'I'm backing James Trafford to bounce back at Leeds – and there's a very good reason why'
Following the return of Inside Elland Road, our contributor Chris O’Connor has started a new column to put Leeds United Under The Spotlight 🔦
Hello and welcome to the very first Leeds United - Under The Spotlight column looking at Leeds United through a playwright's eyes.
We’ll be exploring all the key story ingredients that make following Leeds United such a compelling experience for so many of us. From the heroes and villains to the twists and turns through to the failures and triumphs - and everything in between.
Sometimes tragedy, sometimes comedy, sometimes drama but always interesting - Leeds United are one of sport’s great stories and continue to be so.
Main Characters and Obstacles
For this very first instalment I am going to talk about main characters and obstacles.
When I am writing the main characters of my stories I will give them a goal to pursue, something they want to achieve in the world. Initially, in pursuit of this goal, things will go well and they will overcome any obstacles that are in their way.
However, they will then suffer a setback and it is from this they must learn something and change in order to achieve their goal. If they fail to do so, as can happen in a tragedy, they will end up worse off.
One of the main characters of Leeds United’s season so far is James Trafford.
Leeds broke their transfer record to sign him for £40 million, with the fee rising to £45 million with add-ons, and he was seen as the long-term goalkeeper the club have been crying out for.
Prior to the Bournemouth game, things had been going very well for him - he had the best save percentage in the league at 82 per cent, making 30 saves (second most in the league) and conceding just six goals (second fewest in the league).
Add in a couple of starts for England in the recent international window and it is fair to say that James Trafford was flying.
However, there is no doubt that against Bournemouth he encountered the first significant setback of his Leeds career.
Leeds had started well, with a disallowed goal preventing an excellent team move from giving them the lead, and around 30 minutes in looked very likely to get something from the game.
It was at this point Trafford, who excels with the ball at his feet for a keeper, passed the ball straight to Bournemouth’s Kluivert when trying to play out to Tanaka. Kluivert squared it to Evanilson, who played it into an empty net. One nil Bournemouth.
Leeds huffed and puffed for the rest of the match but couldn’t create anything of note, conceding another goal at the death to lose 2-0.
Though Leeds’ inability to create any meaningful opportunities was a concern, the main turning point in the match was Trafford’s mistake. Goals change games and the mistake allowed Bournemouth to sit deeper and protect what they had.
It is worth stating that it is pretty much guaranteed that if you play out from the back consistently, these mistakes will happen. The gamble is that ultimately the rewards of playing out from the back, baiting the opposition to press you and hopefully playing through them, will outweigh the risks.
Learning
That is not to say that there is nothing for Trafford to learn here. He has, like all main characters, encountered his first real obstacle and he must work on what went wrong and try to change for the better.
What is particularly interesting is that this mistake was the direct result of one of Trafford’s main strengths, playing out with the ball at his feet. However, this being a strength can make you too relaxed, possibly leading to a lack of concentration and then to attempting a pass that isn’t on or failing to notice the threats.
There is a distinction between being good at passing and knowing when to make the right pass. When teams press as well as Bournemouth, the stakes are high and keepers who are good with their feet also have to work on their concentration and decision-making to ensure they are making the right pass at the right time.
Trafford can improve here and work on reading the situation ahead of him when he has the ball at his feet. How he improves in this area and how he recovers from this setback will play a large part in the success of Leeds United as a whole this season.
Trafford has a lot of credit in the bank from his brilliant start to his Leeds career and it is worth saying that he has already earned Leeds more points than he cost them in this game.
Personally, I am fully backing him to put this behind him and continue his excellent form. He has the makings of becoming a mainstay for Leeds United for years to come and I am excited for what this team can achieve with him between the posts. That is why Leeds spent big money on him.
Let us hope the lessons are learned quickly and one of our main characters this season is changed for the better, starting with a clean sheet on Saturday morning against Spurs!
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