Aaronson played well. His rating reflects the fact that he should have an assist. He sent in a lovely cross to an unmarked center forward who . . . weakly headed the ball straight at Leno. If Leeds has xG of 3 on the season, that one play is a noticeable portion. Leeds' defense was stiff - hard for Fulham to break down until Kevin came in. The injury mentioned above was non-contact and very unfortunate. Except it probably gives Brenden more opportunity.
Against Fulham he had the most defensive actions of any Leeds player and he was only on the pitch 71 minutes.
I don't think a team with 40 points has ever been regulated (at least in a loooong time) in the EPL (and the threshold is usually a lot lower, of course - figure a point a game is a pace you could feel good about) but let's overshoot - 10% of the way to safety - but only 89% of the games left to play!
Wolves are one of the teams they have to feel like they need 4 points from (win home draw away) at least to have a real chance at safety. Big game this weekend.
From the SKY website over the last 28 seasons where the Premier League has had 20 clubs, the team finishing 18th - the highest to go down - have averaged 35.2 points. So on average 36 points have been enough to stay up. West Ham United’s 42 points in 2002/03 remain the most for a relegated side over that period, while only two other teams have finished in the bottom three with 40+ points: Sunderland in 1996/97 and Bolton Wanderers the following season. https://www.premierleague.com/en/news/3932287
I haven't checked the stats to back it up, but I feel like that 40 point threshold is trending lower, as it seems like the newly promoted teams tend to just spend the season getting curb stomped by the big boys and are getting fewer and fewer points
Yeah, but think of the loss that'd be for the players' unions. His expert career advice for players would be irreplaceable!
Sunderland evidently failed to get the message, because they're join-6th in the table, above Palace, Man City and Newcastle, among others. In any case, we're on only the 4th game of the season. Leeds have hade a tough opening draw. The next 6 games (Wolves, Bournemouth, Spurs, Burnley, West Ham & Brighton) will tell us a lot more about where they really are for the season
Highest relegated point total this decade was 35 (Burnley 21/22). It'll be pretty rare to get relegated any higher than that.
It was so long ago that electric cars were still a twinkle in pre-Elon Tesla's eye, the Internet was still accessed via dial-up modems and Premier League clubs still respected English managers.
A short article I enjoyed months ago ... With the three promoted clubs going straight back down in successive Premier League seasons for the first time, we look at what it will take for Leeds United, Burnley and Sunderland to buck the trend. For some, it has gone from a statistical quirk to a real concern. The 2023-24 Premier League season saw Luton Town, Burnley and Sheffield United all relegated just a season after promotion from the Championship. It was only the second time in the history of the competition that all three promoted clubs had gone straight back down, and the first time it had happened since 1997-98, 26 years earlier. However, in 2024-25, it happened again. Leicester City, Ipswich Town and Southampton dropped straight back into the second tier after just one season in the big time. Does it point to a wider issue in English football? Has the gap between the Premier League and the Championship become too wide? {The analysis follows ...} https://theanalyst.com/articles/premier-league-survival-guide-how-can-promoted-teams-stay-up
A lot of the clubs that are promoted are receiving parachute payments which enabled them to finance their promotion. That means that teams not receiving parachute payments face a huge impediment trying to compete with teams with 2 or 3 times the payroll. The EFL hates parachute payments and the PL is bribing them with TV money to keep them quiet. Given that most FL clubs exist on a financial knife edge, they'll put short-term revenue before competitiveness. So the very teams that are gambling on the financial bonanza of promotion to the Premier League are impaired by the Premier League's attempt to keep the Premier League competitive and are having to rely on Premier League handouts so they can avoid bankruptcy and continue to gamble on winning promotion to the Premier League. At some point the system has to collapse. My solution to this is to give clubs parachute funds up front, when they are promoted, and whether they decide to spend all or save some in the event of relegation is up to them. Or the EFL just breaks away from the Premier League which I would love but I'm in the 0.0001% minority of EFL football fans.
Manager Farke summarizes ... Speaking in September 2025, Daniel Farke praised Aaronson and called for fans to get off his {Brenden Aaronson's} back. The manager said: “It’s important not to be on the back of a player and to put too much weight on his shoulders. Sometimes, the feeling with Brenden is that we are a bit over-critical of him in public. I have to defend him a little bit. “We want goals, we want assists, and, in the end, he has to deliver; otherwise, a different player will get his chance. But instead of criticising him too much, it’s not like Brenden is not willing to score a goal or is not highly motivated. “Sometimes, because he is so on it, he is perhaps losing his calmness and is not so clear in his actions. It’s also not helpful if everyone is on his back and always criticising him for this.” “What I want to see from a player who represents my shirt is definitely hard work, and this is what Brenden always does. And for that, as long as the player works hard for this team and does his tactical job, I’m always happy. “But if he wants to become a regular starter who starts each and every game, then, for that, of course, he has to improve, together with our help, his offensive output. It’s a bit like last season, Daniel James, Manor Salomon, at some point, they scored goal after goal. “They delivered assist after assist, so they kept their place in the starting line-up. If you don’t do this in the offence, and so far in the offence we haven’t done this, then you have to accept, OK, there’s competition, sometimes a different player gets a chance to cement his position. So, yes, he has to step up a bit in his offensive decision-making.” https://www.leedsunited.news/news/b...ansfer-fee-goals-highlights-stats-age-height/
I like coaches who tell you exactly what they expect and the expectations are achievable and not ridiculous. I remember hearing Pareja do exactly the same thing and if players did what he asked they played a lot. If they didn't they only had their self to blame. The ones I don't understand are the ones who are mysterious and players don't know what they want.
I think Leeds fans are hard on Aaronson due to his association with a former manager. Funny thing is they were planning on bringing him in before they hired Marsch. Aaronson is punching above his weight and has a workman like quality that normally Leeds fans would appreciate. He works harder than any winger they have and Farke loves his tenacity. Aaronson was muscled a few times again today but also played his role nicely. Fans will shoulder shrug his performances until he learns to hold up ball better and be more dynamic or create separation in the attack. Gnoto who is lazy on defense somehow has managed to keep in the good graces of the fans because of what he can do with the ball.
He’s also the second-most-expensive signing in their history. It’s unfair to the player - he can’t control how much a club is willing to pay for him - but every club and fan would want a lot more production out of that signing than Aaronson has provided.
BTW, Leeds dug out of a 1-0 hole to win this 3-1. BA went 90+ subbed out in Injury Time. Up to 7 points from 5 games, 10th place - over Man Citeh!! (FTM, lol). Still early days, of course, but with how hapless the bottom 3 (esp Wolves) have looked so far, it's feeling like Farke has a decent feel for how to keep this team up. Yank on Yank B'mouth battle next weekend.
They’ll stay up, the real question for me is how comfortably. This is a team that had an xGD of +60 last season. They’re the highest-quality promoted team in 20 years.
biggest question for me rn is how long BA keeps his starting slot. That's 2 in a row, 3 of last 4 if you count the cup? Pluse a sub v NUFC. Farke seems to like him, but it would really help his cause if he had some goal contributions, I think. Regardless, a good result and 90 for BA will have to do for now.
He could have helped his cause v. Wolves if his shot was actually on goal, forcing the keeper to make a save, but he skies his shot instead. smh