimes it breaks the rhythm. It's difficult, but you have to be mentally ready for this, for this challenge. And you can't take this strength away from the game. And you have to stand up to the test."
The good news for Leeds is that at this stage of the season there are few surprises in what the opposition can throw at you. They have had almost a full week to prepare for Oxford United and they know all about Vaulks and what he can and will do. They cannot let him throw them off course.