Leeds United disagreement emerges over Daniel Farke decision v Swansea City
Graham Smyth reckons Daniel Farke’s decision to axe Wilfried Gnonto for Leeds United in the 4-3 win against Swansea City caused “disagreement”.
The Whites moved to the Championship summit with the victory in South Wales on Sunday [24 November], relying on a 91st-minute winner from Gnonto to seal the three points after he was snubbed from the starting lineup in favour of Manor Solomon.
Writing for the Yorkshire Evening Post [25 November], journalist Smyth pointed out that the decision did not go down universally well, though it did turn out to be a “masterstroke”.
He said: “Prior to kick-off the reaction to Gnonto being dropped for the underwhelming Solomon was a mixture of surprise and disagreement. Though Gnonto had not been at his best by any stretch of imagination in the last few games, Solomon has not been at his best at all yet for Leeds.
“Farke’s selection call was almost entirely justified by what the Israeli contributed, but when Gnonto popped up for the match winner and his first goal in eight, it looked a masterstroke.”
Wilfried Gnonto proves his worth to Daniel Farke and Leeds United
David Prutton chose Millwall forward Romain Esse in his Championship Team of the Season so far over Gnonto last week, and the Italian has again proven why that was a short-minded decision.
The Italian secured the three points for Leeds, and not for the first time this year, his contributions for Farke have not gone unnoticed.
However, Farke, too, deserves credit for his role in the victory – Solomon proved his selection right with his brace against Swansea and with the game on the line, introducing Gnonto against tired legs to deliver the killer blow was genius.
Leeds are now back in the ascendancy in the Championship after results went their way over the weekend, and now, after an inconsistent start to the campaign, Premier League promotion is well and truly in sight.
It is a fantastic headache for Farke to have at Leeds, with two players with the quality of Gnonto and Solomon, not to mention Dan James and Largie Ramazani, all vying for two starting spots on the flanks at Elland Road.
Gnonto, in particular, seems like a man on a mission in West Yorkshire this season, and long may it continue.
He will be crucial to the Whites’ promotion aspirations and must build on his match-winning display and not allow inconsistencies to creep back in ahead of a pivotal Christmas period in the Championship.
In other Leeds news, Gary Rowett was wowed by Ao Tanaka on Sky Sports in the Whites win against Swansea.
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