Leeds United head coach Daniel Farke has urged fans to stop criticising one of his under-fire players ahead of the trip to Wolves in the Premier League.
Having failed to find the net for the third consecutive Premier League game against Fulham, Daniel Farke has a decision to make on the composition of his front three.
With doubts persisting over the fitness of Dan James and Willy Gnonto, Farke could elect to stick with the same front three that started against Fulham, as Noah Okafor and the much-maligned Brenden Aaronson flanked Dominic Calvert-Lewin.
Although Aaronson was praised for his defensive contribution against Fulham, his end-product came under the microscope as Leeds drew another blank. Now, Farke has urged Leeds fans to get behind Aaronson as he looks set to start a second consecutive game.
Brenden Aaronson during Leeds clash v Villarreal.
Photo by George Wood/Getty Images
Daniel Farke urged Leeds United fans to ease off on Brenden Aaronson
Speaking in his weekly press conference ahead of Leeds’ trip to Molineux, Farke leapt to the defence of Aaronson’s contribution at Craven Cottage.
According to the Leeds boss, the persistent public criticism faced by the USA international is contributing to his poor decision-making in front of goal. Farke believes fans should applaud his efforts in defence and give him time to improve his attacking output.
Farke said: “It’s important not to be on the back of a player and to put too much weight on his shoulders. Sometimes, the feeling with Brenden is that we are a bit over-critical of him in public. I have to defend him a little bit.
He added: “We want goals, we want assists, and, in the end, he has to deliver; otherwise, a different player will get his chance. But instead of criticising him too much, it’s not like Brenden is not willing to score a goal or is not highly motivated.
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“Sometimes, because he is so on it, he is perhaps losing his calmness and is not so clear in his actions. It’s also not helpful if everyone is on his back and always criticising him for this.”
Before concluding: “What I want to see from a player who represents my shirt is definitely hard work, and this is what Brenden always does. And for that, as long as the player works hard for this team and does his tactical job, I’m always happy.
“But if he wants to become a regular starter who starts each and every game, then, for that, of course, he has to improve, together with our help, his offensive output. It’s a bit like last season, Daniel James, Manor Salomon, at some point, they scored goal after goal.
“They delivered assist after assist, so they kept their place in the starting line-up. If you don’t do this in the offence, and so far in the offence we haven’t done this, then you have to accept, OK, there’s competition, sometimes a different player gets a chance to cement his position. So, yes, he has to step up a bit in his offensive decision-making.”
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Brenden Aaronson is contributing to the Leeds attack
Although Aaronson’s perceived lack of contribution in attack for the Whites is a frequently aired criticism among the Leeds fanbase, the evidence from the Premier League season to date is that the American is contributing when he is on the pitch.
As part of a team which has struggled to create, Aaronson averaged the third-most shots on target per 90 for Leeds, behind only Joel Piroe and Lukas Nmecha, with 0.6, according to FotMob.
Brenden Aaronson’s Attacking stats Total Leeds Rank
Shots on target per 90 0.6 3rd
Big Chances Created 2 1st
Chances Created 3 3rd
xAssists per 90 0.34 1st
Successful Dribbles per 90 2.3 1st
Successful tackles per 90 3.5 1st
He has also created the most big chances, with two, and the third most chances overall, with three, although that is somewhat behind the tally of 11 created by Anton Stach.
Aaronson also has the most successful dribbles per 90 minutes for the Whites, with 2.3, and the most expected assists with 0.34. Although Farke has admitted that his efficiency in the final third remains a work in progress, the results should come for Aaronson if he keeps producing a similar output.