Leeds United began the season in a very promising fashion. They had a new manager in place in the form of Thomas Christensen who brought into the club a new philosophy. The Danish boss came to England and helped Leeds play new football. They had players who bought into the system and played some excellent football.
Leeds were at the top of the table and things could not have gone better for them. They were dispatching teams one after the other. They had a mean defence and kept clean sheets in a row. Their team was strong and looked set to win the league.
The players in the club were happy and things were working out just fine. However, as is the case with every story, later came the hard patch. Clubs had started to figure out the flaws in the Leeds play and used it to defeat the club from Elland Road.
The boys from the Championship were favourites to qualify for the playoffs but suddenly lost their form and composure. Christiansen tried desperately to teach them better and change his methods but Leeds were far from being in form.
It led to the manager being fired but it did little to change the club’s form and trend. They continued to lose and play badly with players getting injured to complicate matters further. They are now way off a playoff position and looking unlikely to ever catch up.
They will have to look hard into the mirror and figure out their next step for next season. Amidst such negativity, one step Leeds must absolutely take is to extend the contract of certain players who have been of great service to the club in their bad time.
One such player is Pablo Hernandez. The Spaniard who is used to play for Swansea before has been a revelation for Leeds. At his old age, it was surprising to see Hernandez play so well but he has been the star performer for Leeds in their second half of the season.
He has returned with goals and assists to his name, scoring 9 times this season. He has scored thrice and set up four goals in his last nine matches. He has been tipped to be named the club’s player of the year. His contract is set to expire this season but Leeds is apparently preparing to extend it. A wise move from the bosses at Elland Road, as Hernandez will definitely be an asset to the club next season as well.
