Leeds United narrative bubbles to surface again – Graham Smyth’s Blackburn Rovers Verdict
The YEP verdict is in on Leeds United’s 1-0 defeat at Blackburn Rovers.
There are always potential narratives bubbling under the surface of any game, threads of storylines that threaten to become headlines.
The players can usually be relied upon for those.
At Ewood Park you had Leeds midfielder Joe Rothwell, back at the club where he enjoyed such regular football – 191 appearances to be precise – and blossomed as an attacking midfielder under the management of Tony Mowbray.
On the other side you had Todd Cantwell and his Norwich City relationship with Farke.
Whether you accept Cantwell’s take on the ‘barbaric’ way he was treated by the Canaries or Farke’s interpretation of the midfielder’s mental and physical readiness for action, it’s safe to say the bond soured.
Goals or major contributions from either man would lend themselves to clichéd ‘coming back to haunt’ narratives.
Then there’s players returning to the line-up, like Junior Firpo and Daniel James.
You have the supporters, too, particularly those of a Leeds United persuasion because they have on so many occasions played a part in a game.
A change in the atmosphere, an injection of urgency, a refusal to turn on the team or a collective decision that it’s time for change of the managerial or boardroom type.
At Ewood, as Leeds looked to reclaim top spot in the Championship and continue a purple patch that brought nine goals in three wins, the storylines and headlines were all negative ones.
