Having narrowly missed out on the Championship play-off positions last term following an end-of-season slump, Leeds United fans would have been fearful of their chances of again challenging at the top when Garry Monk decided to turn down the chance to stay on at Elland Road.
Those supporters would have been even more concerned that they replaced Monk with Thomas Christiansen, who was relatively unknown and had never managed in England.
New Whites owner Andrea Radrizzani said he was impressed with the 44-year-old, who was born in Norway to a Spanish mother, when he interviewed the former APOEL FC boss and the early signs on the pitch are certainly encouraging.
Following six wins and two draws from their opening nine league fixtures – as well as progressing to the fourth round of the EFL Cup – the Yorkshire outfit are well on course to improve on an impressive campaign last time out, and their new manager has played a significant role.
Here are five ways Leeds have changed under Christiansen…
They’re no longer a ‘one-man team’
While it is obviously an unfair label considering Leeds had the likes of Pontus Jansson and Kyle Bartley in their squad last season, a large amount of their success was down to the prolific finishing of striker Chris Wood, who netted 27 of their 61 Championship goals.
A few Whites fans may have been concerned when last term’s top marksman departed for Burnley last month, but the likes of Jansson, Liam Cooper, Eunan O’Kane, Samu Saiz and Pierre-Michel Lasogga have already stepped up to the plate during the current campaign, and now the Yorkshire outfit have players that can make a difference all over the pitch.
Strength in depth
While Leeds lost some of their key men from last year in Wood, Charlie Taylor and Rob Green during the summer transfer window, they also got rid of the dead wood in Toumani Diagouraga, Marco Silvestri and Giuseppe Bellusci.
Christiansen has replaced those individuals with 10 new players to compete for the first team, as well as seeing Pontus Jansson and Hadi Sacko arrive on permanent deals.
That extra strength in depth in the squad is already helping the Yorkshire outfit on the pitch as the players know that if they don’t perform, they will find themselves on the substitutes’ bench or possibly not even in the matchday 18.
Goals from all over the pitch
As we mentioned previously, Leeds relied on Wood to get their goals last season but they are already sharing the goals over the pitch this term.
While new centre-forward Pierre-Michel Lasogga has three goals since he arrived at the club late last month, midfielder Kalvin Phillips – who wasn’t a regular last term – has four, Samu Saiz, Kemar Roofe and Stuart Dallas have two while Ezgjan Alioski and Pablo Hernandez have one each.
Christiansen needs his midfielders to carry on chipping in with goals and he will hope that his defenders can add some too as the club looks to win promotion back to the Premier League for the first time since 2004.
The players want to fight for him
Christiansen has only been at the club a short time, but it already seems as though the players are all pulling in the same direction and want to fight for him – that can only be a good thing for Leeds United.
To have a manager that the players respect and want to play for is important, and the Yorkshire outfit have already shown that they are genuine promotion contenders with their performances on the pitch this term.
Following the disappointing 1-0 defeat to Millwall, a largely second-string side bounced back by beating Premier League side Burnley on penalties in the EFL Cup, and it was proof of the positive impact the 44-year-old is having on every member of his squad.
Ability to deal with pressure
Despite his side’s impressive start to the Championship season, Christiansen appears to be remaining calm but also seems to be comfortable with the pressure that comes at a club as big as Leeds when they are in a situation like the one they are currently in.
That will certainly be a relief to see for the supporters at Elland Road, who saw their side ultimately bottle a top-six finish last term despite spending the majority of the campaign in the play-off positions.
Those expectations will only continue to grow over the coming weeks and months if positive results continue, but the 44-year-old already looks to be the right man to deal with that effectively and successfully.
Do you agree, Leeds fans? Let us know below.
