Leeds United secured a third Championship win of the season on Saturday as Daniel Farke’s side eased to a 2-0 win over Cardiff City.
Going into the game, Leeds were without Dan James, Manor Solomon and Max Wober due to injury. But that did not stop Leeds from securing arguably the easiest three points they may obtain all campaign.
Indeed, Cardiff were reduced to 10 men early on with Joel Bagan sent off for a foul on Wilfried Gnonto. The Italian would have been through on goal but Bagan took him out and it resulted in him seeing red.
Largie Ramazani opened the scoring for Leeds, with Ramazani praised for his finish by Tony Dorigo. It took Leeds until the final few minutes of normal time to make it two, Joel Piroe slamming in a second.
Ao Tanaka made his third appearance since joining Leeds on deadline day, but fans have had their say on Daniel Farke’s decision to only bring the Japan star into the game on the 90th minute.
Leeds fans can’t understand why Ao Tanaka wasn’t used earlier
The 28-time Japan star is yet to make his first start for Leeds since arriving from Dusseldorf for a fee believed to be in the region of £3.4m. All three of Tanaka’s appearances for Leeds have come as a sub.
Even then, Tanaka’s outings have been tiny cameos and fans are questioning why he has not been given more time to shine yet by Leeds boss Farke. Indeed, fans became increasingly annoyed with Ilia Gruev.
So much so, that Gruev was booed by Leeds fans for passing backwards. But it took Farke until the 90th minute to bring Tanaka on, and supporters have questioned Farke for waiting until the latter stages.
One annoyed Leeds fan said: “Tanaka for added time… Wow.” Another questioned why Farke had not started Tanaka at all against Cardiff: “Tanaka HAS to start. This guy controls games by himself.”
Such is the frustration with Farke at the moment that one took the sarcastic approach having watched Farke choose not to use Tanaka earlier during the win: “Buys Tanaka and doesn’t play him. Class.”
One fan even said the game was “screaming out” for a player like Tanaka, yet Farke delayed his introduction into the match. Below, one fan alluded to Farke trying to sign Tanaka for Leeds 12 months prior.
Will Tanaka start against Coventry City instead of Ilia Gruev?
The reason Tanaka was signed in the summer was because both Farke and Leeds wanted more goals from midfield. It begs the question then, why does Farke continue to stick with Gruev instead of Tanaka?
Last season, Gruev scored one goal. The Bulgarian is a defensive midfielder who often plays for his nation in the back line. Clearly, not a player that is naturally capable of making an impact in the final third.
Tanaka has eight goals in 28 caps for Japan, and last season had a hand in 12 goals for Dusseldorf. When Coventry come to Elland Road next Saturday, surely Farke has got to consider a start for Tanaka.
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