What Leeds United must do better, staggering change, Sheffield United 'proof' and my predicted Championship top two: Ex-star
Where Leeds United felt they 'should have' been but where they actually were became a major point of discussion last year, writes DAVID PRUTTON.
Leeds were also third after 15 games of the 2024-25 campaign but 11 points behind leaders Leicester City and six points behind second-placed Ipswich Town who had two games in hand. Now they are just two points behind both leaders Sunderland and second-placed Sheffield United.
That's staggering considering what the gap was last season. That shows potentially the form of the teams at the top in the closeness of everyone involved at this moment in time and I think Leeds are well-placed.
Obviously there was the recent disappointment of the defeat at Millwall but they put it right against QPR.
Leeds have also had injuries to the likes of Ethan Ampadu and Ilia Gruev and Largie Ramazani and I think the way that they have managed to kind of motor on with different players in those positions is a testament to the squad depth.
If you are trying to assess the club's league position right now then it depends how you approach this all as a Leeds fan. If you are a pessimistic, glass half full Leeds fan then you are probably thinking that Leeds should be doing better than Sunderland and Sheffield United.
But the proof is in the pudding at the moment, albeit we saw Leeds against Sheffield United on that Friday night where Leeds were the better side and they showed how good they can be. But Sheffield United at this moment in time have just been that marginally more consistent and if you also factor in the two points that Sheffield United were deducted then it's a slightly different story as well.
I think Leeds are well-placed. Obviously you can also look at Burnley and if you are a Burnley fan there are maybe question marks about what they're doing and where they're doing it. For Leeds, it would be nice to be sitting pretty at the top. That's not the case. But given the amount of games played and given how we've seen Leeds perform, there's absolutely nothing to be worried about.
In terms of what Leeds need to do better - they have got to keep an eye on those slight anomalous results such as the Millwall one.
Having conceded just seven goals all season, Sheffield United have got the best defence at the moment which is built on a very good goalkeeper and a very settled defence.
As and when the games have kind of ebbed and flowed with Leeds, there's always a question of how clinical they can be. There's always a question, obviously, of how defensively sound they can be. But they are questions that will be asked all the way across the season and it ebbs and it flows with regards to what they do and what they're best at.
But if you take away the Millwall result and possibly Bristol City away that was nil nil then Leeds are motoring along just fine and it's also about being able to take those points off the teams up in and around them.
Yes, they can beat up Plymouth, who were poor at Elland Road, and that should be the case. Yes, they should beat QPR who have been pretty poor all season. They won against Watford, they won against Sheffield United.
There's now lots of big games coming up and it's making sure that there's no flat-track bullying of it all and that you are taking points off everyone you come across.
I think right now, my gut feeling is a Leeds-Sheffield United top two, in which order I don't quite know. That's no disrespect to Sunderland because they've been fantastic and potentially you've got the makings of an Ipswich-like run at the top two which doesn't have the heavy weight of expectation nor the assumption that they can go the distance. But they've been very good so far.
But you have got to take into account what Chris Wilder has done obviously in his career with taking Sheff U up.
You can't discount Burnley with Scott Parker, because he's obviously done it twice with two other teams and then West Brom and Watford and as you work your way further down that division. Boro have seemingly hit a bit of form and it's a cracking run of form that Millwall have been hitting.
But there's no reason why Leeds can't be up there in the top two. The only thing that you would have half an eye on is West Brom reacting to getting beat in the play-offs and missing out on the semis and Burnley knowing how to do it, albeit they have got a different manager but knows how to get up.
There's plenty to be wary of but there's no one like a Leicester running away with it at this moment in time. I think Burnley's points tally so far is very, very similar to Vincent Kompany's Burnley that went up and made absolute mincemeat of the rest of the division come the end of the season. You have got to be very wary of teams and clubs that have been there and done it before.
But I sit here firmly thinking why not Leeds given what we've seen from them and given the teams in and around them.