adminLeeds United suffered their second defeat of the Premier League season this afternoon, going down 2-0 to Bournemouth.
For most of the match, there was very little separating the two teams. However, after James Trafford effectively gifted Evanilson Bournemouth’s opening goal in the 31st minute, it suddenly felt like we had a huge task ahead of us.
Despite pushing hard for an equaliser after the break, we were unable to find one. In truth, we barely threatened either. United failed to record a single shot on target in the second half before Amine Adli sealed the victory for Bournemouth in the 94th minute.
One Leeds player was handed an uncommon starting opportunity by Farke this afternoon. However, our manager is rapidly running out of reasons to keep backing the player in question.
Dan James struggles to make an impact during first Premier League start of the season
During his press conference earlier this week, Farke described Dan James as a “legend” of the club during his time in charge.
However, the Welshman’s display today provided yet another example of why his days as an important player under Farke appear to be over.
Other than getting past two opponents and delivering a dangerous low cross in the first half, James contributed very little throughout the contest.
His poor decision-making and lack of quality in the final third let us down on several counter-attacks, particularly when he had opportunities to play the ball across to Harry Wilson. Yet, unsurprisingly, James once again failed to produce that decisive pass.
Quite frankly, James is not a Premier League-level footballer. He should no longer be starting league matches for us from this point onwards. At this stage, even Farke would struggle to defend that decision.
Daniel Farke must explore other options when Noah Okafor is unavailable
You can have your reservations about Noah Okafor, but he remains comfortably the best winger at the club.
Whether or not he is directly involved in goals or assists, Leeds look like a significantly weaker side whenever he is missing from the team.
Therefore, whenever he inevitably picks up an injury during the campaign, we must have another option capable of filling in on the left wing. It is now perfectly obvious that using James in that position is not the solution.
The 28-year-old has failed to register a goal or an assist in his 23 Premier League appearances. (Sofascore)
I also find it strange that James was omitted from the matchday squad against Sunderland, only to be thrown straight into the starting lineup this afternoon. It gives the impression that Farke is desperately trying to find solutions that his current group of players simply cannot provide.
With Farke seemingly unconvinced that Jean-Matteo Bahoya is ready to feature regularly, and James looking nowhere near good enough for the Premier League, perhaps we should abandon the idea of using a natural left winger whenever Okafor is unavailable.
Last season, whenever we found ourselves in this situation, we deployed Brenden Aaronson behind Dominic Calvert-Lewin, allowing him to drift towards the right flank. Perhaps we should consider returning to that approach, even if it isn’t particularly exciting, or alternatively use Wilson in that role.
However, if this afternoon’s performance highlighted anything, it is that signing a quick, direct winger who can ideally operate on either flank should be our biggest transfer priority next summer.
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