If Daniel Farke's words are heeded then the Match of the Day planners will be pencilling Leeds United in for that dreaded last match slot for the foreseeable.
The game at Fulham was already a familiar sight because in three of Leeds' four Premier League outings so far they've been solid and competitive. Up for it. Physically up to it. Defensively sound. Yet offensively toothless. And according to Farke, keeping things tight and hoping to nick a goal is just how it's going to be. It's how it's got to be. These are the cards he has been dealt.
Speaking after a game that would have and probably should have ended 0-0 had it not been for a freak 94th minute own goal, Farke laid out the stark reality facing him and Leeds United in the English top flight.
"We have to have this approach for the whole season, we need to be rock solid at the back," he said. "No criticism of my attacking players. As a newly promoted side this is exactly how we have to approach the game. Of course we're lacking a bit. We have to make sure we're rock solid, have many clean sheets and to score here and there in order to win or draw a game. I would have preferred to have a few more but this is our squad, we have to approach games exactly like we did today."
When the transfer window shut it was obvious that Leeds' biggest problem was going to be the scoring of goals. After four games there is already a body of evidence to back up the concerns and suspicions. One goal, scored from the penalty spot, is all they have to show for themselves from their final third endeavours. There was an element of misfortune at Craven Cottage, where Sean Longstaff hit the crossbar. It hit the very top of the crossbar though. And by hit, what we really mean was clipped ever so slightly. But that situation was one of a number that at the very least held promise without delivering joy.
Leeds' first spell of possession saw them keep the ball moving and ultimately ended with them going backwards. Fulham's first sustained spell on the ball saw Leeds come under pressure and drop closer and closer to their own box. Yet for all the hosts' superior territory and sharper passing, they conceded the first chance. Anton Stach's header invited Noah Okafor to counter and he won a corner. Fulham defended the delivery, Brenden Aaronson hooked the ball back in and Dominic Calvert-Lewin headed straight at Bernd Leno. He could have done better with the direction on the header, even if power was difficult to generate.
As the half developed Fulham found Leeds impossible to break down. Karl Darlow was largely untroubled as Ethan Ampadu marshalled the midfield and the back four coped admirably with Fulham's considerable threats. Aaronson, selected precisely for his ability to run and defend, helped Jayden Bogle lock down the right hand side. On the left Gabriel Gudmundsson and Okafor represented a bit more adventure.
Reaching the break goalless, Leeds could take real heart from how comfortably they had matched the hosts. It was a confident start to the second half too and they might even have taken the lead early on. Clever interplay unlocked a pocket of space for Stach to cross and Aaronson prodded goalwards only to be denied by Leno.
It seemed to open up momentarily for Okafor thanks to Calvert-Lewin's dummy and when his first shot was blocked he tried again from his backside, sending the ball wide. Bogle strode forward and tried his luck from range without really making Leno work.
And then Fulham began to take over. They might not have cut Leeds open but they did start to build momentum and spent more and more time in the final third. Darlow had to be at his absolute best to claw away Harry Wilson's free-kick. The substitutions said it all about how difficult it would be for Leeds to see out the draw. For the hosts on came Emile Smith-Rowe, Adama Traore and £34.6m winger Kevin. Farke brought on Lukas Nmecha, Jack Harrison and Daniel James. Premier League quality versus Premier League question marks.
As Kevin embodied the very difference-making ability that Leeds sought and failed to acquire in the transfer window, the tide turned fully in the home side's favour. His skill, movement, speed and crosses had the Leeds right flank creaking. When he played a one-two and cut inside his curling effort looked a goal all the way until Darlow's fingertips intervened. The keeper's next touch was to pick the ball out of the net. A disputed throw-in decision went the way of Fulham, they won a corner and the ball in caught Gudmundsson by surprise. His body shape left him unable to direct his header anywhere but his own goal. When your luck is out, it's really out.
This is the point to labour on because even midtable sides in the Premier League can bring on wingers who could be considered unaffordable for Leeds. Because they did not get the set-piece taking magic man they so badly needed, they're relying on a combination of defensive steel, hard work, near-total efficiency from the chances they do make and a bit of luck. Because they did not take their chances, because they could not score a goal they were always at risk of having all their good defensive work undone by a moment of Fulham quality. Or by rank bad luck. That it was such a freak goal was no consolation for Farke or his team.
You could perhaps quibble over the side he picked. Not so much the back four because no matter how good you think Jaka Bijol is going to be, Pascal Struijk barely put a foot wrong. Not the midfield either because Ampadu, Stach and the excellent Longstaff are exactly who you want making life horrible in the middle for away games. Calvert-Lewin and Okafor were signed to be starters so should probably be doing just that. That leaves Aaronson. Farke lauded the American for his hard work. Willy Gnonto, whose only minutes came due to the injury James picked up late on, might well have brought more going forward but in Farke's view a more defensive profile was needed to combat Fulham's marauding left side. The inescapable realisation is that if Farke had a right winger who guaranteed elite level creativity then he would play him. He does not have that player.
It can't all be doom and gloom. For 94 minutes this was almost exactly the way a newly-promoted side needs to play away from home in the Premier League. Playing like this, fighting like this can keep Leeds in games and give them a chance of a result. It won't be thrill-a-minute stuff. But this is the way it's going to be. This is Leeds United's reality. Expectations need to be adjusted accordingly.
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