Leeds United: Joe Rothwell hits form
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00:00Certainly, Joe Rothwell, he had a good game, didn't he?
00:03A lot of people were saying he was the man of the match,
00:05which, as we've already discussed off-camera, is quite surprising,
00:07given he's a central midfielder.
00:09But you thought he was certainly a stand-out player in that game?
00:12Yes, definitely. It's quite ironic and funny the way it's worked out.
00:15Obviously, you've got your two first-choice midfielders out,
00:18Ethan Ampadu, club captain, and Ilya Gruev,
00:21who would be the two main starters in those two centre midfielders' positions.
00:24And yet, possibly, the two centre midfielders are the two best players,
00:29because I think Joe Rothwell was most people's idea of the man of the match,
00:31and if it wasn't him, it was maybe Alton Arca,
00:33and they're the two centre midfielders.
00:35So, they've really stepped up to the plate.
00:37I've seen a few people say this, and I can kind of agree with it,
00:40that actually maybe having those two in centre midfield
00:43adds a bit more impetus and makes them a bit more attacking, really.
00:48I can see that.
00:49I mean, Ampadu and Gruev are obviously fantastic players,
00:51but they are slightly more defensive.
00:53They'll be more solid with those two, you would think.
00:56But then again, they were pretty solid against Sheffield United.
00:58You've got to be said.
00:59But those two definitely add...
01:01It feels like a little bit more going forward,
01:03and Rothwell was just great on and off the ball,
01:06really pressing down whenever he could off the ball,
01:09really adding some vigour going forward on the ball,
01:12some very, very neat passes.
01:14Obviously, he got the assist for the goal.
01:15Whether that was quite by design to put the corner in that low,
01:18I don't know, but it doesn't matter.
01:19It worked.
01:20Yeah, I mean, very, very good performance from him.
01:23I think nine out of ten we gave him in the player ratings,
01:25which sort of says it all, really.
01:26I mean, very, very good indeed.
01:27That said, it doesn't sort of hide or disguise the fact
01:31of how light leads are in centre midfield.
01:33And you do feel like if you have one injury to either of those two,
01:37then you really...
01:38That could have a really...
01:40I'm not sure about disastrous,
01:41but it'd be very, very difficult to sort of navigate that
01:44because obviously then you really are looking around.
01:46I mean, obviously, Charlie Crews,
01:47a very good, young, talented midfielder,
01:49but you'd be really throwing him in the deep end.
01:51And I don't think he's quite at actually grey levels yet,
01:53you know, the sort of thing,
01:54like obviously in terms of a youngster coming through,
01:57you know, it's a different ball game with Charlie Crews.
01:59Obviously, you know, they're going a bit more patient with him.
02:01He's a good young player waiting in the wings, though.
02:02And then he'd probably be looking at other people
02:04stepping into midfield.
02:05I mean, Isaac Schmidt could probably play there.
02:07Pascal's played holding midfield before.
02:09But if you were to lose one of those two
02:11when Ampadu and Gruev are out,
02:13then, you know, that would be a problem.
02:14And that's why, basically, Daniel Farker has admitted
02:16they are looking at the free agent market.
02:18So it's kind of watch this space to see if anything happens with that.
02:21I think he's, you know, basically said
02:23that the ideal would be to get somebody in
02:25who can play centre midfield,
02:27but also play a centre-back, you know,
02:28because then you've got sort of cover in both those positions.
02:31Because, obviously, you've got to remember Ampadu
02:32also is an option at centre-half.
02:34So, yeah, two aspects to it, really.
02:36Number one, a very good performance from Rothwell.
02:38And you should remember with him as well,
02:39he hasn't actually had that many starts.
02:41I mean, that was, I think,
02:42that was only his second league start of the season.
02:43And last season, he only had seven league starts,
02:46I think it was.
02:47So, you know, he's 29 and stuff.
02:49I mean, he's not that ancient, is he?
02:50So, obviously, you know, he's still got plenty of years ahead of him.
02:52But equally, like, not just that, you know,
02:54when he hasn't had that many starts,
02:55he's probably going to continue to get better,
02:57which is quite exciting, really,
02:58because he looked very, very good indeed
03:00in that display against the Blade.
03:02So, yeah, very, very good indeed.
03:03But, as I say, it doesn't really change
03:05the whole dynamic and picture,
03:07which is they do still look light in centre midfield.
03:09So, you know, the sooner they can get that sorted out, the better.
03:11And realistically, the sooner they can get their injured,
03:13three injured players back, the better.
03:14But, you know, we're lucky we're talking New Year.
03:16We think for Ampadu, you know,
03:19grew out, like, months, not weeks.
03:21So what that means, I don't know,
03:22but it doesn't sound any time soon.
03:23And it sounds like Werber's going to be the quickest one back.
03:26But whether that's quite before the international break,
03:28I don't know.
03:29But even that would be a big boost
03:30because he can also play his midfield, you would think,
03:32maybe as a holding midfielder.
03:33So, yeah, it's sort of...
03:35That is the one area at the moment that you'd worry about.
03:37I mean, you can talk about the Blades' performance,
03:38how well they played, et cetera, et cetera.
03:40They'll probably go up if they play like that,
03:42which I think they will.
03:43But certainly, to my mind,
03:45your confidence would change
03:47if they lost one of those two midfielders now.
03:49But the good thing is, anyway,
03:50is that they both were very, very good indeed.
03:52And they certainly didn't look like, you know,
03:53third and fourth choice centre midfielders.
03:55Very, very good indeed.
03:56Well, that's the interesting thing, isn't it?
03:58Because, of course, they're still playing well,
04:00even though they're not the first choice
04:01or wouldn't be the first choices,
04:03which is a positive sign.
04:04But then, of course, the worry, as you've pointed out,
04:06is if they get any injuries or there's any issues with those,
04:09you know, suspensions, perhaps,
04:11then you're in a world of pain sort of thing.
04:13You're then really scrambling around
04:15for who can play in those roles.
04:16I mean, we've seen clubs, you know,
04:19in situations like that before.
04:20And when you're wanting promotion
04:22or you're desperate for promotion,
04:24having to scrape the barrel at, you know,
04:26as the season really kicks into sort of the busy period
04:29around winter is not what you need
04:30because the games come thick and fast,
04:32especially in the Championship,
04:33and you can't be sort of missing players
04:36or affording to miss lots of players all at the same time.
04:38So it is an issue for the leads.
04:40I mean, how likely do you think it is
04:42that they'll go into the free agent market?
04:43Because I feel like that's not always
04:46something that happens a lot these days anymore.
04:49You don't really see it sort of
04:50in the higher levels of football.
04:52Yeah, no, I think they will.
04:53Yeah, it sounds like they will.
04:54I mean, we asked Daniel Farker about it,
04:57basically, as soon as Groves' injury was...
05:00And this is actually before even it was confirmed
05:02how long he was out for.
05:03And he basically said then, you know,
05:05we'd have to always be awake to it and stuff.
05:07And, you know, he was very honest about it.
05:09He basically said, yeah, it's something we're going to look at
05:11and something we need to look at.
05:12And I think you're right.
05:13I think they do need to do that.
05:14The other thing is, as well,
05:15is even if Rothwell and Tanaka both stay fit,
05:18which is obviously what you're hoping,
05:20you've got to be honest.
05:21In football, it's unlikely that both of those
05:24will stay A, fit, fully fit,
05:26and B, suspension-free from all the way up from here
05:29until the New Year.
05:30And obviously, the New Year is a different ballgame
05:32because then you've got the January transfer window open.
05:33But I mean, there's still a long way to go between now and then.
05:35It might not be long in terms of, you know,
05:37talking only now, what, you know, nearly two months.
05:39But an awful lot of games,
05:41especially in the festive period.
05:42And to expect both of those to be fully fit
05:44and suspension-free right up until then
05:46is probably a bit of a stretch.
05:47And also, not just that,
05:49even if they are fully fit and suspension-free,
05:52to ask them to then play every single game,
05:54you know, like when obviously you're playing midweek
05:56and obviously, like I said, the festive game.
05:57So they do need another option, I suppose.
05:59A lot also does depend on how far forward
06:02they think Charlie Crewe is
06:03because obviously that is his position.
06:04He is a centre midfielder
06:05and he is very highly rated, obviously,
06:07making very big progress for Wales already.
06:09So, you know, I suppose it depends really
06:11on like how ready they think he is.
06:13And also, you know, as I say,
06:14these other players, whether Schmidt can play there.
06:16So there are probably ways around it,
06:18but it just feels like too much of a gamble really
06:20because I think, you know,
06:21so I think you need to get somebody else.
06:22And various names have been linked, obviously,
06:24but nothing concrete as yet.
06:25So it's kind of watch this space,
06:26but I suspect something will happen.
06:27Yeah, I think it probably needs to.
06:29And, you know, that could be the difference
06:31between going up and not.
06:32I mean, it's, you know,
06:33I mean, every position is important
06:34on the football pitch, but, you know,
06:35centre midfield is the engine room, isn't it?
06:37And if you haven't got people in there
06:38all of a sudden, then, you know,
06:40then you're asking for trouble, really.
06:42It's unfortunate that they've added injuries
06:43to Ampadu and Grew at the same time,
06:45you know, and Werber as well.
06:46Sort of similar option-ish centre back,
06:48obviously, anyway, who can also play midfield.
06:50But yeah, I think they do need to get cover in
06:52and to all extents and purposes,
06:54it sounds like they will.
06:55So it's a watch this space job
06:56and the sooner they can get something done, the better.