Leeds United boss Daniel Farke has admitted that young players such as Archie Gray are being failed at the academy level in one key area of the game.
Archie Gray burst into the Leeds first team under Daniel Farke and was a mainstay of the side that narrowly missed out on promotion, losing to Southampton in the play-off final.
Gray eventually left Leeds to join Tottenham Hotspur, but his brother, Harry Gray, could follow in his footsteps into the first team after an eye-catching display for Leeds under-21s.
However, despite Gray’s big impact from right-back for Leeds in his one season in the first team, head coach Daniel Farke has admitted that one area of his game let him down while he was in the team.
According to the Leeds boss, it is a familiar failing among young players, as academies have stopped teaching them this fundamental skill.
Archie Gray had one ‘horrendous’ weakness at Leeds United
Speaking in his weekly press conference ahead of the game against Fulham, Farke discussed the increasing use of long throws by Ethan Ampadu as Leeds continue to struggle in front of goal.
According to Farke, Leeds discovered the weapon in his first season at the club because Archie Gray was so bad at taking throw-ins. The Leeds boss believes this is becoming an increasing problem for young players.
Farke said: “We had to change sometimes because our full-backs, even in the first season, Archie Gray was horrendous at throw-ins. Nowadays, you don’t learn it at the academy level anymore; it’s the same as headers.
“So then Ethan had to move out and had to take the throw-in in dangerous areas when we needed to get rid of the ball in our own half.”
The Leeds boss added that, although he wants to be seen as a possession-based team, Leeds are not afraid to use Ampadu’s long throw as a weapon in attack. He continued: “We are still a possession side. It’s not like in each and every moment we go for it.
“If we need to move Pascal Struijik and Joe Rodon into the opponent’s box, they are always working with the long throw-in. I can speak to Joe and Pascal about how they like it, because they also have to sprint back and defend properly.
“I’m also not a big believer that football games should be played just in the air and just with this stop-and-go situation, but if it’s possible against some opponents, the situation on the sideline is good. If the time in the game is good, it’s definitely something we want to use, and we will also use it in the future.”
Ethan Ampadu can be a potent weapon for Leeds
Although Leeds are yet to reap the benefits from one of Ampadu’s long throws, the staple tactic of Tony Pulis’ Stoke side is now well and truly back in vogue.
England manager Thomas Tuchel declared that long throw-ins were back in fashion after their game against Andorra. “I told you – the long throw-in is back,” Tuchel said, via the BBC.
“Once we arrive at the World Cup, all these things matter, so we will also talk about long throw-ins, we will talk about long kicks from the goalkeeper and not only playing short.”
Leeds’ Premier League rivals, Brentford, have also embraced the long throw, with their dramatic late equaliser against Chelsea coming via that method. Leeds will hope they can do the same to match a record set by Don Revie at Wolves.
With goals proving hard to come by for the Whites, the sight of Ampadu hurling the ball from the touchline could become increasingly common in the coming weeks.
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