Leeds United: A mostly positive start to the season
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00:00Hello and welcome back to the Marching On Together Leeds United podcast. Joined as always
00:06with myself Daniel and from the Yorkshire Evening Post Lee Sobert. Now Lee, it's another
00:13three points for Leeds. Finally, that sort of that start of the season nerves that we
00:17talked about a couple of weeks ago seem to have been put to one side and Leeds are, as
00:22the title of this podcast goes, marching on.
00:24They are, yeah, exactly. Yeah, well, that was what it was all about really, wasn't it?
00:27I mean, it was a very, very busy week, obviously, that transfer deadline week, obviously, leading
00:31up to the transfer deadline day window, straight away followed by a game the next day. And
00:36it was almost like back to the football, wasn't it? In terms of like getting back to the game
00:39against Hull and obviously, you know, three points were what it felt like a big three
00:43points in terms of like assessing the start of the season that really, I mean, that's
00:46kind of like what I was saying that to a few people coming in and that was the general
00:49vibe really, that obviously, you know, going into it on five points and if you can get
00:53three more than obviously you're up to eight and eight out of 12 is suddenly, you know,
00:56not a bad start really. So we can have a look at the start of the season and see what
00:59we think to that.
01:00Yeah, it's well, obviously, we'll mention the Hull game probably first because that's
01:05the most recent victory, a 2-0 win, Matteo Joseph and Joel Perrault both getting on the
01:10score sheet, which I thought was positive for the striking line, given the fact that
01:15they both started without a goal this season, good to get them both on the score sheet.
01:19And of course, before that, you know, obviously, we mentioned at the start of the season, it
01:23was a bit disappointing. And then they've sort of, thanks to the win at Hillsborough,
01:27they've kicked into gear a little bit. So on the whole, I'd say it's not 100%, of course,
01:33it's not overly positive, given some of the results they've had, but I'd say from where
01:37they started, it's got better.
01:40Yeah, I think overall, it's a pretty solid start, really. I mean, to be honest, you can
01:45only really have gone better in two ways. And that's obviously by winning the game again
01:49at West Brom and obviously beating Portsmouth at home. And they're the only two games they've
01:52dropped points in, hence why they're on eight out of a possible 12. But I mean, obviously,
01:58the missed opportunity is obviously the Portsmouth game at the start of the season. I mean, we
02:01keep harping on about it, but I mean, they had so many chances and they really should
02:05have won that. And it's no exaggeration to say they should have scored six, seven or
02:09eight and stuff. And that's just the way it was. That's how dominant they were. But that's
02:13the way it goes. If you don't take your chances, then that's what happens. There's no point
02:17going on about it now. It was just a point. But I mean, other than that, going to West
02:21Brom and getting a point there with that goalless draw, I think we all felt, leaving that game,
02:26that if you took that in isolation, that's a pretty good result. And even now, you look
02:30at the early table, West Brom are second on 10 points. So, I mean, even on the early table,
02:34that looks like a pretty good result. Obviously, an awful long way to go yet. Obviously, the
02:39disappointment with that was that obviously Leeds, at that point, were only on two points
02:43out of six. So, it was a bit like, well, a bit frustrating. They haven't got up to winning
02:46ways yet. But I mean, basically, as long as they won the next two after that, then it
02:51would obviously be looked at in a different light. And as you say, they got the win at
02:53Hillsborough. That felt like a big win, that, really. Obviously, it's the first one of the
02:57season. It's always going to be a big one. But Friday night, Yorkshire derby, potentially
03:01tricky. But they've gone there and done the business. And it was a very, very good performance.
03:05And that definitely gave everybody a lot of confidence and a lot of positivity amongst
03:10the fan base. Obviously, you had the transfer window in between the final week and stuff.
03:14And yes, everybody wanted a number 10, including Daniel Farker, but that wasn't to be. And
03:18then, obviously, you had the win against Hull. I mean, it wasn't particularly straightforward
03:22all the way through. Obviously, goalless at the break and Hull did cause a few problems.
03:26Liam Miller, in particular, as a player, always seems to do well against Leeds. He gave them
03:30nightmares last year for Preston and he should really have scored and did very well. But
03:34in the end, Leeds were the dominant team and they made the most out of their moments, really,
03:39and got those three points on the board. And ultimately, heading into the September international
03:43break unbeaten. Obviously, you've got the Borough Cup defeat, but that is what it is.
03:47They're out of that now. They're never going to win the Carabao Cup. So, yes, unbeaten
03:51and eight points out of 12. And people say, oh, you don't look at the table this early.
03:56Well, you definitely do. I mean, I think everybody does.
03:58People have told me that they don't look at the table. They are really. It's just they
04:03sort of say that to try and deflect the question.
04:06Absolutely, yes. You definitely are looking at it after one game, why not? And it makes
04:10reasonable reading. Obviously, fourth place, eight points. I mean, obviously, Sunderland
04:15have been very much the early success story with 12 points out of 12. I mean, fair play
04:19to them. We'll see how long that continues for. West Brom, obviously, just below them
04:21on 10. As I say, that paints the nil-nil there in an even better light. I mean, fully expect
04:27them to sort of... and Sunderland, really. I don't see why both of those teams won't
04:31continue that in terms of certainly being in the top six mix and whether they can go
04:34a bit further and challenge for automatic remains to be seen. But you wouldn't rule
04:37it out.
04:38And then, obviously, Watford's 100 per cent record came to an end. They're now just one
04:42point above Leeds. And then, obviously, level with Blackburn. And was it one point back
04:46to Burnley, who obviously are the second favourites and still very much seen as the main rivals
04:53for Leeds, if you like. Borough on seven and then Sheffield United on six. And probably
04:56from that little mix, really, that sort of top seven or eight, that's probably what you're
04:59looking at. I mean, there'll probably always be surprise packages. Luton's the one that
05:03sort of surprised everybody with how badly they started, really. Obviously, down towards
05:06the bottom, I think it's just one point. But, yes, it's a very good start. Well, yes, it's
05:11a good start. I think it's not superb. It's not perfect. But, I mean, it's probably never
05:16going to be. I mean, obviously, the start did cost them to some degree last season.
05:22In the end, it was the finish that cost them, really. You could say if they picked up more
05:26points at the start of the season, then they would have got in the top two. So, there's
05:30two ways of looking at that. But, basically, what I would say is they've built the platform
05:35and the base there to kick on from after the September international break. I mean,
05:40there have been favourites all summer for the title. Burnley leapfrogged them temporarily
05:45after they started so well, when Leeds obviously started a little bit at the start. But, I
05:50mean, it's pretty mad, really, the price they are now. I mean, they're down to 13-8 favourites
05:54now, Leeds. And some bookmakers are 6-5. So, I mean, they're kind of, to be honest, they're
06:00kind of one win away from going odds on, it kind of feels like. I mean, which obviously
06:03not everybody will agree with. And Daniel Farker said it's post-match presser after
06:07the whole game that Leeds can't be seen as the big favourites this season because they've
06:11lost people like Somerville and Routera and stuff who can just flick a game just like
06:15that. And I totally get where he's coming from. But, equally, they are the favourites.
06:18That's the fact of the matter. Because, basically, you look at their squad, even allowing for
06:22those big departures, I've got a very, very good squad.