Leeds United: Leeds close in on automatic promotion

National World - LocalTV

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00:00 Lee, once again, we're talking about Leeds United. Things are looking pretty rosy at

00:06 Ellen Park at the moment, not just because of Leeds' good form, I mean, they sit top

00:11 of the Championship form table, but also Leicester, top of the league, having a bit of a wobble

00:16 of late. Obviously, they won against Sunderland in midweek, but apart from that, the results

00:20 haven't been too good in the last few weeks. And so, as things stand, Leeds are only three

00:25 points behind them. So, if we look first at the win against Sheffield Wednesday, again,

00:32 it's just another important win for Leeds away from home.

00:35 Yes, job done basically. A lot of these games are at the moment, that's what they do. You

00:40 talk about form tables, 34 points out of 36 is absolutely ridiculous. I mean, put simply,

00:46 if they do that, if they did that from the start of the season, they'd be miles clear,

00:50 even allowing for record points totals elsewhere and stuff. Yes, they had a wobbly start, but

00:54 they're always going to and stuff. I mean, it's been said a few times, it was pretty

00:57 much chaos over the summer, which it was of all the departures. And Daniel Farker does

01:01 deserve absolutely enormous credit for what he's done, because this is now just a really,

01:05 really solid side. I mean, there's always surprises in the Championship, aren't there?

01:09 But you sort of almost expect them to win every week at the moment, unless they come

01:12 up against a really hard game and they're all hard in the Championship. But you know

01:16 what I mean? They're just so reliable at the moment, as that points tally tells you. And

01:22 it's right on, you know, it's right on in terms of finishing in the automatics, but

01:25 it's right on in terms of Leeds winning the league. I really do firmly believe that. I'm

01:28 not saying they're going to go up, I can't even say they're definitely going to go up

01:31 or even finish in the automatics. I'm certainly not going to say they're going to finish as

01:34 champions, but there's every chance, there must be. They got the job done at Sheffield

01:38 Wednesday. I mean, I was at Hillsborough and it wasn't looking too good, to be perfectly

01:44 honest, in the first half. They just didn't really get going. It reminded me a lot of

01:47 the away games they'd lost, like the Birmingham one earlier on in the season and stuff like

01:50 that. They just didn't really click and Sheffield Wednesday were causing them problems again

01:54 in the faces, as you could imagine. It just felt like one of those nights where it could

01:57 go wrong. But they kept them out and obviously went ahead and right at the end of the first

02:01 half with Bamford Strike and yeah, Sheffield Wednesday weren't happy at all about the timing

02:05 of the goal because it was four minutes added on and it was in the fifth minute of added

02:08 time and whatnot. But it's minimum four minutes, isn't it? And that's the way it goes. And

02:12 that goal was massive and it just changed the whole game basically because Leeds then

02:15 go into half-time 1-0 up and obviously Sheffield Wednesday have to come out. Leeds did improve

02:20 anyway after the break and obviously Nantes got the second. They should and could have

02:24 scored more. Equally, there were a couple of chances at the other end, goal and clearance

02:30 from Ampadu and whatnot. But they got the job done. That was all that mattered. Then

02:33 put them back in second and I, for one, fully expected Ipswich to then go and win the next

02:38 day and Leicester despite the fixtures. And then look what you got. I mean, it was absolutely

02:41 incredible how many times I rewrote that Ipswich story because obviously they went 1-0 up and

02:46 yet again you think, here they go, they're going to get a late winner. But then obviously

02:49 to go 1-1 in the 95th minute, I mean, even that would have been massive. It was a draw.

02:53 But then to concede in the 100th minute and lose 2-1, I mean, it's just absolutely staggering

02:57 turnaround for Ipswich who had been on an amazing run themselves. And then obviously

03:00 Leicester get the 2-2 draw as well. And we were talking before, weren't we, about just

03:03 before we came on air about the form table and I think it's over the last five games,

03:07 Leeds would be top. I think you said Ipswich would be second and Leicester would be, I

03:11 think, about 19th because they've only got four points out of 15. So, I mean, look, basically

03:15 if you look at the maths, if the current sort of trend continues in terms of the points

03:19 that are being picked up at this current rate, then Leeds will end up overtaking Leicester.

03:24 That's just a fact because you just look at the way the points are going on recent progress.

03:29 It doesn't mean that's definitely going to happen. There's still nine games left. There's

03:32 probably going to be an awful lot of twists and turns. But I mean, Leeds are very much

03:36 the form team and it's no surprise to me their odds have absolutely tumbled. I mean, they're

03:40 as short as 2-1 now to win the division. They're as short as 1-5 to go up, which obviously

03:45 includes the playoffs. Nobody wants them. And, you know, all that matters ultimately

03:50 is finishing in the top two. And that is now in their own hands because they're obviously

03:54 a point ahead of Ipswich and with a better goal difference. So, I mean, it's theirs to

03:59 lose now, quite frankly. I mean, you know, I mean, there's nine games left. If they win

04:02 nine games, they're up. I don't think they'd have to win all nine, you know, but like obviously

04:07 I'm sure Ipswich will recover and get a very good points total. I'm sure Leicester will

04:12 sort it out as well. And obviously, can't forget Southampton. The thing with them is

04:15 they've got games in hand and a busy schedule, but they're not far behind, obviously, either.

04:20 So, but yeah, it is looking very, very good with Leeds. And put simply, if they just continue

04:25 what they're doing, then they'll get the job done. It's been very, very impressive to see.

04:29 It's been an amazing turnaround how quickly they've changed that gap, which was obviously

04:32 looking at, you know, 15, 18 points at one point. And the fact is now, Daniel, if they

04:36 win this weekend and win two, nil by two goals, they'll be top. Obviously, Leicester will

04:40 have a game in hand. But yeah, I mean, all you can do is say what you see. And at the

04:44 moment, it's looking very, very good. I'm not surprised the second favourites for the

04:48 division. I'm not surprised they're so short. And to be honest, I can only see that trend

04:51 continuing because there's nothing to suggest really that they can't keep it going. They

04:55 got through three games in a week, you know, without much problem. So very, very impressive

05:00 and fingers crossed. But you'd say a massive, massive but. This is the Championship and

05:04 it can very, very quickly change. So let's not get too carried away. But at the moment,

05:09 on what you see, you would have to say it's looking pretty, pretty damn good.

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