Leeds United: Joe Rothwell hits form

National World - LocalTV

25/10/2024

Transcript

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.

Leeds United: Joe Rothwell hits form

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