Leeds United: A mad start to the season against Pompey
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00:00Well, hello and welcome back to the Marching On Together Leeds United podcast and what
00:05an opening day game that was at Elland Road. I'm joined once again, I'm Daniel, as always
00:10joined by my Yorkshire Evening Post colleague Lee Sobert, who was at Elland Road on Saturday
00:16to witness, as I've just said, quite a crazy opening championship fixture, Leeds 3, Portsmouth
00:233. After what we said on last week's podcast, Lee, I don't think that's what we were quite
00:28expecting, was it?
00:29I don't think either of us went for 3-3. I think I went for 2-0 or something like that.
00:33I couldn't have gone any further wrong. It was quite funny before the game, actually,
00:37because I was speaking to one of the stewards, Grant, who always comes and has a chat, and
00:41then he was saying about the post-match video verdicts that are due. And he sort of said,
00:45are you reading off the scripts, etc.? He said, because it's sort of like you seem to
00:48just go for it, like, you know, without forgetting anything. And I said, well, no, I said, you
00:51know, it's just like, you know, what we do. But I said, you know, the one you saw, which
00:54was the Valencia-friendly, I think it was, you know, there was only a couple of goals,
00:58so it was quite easy. I said, it's a bit different if it's like a 3-0 draw. I literally said
01:01to him, it's a bit different if it's like a 3-0 draw or something. But I wasn't expecting
01:05to be then reporting on a 3-0 draw a couple of hours later. So, yeah, it surprised us
01:10all that one as well. Well, nothing should surprise you with Leeds United, though, to
01:13be honest, as we'll come to in a minute. But we'll talk about that game, I'm sure, yeah?
01:17Yeah, it was quite the game indeed. Of course, Leeds did take the lead in it. And at that
01:22point, you thought, you know, everything seems relatively normal. Who knew what was
01:26in store after that? But, yeah, so Leeds took the lead. And then it went, I think, was it
01:31then 2-1 Portsmouth? And then 3-2 Portsmouth in added on time at the end, and then Leeds
01:37equalised. And then probably could have even gone on to win it 4-3 a moment later. But
01:42we'll mention that when we talk about Brendan Aronson himself. But how do you summarise
01:48it, Lee? I mean, it's, obviously, it's perhaps two points dropped, but at the same time,
01:53it's also a point gained, given where they were after about 94 minutes. So, yeah, how
01:59do you see it? Yeah, I think the only way to look at it as a point gained is, as you're
02:04right, as you rightly say, from where they were, you know, after the Callum Lange penalty
02:09put Portsmouth 3-2 up. I think that's fair enough, because I think everybody then looked
02:12like, thought, you know, I mean, there was a massive exodus when he scored. I think people
02:15thought that's it, because even that was like, I think, two minutes into added time. So,
02:19to then come back and get a point, you know, obviously, it's not like salvaging a point,
02:22I suppose. But then even then, you know, because there was even more added time, Aronson should
02:26have won it for him, obviously, when he was through one-on-one. But overall, like, forget
02:30added time, if you look at the game overall, it's a million percent two points dropped.
02:34I mean, they should have been absolutely home and hosed. And I don't really know where to
02:37stand on it, really, because the thing is, is they actually played pretty well. That's
02:42the thing. And I mean, and they created so many chances. I mean, 22 puts at goal. I mean,
02:46normally, when you score three, you get three goals in the game, you're obviously pretty
02:49happy, you know, but when you've had 22 attempts, like, I mean, and especially, you know, you've
02:53got to consider they were denied by the crossbar three times in the opening five or six minutes,
02:57you know, and it's no exaggeration to say that there could have been like four or five
03:01nil up after sort of like 20 minutes, half an hour. I mean, that sounds a bit over the
03:04top, but it's not, you know, they were that dominant and creating that many chances. So,
03:08the XG was 3.2, you know, so even that, even though they scored three, that was still lower,
03:12kind of lower than that. So, I mean, I think in terms of the way they played, you know,
03:16I kind of thought, well, yeah, it looks fairly good. But I mean, there's just worrying elements
03:21to it, isn't there, really? I mean, obviously, first and foremost is missing so many chances.
03:25I mean, Daniel Farker talked about it in pre-season. He said, basically, in terms of the XG
03:29and, you know, about Leeds being near the top of the table last season, if they'd taken the chances,
03:33they would have been even higher up the table, which is true. But then yet again, first game
03:37back, you see that sort of repeated, obviously, in terms of missing so many chances. And obviously,
03:42the other thing is defensively, you know, because you can also argue the point and look at this and
03:47say, well, you know, right, might have missed a lot of chances, but they still scored three.
03:51That should still be enough for a victory. And ultimately, you've conceded three goals at home.
03:55And you can't be conceding three goals at home every week, that's for sure. You know, I mean,
03:58it's way too many. And two of the goals were just massively avoidable. Obviously,
04:03the penalty at the end with Jadon Bogle's foul, I mean, he had a bit of a testing day, I should say.
04:08I mean, he looked all right going forward, but very, you know, certainly tested defensively.
04:12I mean, that sort of juries out on that one a little bit. I'm sure he'll settle in and stuff
04:15and hopefully get better with that. But I mean, I know a few fans will say the offence started
04:20outside the box, but, you know, his arm was right around the player's neck and stuff. And you're
04:24asking for trouble with that. So, that's completely improbable. Melies should have saved the first
04:28goal. There's no doubt about that. It basically went straight for him and that was pretty worrying.
04:33I know Daniel Farker's full of praise from afterwards and stuff, but you've got to save
04:36that. And then obviously, the second one's basically a bit of a wonder strike, but even
04:39that's like from a cleared corner. So, to a degree, they're all avoidable. Obviously,
04:42the second, Callum's, Alain's first goal was a cracker. So, there's those two facets, isn't
04:47it? Defensively and taking your chances. But I mean, I don't think you can grumble in terms of
04:53the chances they've created. As I say, it speaks for itself in terms of 22 shots and
04:56the ex-G3.2. It looks in pretty decent nick. But I mean, the point is, literally the point is,
05:03it's only a point. And we all talked about how important it was to start this season with a bang.
05:09And that is one point on the ball, but it should have been three. And already with that,
05:13you kind of look at that now and think, well, I mean, it's too early to be panicking. But already,
05:18you're thinking, really, do we go into West Brom and win it now? Because obviously,
05:21then it suddenly becomes four out of six, which is a bit more palatable. But if they go to West
05:24Brom and even draw, suddenly it's two points out of six. And it might sound a bit exaggerated,
05:30but you're already playing catch-up to a degree. I mean, you saw Burnley, obviously, against Luton.
05:34I mean, I think that put panic stations of everybody, really. I think everybody thought,
05:38here we go. And to be quite honest, even after that game, Burnley are almost joint favourites
05:44now. I mean, not quite. Leeds are still favourites. But I'm not surprised. It looks very,
05:48very good. And basically speaking, I think fans and everybody just want to see Leeds
05:51hitting the ground running, blowing teams away and taking the chances. And they should have done
05:55that again. And that's the way it looks against Portsmouth after 10 minutes. But it wasn't.
05:58That's not how it finished. Yeah, crazy game, as you say. But I mean, how many of them have we
06:03seen with Leeds? And on to the next. But yeah, I mean, ultimately, the conclusion is two points
06:08dropped. And it's a game they should have won, quite simply. Yes, indeed. It's not the ideal
06:13start they would have wanted for the season. What's more concerning for you, Lee? Is it the fact that
06:18they're missing a lot of chances or the goals they conceded? You know,
06:22Elan Melia didn't have the best of afternoons, obviously, with especially one of the goals
06:26that he let in. So, yeah, what's more of a worry? The fact that they've shipped so many to a newly
06:31promoted team or they're missing a lot of chances? I know, obviously, they have scored three. So,
06:35you have to give them some slack that way. But yeah, what's more of a worry?
06:39Well, probably defensively, to be honest, because I think if you create that many chances,
06:43then the goals will come. You know, that's probably a bit of a freak day, to be honest.
06:46I mean, as I say, like, you know, 22 attempts and, you know, I mean, how many games are you
06:50denied by the crossbar three times? You know, and it's a bit of a cliche, but that was basically just
06:55one of those days attacking wise, you know, like, I mean, they still scored three, but obviously,
06:58they should have scored more. But I think on another day, they will and stuff. And bearing
07:02in mind also, as we'll come to, you would hope to God that obviously another winger is coming in,
07:06you know, and hopefully like another midfielder who might be a bit more creative. Obviously,
07:10I'm looking at sending a midfielder and a winger. So, that'll obviously help from that perspective.
07:14It'll also help, you know, you've got to remember that was Mateo,
07:17amazingly, still Mateo Joseph's league debut, you know, I think after 22 outings from the bench,
07:22and we talked about him practically every week on here. So, he's obviously going to get better.
07:26And it's got to be said that one of the easiest chances, if you like, fell to him when it went
07:30over the bar. I mean, Leeds got a corner for it because, like, it was judged to have taken
07:33a deflection, but it didn't look like a deflection to us from sat in the stands. I think he was still
07:36quite lucky to get a corner. And I think it's fair to say, like, if Bamford misses that,
07:40he gets quite a lot of stick, you know, because Joseph's young, obviously. It's sort of like,
07:43well, give him a bit of time. But I'm a massive fan of Mateo Joseph. He played very,
07:47very well. I mean, his all-around contribution was excellent. He just missed a goal. And so,
07:51I think that will come and I think the goals will come, but that's still a concern, definitely.
07:54There's no doubt about that because it's not like something new. But yeah, defensively,
07:57like conceding three at home on the first game of the season, that has to be a worry, you know,
08:01it has to be. And as I say, like, you know, they were, I mean, one of them, yeah, was like a wonder
08:06strike, but even so, it was still from clearing a corner. But then the other two were just so
08:10avoidable, like I say. So, obviously, like, you know, there's massive question marks from some
08:14people about El Amelie and I understand that. I mean, massive defence of him from Daniel Farker
08:18in his post-match press conference saying he was the best keeper in the league. You know, I mean,
08:23and he can, at times, pull off some very, very good saves. You talk about, like, the Leicester
08:27one last season, things like that. He can pull off some fantastic saves, but I mean, like, you know,
08:31that's not what you need is to be conceding with a goal going straight through you that early on.
08:36And then, quite simply, they've got to cut out silly mistakes, like, you know,
08:39the bogey foul on the edge of the box. I mean, you might feel a bit dumbed by, obviously,
08:42because, you know, it did start outside the box and it was one of the softer penalties.
08:47But things like that have got to be ironed out and it's a package overall, to be quite honest.
08:51As you say, it's what concerns you most. You've got to get both. If you're going to win the league
08:54or at least go up automatic, then both have got to be spot on, haven't they? You've got to be
08:58taking your chances much more clinically than they are and you've got to be sound defensively.
09:03In fact, Daniel Farker has always said the foundation for success is a strong defence.
09:07So he won't have been very pleased with that conceding three, that's for certain.
09:10So, yeah, I mean, there's only one game, so I wouldn't want you to panic or anything like that,
09:15but there's definitely work to do. There's no doubt about that.
09:17Yes, very much so.