Leeds United's game-chasing shortcomings revealed as Farke substitutes rank bottom of Championship table

It may seem a straightforward concept; more attackers on the pitch equals more goals, but rarely is football so simple. It would be remiss to suggest Farke's attempts to salvage something from games in which Leeds are level or trailing could be boiled down to something so rudimentary - it is highly likely there are more detailed instructions imparted to his attacking substitutions - but the German has employed this particular strategy on more than a couple of occasions this season.

It began away to Birmingham City, in somewhat unconventional fashion, as central defender Joe Rodon made his Whites debut up front, replacing Jamie Shackleton in stoppage time at the end of the second half, moments after Leeds had conceded Lukas Jutkiewicz's spot-kick. While 'sticking the big lad up top' is more Sunday League than touching distance of the Premier League, there were extenuating circumstances to this particular change, and it is the anomaly, it must be said, as Farke's options from the bench were decidedly limited. He had already introduced Georginio Rutter for Joe Gelhardt midway through the second half, while his outfield alternatives were Lewis Bate, Cody Drameh, Darko Gyabi and Leo Hjelde - not an attacker among them.

More recently, with Leeds behind at Carrow Road, Farke successfully turned the game with his substitutions and a quite considerable helping hand from Crysencio Summerville. With 20 minutes remaining, Patrick Bamford and Willy Gnonto were introduced in place of Glen Kamara and Sam Byram, respectively, both attacking changes. Summerville equalised seven minutes later, then Farke turned to Jaidon Anthony, who replaced Dan James and provided fresh legs. Before long, Leeds were in front and heading back to West Yorkshire with three points instead of none.

To date, that is the only time Farke's armada of second-half attacking substitutes have paid dividends. Away at Stoke City, a triple sub of Bamford, Summerville and James could not yield a breakthrough in Leeds' favour. One final throw of the dice saw Farke bring Ian Poveda on for Byram with five minutes remaining, after the Potters had taken the lead. On this occasion, these changes were in vain.

Weeks later at Rotherham United, Leeds lacked an attacking impetus in the second half with the score locked at one-all. On the 70-minute mark again, Farke made a triple substitution: Bamford for Rutter; Gnonto for Junior Firpo and Poveda for Kamara - two attacking changes and a straight swap with the express intention of freshening up Leeds' front-line. Pascal Struijk replaced an injured Liam Cooper with ten minutes to go before Anthony was once again called for in place of James on the 85-minute mark. It could be argued that Leeds were inches from winning that game, had Bamford not been flagged offside for the stoppage time finish swept in by Anthony at the New York Stadium. Additionally, had Bamford converted the spot-kick in Stoke with the scoreline still level, Farke's subs could again have been justified. Against better opposition, though, there is always the risk of being countered against when committing more bodies to attacking responsibilities late on.

Away at Sunderland, the German employed the game-chasing strategy once more. Minutes after Jobe Bellingham's eventual winner, Farke made a double attacking change: Bamford for Kamara and Mateo Joseph for Djed Spence. Again, his attempts to force an equaliser came agonisingly close to being a success as Joel Piroe's toe-poke was cleared off the line, but ultimately did not bear fruit.

There is every chance Farke has a designated plan for each of his attacking substitutions when Leeds are chasing, but the speed at which United make them, particularly after conceding, appears reactive.

"Whenever we were in shooting positions, they find a body able to block those last shots, so they gave their life to defend everything," Farke said following the defeat on Wearside. "So we didn't score out of this occasion [open play], then we have to score at a set-piece but we also didn't score out of set-pieces, this wasn't possible. Then you have to go to Plan C and score a strike from distance but all our strikes out of distance were over the crossbar."

Changing personnel, as Leeds have found, is not always the solution in football, and it must be accepted it will not always be possible to overturn a deficit or draw level. Farke and his team could demonstrate their tactical flexibility in future game-chasing scenarios by amending elements already in the equation; swapping wingers, inviting pressure to initiate counter-attacks upon retrieving possession, changing formation and so forth, with players already on the pitch.

Which brings us to the salient point of this piece: Farke's substitutes have scored just a single goal in the Championship this season, when Leeds were already two goals up against Watford. Leeds' one goal by substitutes is the lowest figure in the division. By comparison, Kieran McKenna's changes for Ipswich Town have scored ten, while table-topping Leicester City have scored seven.

Leeds are joint-top with the Foxes for goals scored by players in the starting XI and have been among the Championship's best at taking the game to their opponents, which should rightfully be commended. But if the goals inexplicably dry up, Farke needs more from his substitutes, at least on the first half of this season's showing.