This week on the Marching On Together Leeds United Podcast, Daniel and Lee debate who is Leeds' most in-form striker, as well as giving praise to Joe Rothwell once again.
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00:00Hello and welcome back to the Marching On Together Leeds United podcast. We've had a
00:21couple of weeks away but we are back once again as always with myself Daniel and joined
00:27by Lee Sowett of the Yorkshire Evening Post. Lee, you've not been too well have you?
00:32No, we've had all sorts, we've had plenty of games and it takes a toll coming down with
00:35viruses and stuff but we soldier on so I missed a game at the weekend but thankfully another
00:42three points which is the main thing if not the performance. I think people would have
00:46liked a few more goals wouldn't they but they got the job done and obviously we'll talk
00:50about the start of the season so far really and obviously what's coming up, the game's
00:57about to come thick and fast after this international break.
00:59They certainly are yes but as you say rightly there we'll start with the win over Queen's
01:04Park Rangers at Elland Road on Saturday. A 2-0 win, pretty standard to be honest. Goals
01:10from Jadon Bogle and Joel Perrault of course deep in the stoppage time. Jadon Bogle's winner
01:17of the PushCast award definitely this year I think but overall just one of those solid
01:26home wins that you just need to clock up a lot of if you're going to get promoted from
01:29this division.
01:30Yes, definitely. Just obviously 1-0 is always a dangerous goal and isn't it as everybody
01:35knows and that's the thing and obviously look at it on paper and it's finished 2-0 but the
01:38fact the second goal wasn't until the 95th minute and obviously they should have scored
01:41before then but it's a similar story. It's kind of like a common theme with Leeds and
01:46it's not just this season. It's been like that for ages hasn't it in terms of missing
01:50chances. Plenty of teams miss chances obviously but Leeds really do struggle to put teams
01:55away quite often and don't often get the goals that they should do really and that was the
02:00case again in this game. Loads of chances in the second half but I just think obviously
02:03fans would have probably wanted to see them do what Borough did really and really pilot
02:08on and get four or five past someone for once and stuff but that's obviously the aim isn't
02:15it but the bottom line is it's about getting three points which they got and it's the end
02:19of the day. As I say it's another three points on the tally and not enough though to put
02:23them in the automatic promotion places so we can assess obviously the way the division
02:27is looking now obviously in third place but in terms of the game, just basically almost
02:32like a standard Leeds performance at the moment, the way things are going. 69% possession,
02:38you'd expect that. They dominate just about every game. Six shots on target compared to
02:42QPR zero and then 10 shots overall compared to four from QPR and stuff. It's like most
02:49games really where they're dominating on the figures but realistically the story this season
02:54so far is that pretty much every game, not all of them, pretty much most games have dominated
02:58on the figures but not every game has ended up with a three-point hole and that's basically
03:03why they are where they are in the table really because obviously they've not always got the
03:07points that their superiority suggests they should get but I mean it's not been complete
03:12one-way traffic. Obviously it's been a few disappointing ones this season as well and
03:16ultimately the table doesn't lie, does it? There's two teams above them so it has been
03:21a reasonably solid start but as we can talk about now in terms of who should be favourites
03:25and stuff, there's obviously work to do.
03:27There certainly is, yes. As you say, they probably could be further ahead than what
03:31they are Leeds points-wise. We look as far back as the opening day against Portsmouth
03:36and that was one of those key moments where Leeds were the better side. Yes, they scored
03:42three goals, probably could have had even more to be honest but of course they didn't
03:45kill the team off. They were playing and it came back to bite them but if we look at the
03:50league table, as you say, Sunderland of course still sat top and then I believe it's Sheffield
03:54United sat in second place. Of course, they won the Steel City Derby yesterday. So, Sunderland,
04:02they dropped points on Saturday. They blew a two-goal lead against Coventry but for the
04:06most part, they've been exemplary this season. Sheffield United, of course, have been good
04:10too and then you've got Leeds just in behind them but it is tight. I mean, the Championship
04:14is always tight. We know this from experience but how do you view Leeds? What is it, maybe
04:20a quarter of the way into the season sort of thing? Should they be viewed as the odds-on
04:26favourite the way they currently are? It's a hard one to judge, isn't it?
04:32Yes, it is. I can see why they're odds-on favourites but whether they should be odds-on
04:36favourites is another thing altogether and realistically, if you look at the table, certainly
04:40so far, then they shouldn't be odds-on favourites, should they? Because they're not top, they're
04:43not even second or third. Let's not forget here that Sheffield United also had two points
04:46deducted. Obviously, they might be on 31 points and two ahead of Leeds but obviously, technically
04:51speaking, there should be two points clear at the top of the table and four ahead of
04:54Leeds and I'd love to believe Chris Wilder shows them the table as it is in terms of
04:58the points and stuff to sort of say this is how well we're doing and stuff and they're
05:01a good side who can get things done. There's loads of ways of looking at this. One way
05:04you can look at it with Leeds is just to say there are only two points off top and at this
05:08stage of the season, if you're two points off top, obviously, you want to be top but
05:11that's pretty good really, all things considered. The other way, on the flip side of that, you
05:14can look at it as to say they're not even in the automatics and yes, it is very, very
05:18close. Obviously, just two points behind both those two teams at the top of the table but
05:22it leaves some work to do. Obviously, I mean, nobody wants to play us again after last season.
05:27That goes without saying. I mean, it's been a decent start to the season. It hasn't been
05:31mind-blowing by any means and there's definitely room for improvement and the bottom line is
05:35with Leeds. It's like, I mean, you're going to have to look at the table. It hasn't drawn
05:38too many games really. That's what it comes down to. I think the top five have all lost
05:41two and there's been too many games with Leeds where basically, they've ended up taking a
05:45point away where they should have taken three and you've nailed it with the first game of
05:48the season against Portsmouth. That's obviously one of them for definite. The Sunderland away
05:52one.
05:53I was just about to say that one. Yes, the Steadywind away one.
05:55Yeah, I don't think I'm over that one even now. The mind still boggles about that and
05:59obviously, the table would look very, very different with minus one point for Sunderland
06:03and plus two for Leeds had that been the three points they should have got then. Obviously,
06:06you've got the Bristol City stalemate draw as well, which wasn't a great game but I mean,
06:12Bristol City are a good side at home, obviously, but it's another game where you're leaving
06:14and you're thinking, well, the point's pretty good but really, you want to be going there
06:18and getting three and just lots of like, you know, sort of like near misses, really.
06:22Obviously, the defeats as well. I mean, the Millwall defeat was very, very disappointing
06:25but I mean, you could sort of see that coming. I think I said beforehand to a few people,
06:28I could see that being one nil and it was no surprise to score from the set piece. That
06:32was always going to be a danger and then obviously, the only other defeat is the Burnley game
06:35and again, that's another what if one in terms of, you know, they played very, very well
06:38and I mean, they shouldn't, you know, they probably should have won it, never mind lost
06:40it but I mean, it's all ifs, buts and maybes. All that matters is the score on the top right
06:44corner, isn't it? So, I don't know. There's various ways to look at it. I mean, you can
06:48say they should probably should be higher at the table. Yes, I think that's probably
06:51fair to say but I mean, the bottom line is and Daniel Fart is not really one to moan
06:54about it. You know, it is, you know, what it is in terms of how the table presents itself
06:58and it's all to play for. I think they probably should be favourites. I mean, I think the
07:03thing you can say is they're probably favourites as well based on number one, this is Leeds
07:07United, number two, also the squad they've got but also like, you know, some of the displays
07:11like I mean, you talk about Sheffield United. I mean, you know, they were miles the better
07:15team in the victory against Sheffield United. They were the better team against Sunderland
07:18and they're the two direct rivals really as things stand at the moment but there's too
07:22many other games for Leeds at the moment where obviously, you know, they haven't taken away
07:25the three points and it's those ones really that has them where they are at the moment.
07:29I think the price they are is ridiculously short like eight to eleven. I mean, some bookies
07:33are even one to two, you know, which is really, really short for a side that are still, you
07:37know, as I say, in third place and two points off first and second. You've got Sheffield
07:41United about five to one. I mean, that's quite big. I think, you know, the way they're going,
07:44especially the two-point deduction, obviously, because, you know, at the table as it is,
07:47it should be too clear really. Sunderland, Sevens, Borough, let's not forget them. They're
07:51creeping up the ranks.
07:52Yeah, they are starting to.
07:53Exactly. I mean, they're a little bit further behind, obviously, but not miles behind. You
07:58know, what are they? Only another four points back. So, sorry, five points back from Leeds.
08:02I mean, that can soon be changed. So, I mean, obviously, you know, they had a good wean
08:05at the weekend and, you know, they're obviously getting better. So, it wouldn't really matter.
08:08And obviously, you know, Burnley, to me, look quite big as well at 14 to one. I know, obviously,
08:12they're not sort of wowing everybody with the football at the moment and stuff, but they've got
08:15a very, very good squad and they've got loads and loads of injuries as well. And I know it was in
08:19dramatic fashion in terms of very late penalty for them at the end, but they got the job done,
08:23obviously, at the weekend with another three points, which puts themselves only two points
08:26behind Leeds. So, very, very tight at the top. I think a lot of people almost can see it being
08:30like it's kind of like breakaway four, you know, in terms of Sunderland, Sheffield United, Leeds
08:34and Burnley, a bit like it was last season, I suppose, with the top four. But, you know,
08:38as I say, it wouldn't rule out someone like Borough getting into the mix as well. And obviously,
08:42you've got other teams there as well. So, Watford's still in there, West Brom as well.
08:46But it's all to play for. I mean, it's hard to say, really, with Leeds, because I think
08:50we all agree that if they play the way they can play, i.e. the Sheffield United game and stuff
08:55like that, and we've done many recordings on here where they've said if they play like they played
09:00in that game, then they'll go up. And I think that's right. I think if they play consistently,
09:03you know, at their best, then they will go up and they'll probably go up as champions. But
09:07the jury's still out a little bit because there's just too many games, obviously, where they're not,
09:11you know, they might be on top, but they're obviously not getting the goals to put the game
09:14to bed. And that's the thing, really. I mean, they have scored, I think they've scored the
09:18second most goals in the division on 24. So it's a decent tally. But I mean,
09:22they should be on more. You know, they've missed too many chances, basically.
09:25Defence is pretty solid, obviously. You know, obviously, you can come up for that first game
09:28of the season and the odd little hiccup here and there. There are injuries to contend with as well.
09:32So it's hard to say. I mean, I couldn't be categorically coming on here now and saying,
09:36you know, I've been massively, massively, massively confident that they'll finish in the top two.
09:40I mean, at the moment, I couldn't say that, really. I mean, I think there's a very,
09:43very good chance they'll do that. But equally, there'd be a very good chance Sunderland could
09:46do it. Very good chance Sheffield United could do it. So it's all to play for, really. It totally
09:50is. And as we sort of said, and we'll come to later on in this, I mean, the return after the
09:55international break. I mean, Daniel Farke said himself, in one of the presses he did, that
09:58the table will take shape between November and March, I think he said. And that's where we're
10:03getting at now, you know, when they come back. So many games in December. I mean, it's a madness,
10:07like all the games come in thick and fast. And that was, that will really, you know,
10:10set the table up then. So, but I mean, they're obviously in contention. There's no doubt about
10:13that in terms of contention for the title. Obviously, they're only two off top. But,
10:17you know, as I say, odds on title favourites, a bit short, I think. But, you know, hopefully,
10:22that'll prove that right when we come back.
10:23You mentioned goal scoring there as well. That's an interesting one, because, of course,
10:38Leeds have scored a lot of goals this season, and they've had a lot of different goal scorers.
10:43You've had Joe Perrault, you've had Mateo Joseph both playing through the middle for Leeds. And
10:48if we look at that sort of that debate, and in particular on Joe Perrault, who himself has got
10:53six goals this season, which is pretty high in the championship so far. Who's preferred,
10:59do you think, Ellen Drode, at the moment? Because, you know, we start the season with Joseph,
11:04because we spoke a lot last season about how Perrault never really has hit the heights
11:08people perhaps have expected him at Leeds until this season, when actually you start
11:12putting the ball in the back of the net. So, what's the feeling there? Who should be starting
11:16games? It's a hard one to weigh up this, because obviously a lot of Perrault's goals have been off
11:20the bench, and he's sort of wanting to sort of have that impact from the start, really. And he's
11:24definitely got it in his locker to do that. But the stats, I mean, if you look at the stats,
11:27Perrault's played 674 minutes of championship football, and he's got six goals and two assists.
11:32And Mateo Joseph's played 830 minutes, obviously, you know, like what, you know, 160 minutes more
11:36there or thereabouts. And he's got two goals and three assists. So, in terms of goals to minutes
11:41ratio, Perrault's way ahead, obviously. And I don't think there's any doubt that he's the best
11:45finisher at the club. So, at the end of the day, it's goals you need to win games. And we've just
11:49talked about, obviously, Leeds not scoring enough goals in terms of, like, putting games to bed. So,
11:54Perrault's the answer, really, on that score at the moment, I think. I mean, that said, Mateo Joseph's
11:58a very, very good player, obviously. I mean, you're just wanting to get a real run of goals
12:02for Leeds. That's the thing. I mean, we've seen it do it for Spain's 21s, you know. I mean, like,
12:05he's on a phenomenal run for them. And there's no doubt on how good a player he is and stuff. And
12:09I've always thought an awful lot of him. And I'm, you know, so pleased when he finally got his
12:12chance and stuff this season at the start of it. And it's not like he's let anybody down or anything
12:15like that. He's, you know, I think everybody, you know, rates him very, very highly. I mean,
12:19all the fans do. Daniel Farke does. I mean, we all do. And he's a fantastic player, but
12:23just probably wants to score a few more goals, obviously. But that's, you know, it's not just
12:26about that for strikers. But, you know, yeah, I mean, at the moment, you're right. I mean,
12:29with Perrault, you almost forget how many he's got. I mean, six goals. I think that puts him
12:33joint fourth in the Championship top scorer charts. And that's a pretty decent return,
12:38really, when you haven't even started that many games. And he's had seven league starts compared
12:41to Joseph, who's had nine. So, you know, I guess he's in pole position at the moment. That said,
12:46obviously, he didn't start at the weekend and stuff. So it's almost like, you know, one,
12:49then the other. And it is, you know, obviously, it's a squad game, especially in December,
12:52as we say, when these games are going to be coming up in December. You probably just want
12:56Perrault to be able to do that more from the start, whereas Joseph, obviously, all-round game,
13:00yeah, fantastic and stuff. But you want him to be, like, just getting a few more goals and stuff.
13:03So there's probably, like, sort of, like, little things for him both to be sort of like, you know,
13:07to answer, I suppose. But it's a good debate to have to have both those players. You shouldn't
13:10forget Bamford as well, obviously. Daniel Farker, always extremely complimentary about Patrick
13:14Bamford, and he's still very much in the mix and stuff. So another option there. But it's not just
13:19the forwards as well. It's the wingers as well. That's the thing. I mean, obviously, leads aren't
13:23helped at the moment by Largi Ramazzani being out injured. Hopefully, that one's not too serious.
13:27You know, it shouldn't be too long, hopefully, before he's back. And I think probably he's
13:30already emerging as, like, one of the star players, if not, like, the star player, really,
13:34in terms of someone who can, like, really make it happen from nothing, a bit like sort of Somerville
13:37or someone like that, or Routier or whatever, something like that. So there'll be a lot better,
13:41obviously, and benefit enormously when he's back. But even so, like, the players that are still
13:45there and, you know, that are fit at the moment, like, Nonto in particular, you know, this is his
13:49time to stand up and really shine. And you want to see a bit more goals returned from him. Aronson
13:53as well. I mean, Daniel Farker said it in his pre-match presser before the QPR game, you know,
13:58that basically he wanted to see more of an end product from Aronson in a nutshell and stuff.
14:01And I think that's right. And obviously, Manor Solomon, we all raved about him when he first
14:04came in from Tottenham and stuff. And he started very, very well, but it's just not happening for
14:08him at the moment. Almost like, it feels a bit like he's almost trying a bit too hard. It's just
14:11not coming off. And then there's Dan James as well. So all across the board, you just want to
14:15see him chipping in with more goals, really. But I mean, at the moment, in terms of, like, you know,
14:19who the number one striker is in terms of goals returned, there's no doubt it's Joel Perun,
14:22because the stats tell you that. And especially when you dig a bit deeper in terms of how many
14:26goals he's got per minute. So, yeah, good start from him. And hopefully it can continue. He said
14:30a few weeks ago, actually, that he would always aim in for around about 20 goals or something.
14:33And I think that's the case again this season. So and if he gets that, then obviously that'll stand
14:37Leeds in very, very good stead. And you just want Joseph to get up to that tally as well,
14:41because there's no doubt that Matteo Joseph's capable of doing that.
14:44Of course, yes. And to be fair, I think you've answered the question pretty well that I posed
14:48at the start of that section. Yeah, it would certainly appear that Joel Perun is the one
14:52at the moment, of course. We chatted at the start of the season or before the season started about
14:57Matteo Joseph getting his chance. And to be fair, in some part, he's taken it. To be fair to Perun,
15:03he's certainly taken the chance, even though it's come off the bench as well.
15:16Looking a bit further back in the team, we mentioned him in the last podcast as well,
15:20and that's Joe Rothwell, who, to be honest, probably wouldn't have been a starter for a
15:26large part of this season if it hadn't have been for injuries. But of course, he's coming to the
15:30side. Obviously, you're missing Ampadu at the moment in particular. And so you've got Rothwell,
15:37you've got, is it Tanaka who's playing in there as well? Yeah. So to be fair to them too,
15:43they've both been good. But if we focus on Rothwell once again, he's just looked pretty
15:48good though, hasn't he? It highlights that Leeds have at least got that strength and depth
15:53in the midfield part where they are missing two key players as well, which is a good sign,
15:58and you think, well, then Falk has got a decision to make when Ampadu and Gruev come back. So yeah,
16:05I mean, credit to Joe Rothwell because at the moment he's pulling the strings for Leeds.
16:08Yeah, definitely. It will be an interesting one. We're still some way off, obviously,
16:12but until Ampadu and Gruev get back, I mean, you're talking New Year and stuff at least for
16:16that and stuff. But when everybody's back, it'll be an interesting conundrum because
16:19obviously you've got these two in centre midfield that when basically they came together as the
16:24partnership on the two injuries, it very much looked like it's sort of like your third and
16:27fourth choice midfielders. But they're not really playing like that at the moment. I mean, obviously,
16:31and Rothwell's looked very, very good indeed. I think when Leeds signed him, I think people
16:35maybe thought, well, I'm going to be a bit of a squad player, be interesting to see,
16:38like sort of like, you know, maybe filling in a little bit. But I mean, at the moment,
16:41yes, OK, it's down to injuries. But at the moment, he's a very, very important player
16:45in the centre of the park and obviously gives him a bit more of an attacking dimension as well.
16:49I think the next thing he needs to add to his game is obviously we talk about some of his passing and
16:52attacking dimension and stuff and this and the other, but the next thing he needs to add is end
16:56products as well. That's the thing, you know, he's yet to score for Leeds. He's got one assist,
16:59obviously, and obviously takes corners a lot of time as well. And, you know, that's always been
17:03a thing with Leeds, obviously, you know, he's finally broke the duck in terms of scoring for one
17:07and then obviously ended up with two because obviously it was a goal from the corner that
17:10was cleared. But the deliveries need to be a little bit better as well. But, you know,
17:13there's no doubt that he's a very, very good player. And I suppose it's not really a surprise
17:17that he's continuing to get better because we've talked on these before about him and said that,
17:21obviously, last season at Southampton, when he was on loan, he didn't actually have that
17:25many starts. And even obviously before that at Bournemouth as well, it was the same. So
17:28once he gets into a rhythm of starts, you know, certainly naturally he's going to sort of get
17:32better and better. And put, you know, put simply, I mean, even though obviously your club captain,
17:36even Ampadu and Ilya Gruev are both out injured at the moment, Leeds' centre midfield looks in
17:40pretty good hands. Obviously, the problem will be if either of them get injured. That said,
17:43obviously, Guilherme Vogue has come in and looks a very, very good player, looks a very,
17:46very good signing for a free agent signing, really. So it's good that obviously they've got that
17:50extra insurance in terms of having him there as well. But it will be interesting to see what
17:54happens when everybody's back. But for the moment, yeah, I mean, you know, fair play to him. He's
17:58come in and stuff. There were question marks really, as I say, about sort of like what role
18:01he would fill in terms of when they signed him. But at the moment he's come in, he's sort of
18:04answered Leeds' need. He's in centre midfield. He's doing the business and stuff. And yeah,
18:08as I say, just the next thing now is just to add a few more sort of like goals and assists to his
18:12game. He's definitely capable of doing that. Next to him as well, Tanaka has been brilliant. I mean,
18:16I suppose he's probably, I don't know about surprise of the season because a lot of people
18:20said when they signed him, you know, like, you know, this looks like a very, very good player.
18:23And I think Leeds has got him for a good price, really, Tanaka. But he's been excellent as well
18:27this season. At the moment, those two in centre midfield looking very, very good. But as I say,
18:31yeah, I mean, yeah, Guilherme Vogue is there now as well, which is great. But even so, let's keep
18:34him wrapped up in cotton wool because even so, don't want any more injuries in centre midfield
18:39or any more injuries anywhere really, to be quite honest.
18:50Finally, though, before we end, we'll have a bit of an early look ahead to the trip to Swansea,
18:56which of course comes straight after the international break. We'll probably look
18:59ahead to this again next week, but we'll do a brief preview of it this time. Again,
19:05it's one of those, isn't it, where it's hard to call because, of course,
19:09Leeds have gone to Millwall recently. They got beaten there. They went to Bristol City,
19:13but you've got a point there. But, you know, given how tight it is at the top,
19:16you need to start establishing yourself and making a bit of a gap if you can.
19:20So, yeah, they need to be getting something, don't they?
19:24Yeah, 100%. Yeah. I mean, two stats for Swansea stand out. Number one, the fact that they've
19:28only scored 11 goals, which in 15 games is not very good. It's the worst in the division. I
19:32mean, that's quite a staggering stat, really, that. I mean, especially for a team in Swansea
19:36who play good football and try and play good football, you know, you'd think they'd have
19:39more goals than that. But equally, they've only conceded 10, you know, which is the fifth best
19:43in the division. So is this going to be a nil-nil draw? I mean, on those stats, you'd think it would
19:47be, especially with Leeds always missing chances. So nil-nil might not be a bad shout. But yeah,
19:52it's a difficult game, obviously, that to come back to. But it's a big weekend straight away
19:55because all three teams, and we talk about the top four and the breakaway four, if you like,
20:00who knows, it might not end up being that case. But they're all away from home and they've all
20:04got tough games. And you've got Burnley go to Bristol City first and foremost at 12.30 Saturday,
20:08Sheffield United go to Coventry. So there's two difficult games. And Sunderland are away at
20:12Millwall. I mean, obviously, we know how difficult it is going to Millwall. So all three of those
20:15away, Leeds obviously playing the following day at Swansea. And you'd think there'd be a
20:19reasonable chance of at least one of those teams dropping points. And obviously, you know, we won't
20:23know until the kickoff at Swansea. But I mean, if that's the case, and even if it's not the case,
20:26and you know, Leeds have to sort of hit the ground running. And this is, as I say,
20:30the period now where it's really going to start to shake the table and stuff. And it's, you know,
20:33it's going to kick off a big week from obviously Luton at home in midweek and then Blackburn away.
20:36And then, you know, the games just come thick and fast. But yeah, it'd be fascinating once Swansea,
20:40obviously a long trek as well down to South Wales, that you add that into the mix as well.
20:44You've got the Joel Peru factor, obviously, against his former club. You've got the Wales
20:47factor, obviously, Swansea with a lot of Wales and Wales international players and the same with
20:51Leeds. So there's loads of different things to add into the mix. They're probably a team who
20:56probably could and maybe should be a bit higher at the table than where they are. I think that,
21:00you know, sort of like, what, the 11th at the moment and stuff. So, you know, not a million
21:03miles off the playoffs, but they've got a good young manager there in Luke Williams. As I say,
21:06the problem with them is obviously they've been scoring goals and you feel like if they get that
21:09sorted, then obviously they'll probably move up a little bit. But yeah, it's another one of those
21:13ones really, I think, where, you know, you look at Swansea away and you probably think, you know,
21:17if you go there under normal circumstances and you get a point, you know, as you say,
21:21like you quite rightly said, take something from the game and then that's not bad, you know. And
21:24I think that's probably a fair enough shout, but all right, they're only playing catch-up by two
21:28points, but they are playing catch-up, you know, to a degree. So, I mean, realistically, you know,
21:32what you want is obviously go there and get three points and obviously, you know, really sort of
21:36like make a statement on your first game back. Hard one to call Leeds. I mean, very, very early,
21:40obviously, we're talking about this, but Leeds are going to go there as odds on favourites, but
21:43about eight to 11, but that's always the case, isn't it? And stuff. And it just feels, especially
21:48in that game, I mean, obviously with the stats we've just talked about with Swansea, obviously
21:51not scoring many, but equally not conceding many first goals is going to be absolutely key. And
21:55it almost, it's a very, very different test, but it almost, to me, feels a little bit like the
21:59Millwall away game, really that one. And obviously Millwall was, you know, it's a different ball
22:03game in terms of the atmosphere and the rivalry and their threat at set pieces, but it does,
22:07that was all, that always looked like being tight, you know, and you can almost like,
22:12you can always feel the same about this one really, where you can see it being one goal
22:15either way. So, the other factor obviously is international break, obviously leads a lot of
22:19players away on internationals. So, you know, need to make sure that everybody, well, they can't
22:22do anything about it, just have to cross the fingers and toes, everybody comes back fit,
22:25they don't need any more injuries, obviously. So, that will be a factor, same with Swansea to a
22:29degree, but yeah, a very, very hard first game back, but it's, you know, a tough standard again
22:33at the top of the division. And I think you're right, you know, need to go there and 100% get
22:37something, but realistically try and go there and get three points. So, definitely, you know,
22:40capable of doing that. You wonder if Swansea playing football might suit Leeds a bit, you
22:44know, in terms of like the game might be a little bit more open and stuff, and, you know, that might
22:48actually help Leeds rather than playing a side who parks the bus as such. But, I mean, that said,
22:52you know, Swansea are very tight defensively and haven't conceded many goals. So, loads of different
22:57ways of looking at it, but yeah, you know, got to go there and get three points, I think, and sort
23:01of like start putting the pressure on the teams above them and get themselves into the top two
23:05and this time stay there. Yeah, I mean, obviously, given how many of these games are sort of coming
23:09up over this Christmas and New Year period, and just how, as you said before, Daniel Farke quite
23:15rightly pointed out that this is the sort of period now after this international break until
23:19the spring comes where the league table starts to establish itself, and then
23:23it's sort of then the final push to the line in April and May. But, yes, it's a big game. I mean,
23:30as I say, we'll look ahead to it more in a bit more depth next week, but until then, thank you
23:34all very much for listening. It has been another great Marching On Together podcast, but we'll be
23:38back next week to look ahead to Swansea even further. Until then, thanks for listening.
23:45Bye for now.