HITC Sport looks at five things which the Leeds United boss wants for Christmas.
New suit for his collection
Who said ginger-haired men can’t be stylish? Hopefully nobody, because that’s a tad inappropriate, but if there was someone who did utter those words then Garry Monk is living proof that they’re talking out of their you know what. The Leeds boss was probably the most stylish man in English football until Pep Guardiola came along, with his very decent dress sense, and stubble that makes lesser men want to fling their shiny new Gillette razor out of the nearest window, but Monk is a close second.
If you see him wearing a tracksuit on a matchday, it’s because Leeds are playing Cardiff and he doesn’t want to make Neil Warnock feel bad about himself.
Ticket to Las Vegas
Give Monk a ticket to Sin City and he’ll return a week later with enough money to go splits with Andrea Radrizzani in buying Leeds. This is because Monk, as media people will confirm, has a knack of giving very little away and the same skills he uses during press conferences every week could perhaps be used at, say, a poker table. Ask him who he thought played well and he’ll respond, ‘They all did’. Ask him who he intends to sign and he’ll avoid the question. Ask him if he wants to sign a specific player and he’ll give you a look colder than a nudist in Siberia.
Brand spanking new striker
Let’s call a spade a spade: Marcus Antonsson isn’t that guy. Souleymane Doukara isnt that guy neither. They are both talented strikers, sure, but can you see either of them displacing Chris Wood any time soon? It’s unlikely, but that’s precisely what Monk needs. The Leeds manager needs a centre-forward who will make Wood fear for his number nine shirt. That way, Monk introduces an element of competition for the shirt and the New Zealand might well improve as a result.
At the moment, Wood has not got a great deal of incentive to get better, to score more goals, and that could be a problem somewhere down the line. If he loses motivation then Leeds lose points. It’s as simple as that because Antonsson and Doukara won’t score as many goals as him.
An injury…..to Glenn Murray or Dwight Gayle
Okay, so wishing injury on professional footballers is about as festive as a drunk bloke getting sick on a carol singer, but this is the Championship. It’s a dog-eat-eat division which Leeds have been stuck in for the last six years. And maybe Monk wouldn’t be heartbroken over hearing that Dwight Gayle and Glenn Murray – spearheading Newcastle and Brighton’s automatic promotion bid with 31 goals between them – suffered an injury which kept them out for a while.
Ten points separate Leeds from the top two and while automatic promotion is tough, it’s not impossible. They will, however, need Newcastle and Brighton to drop points in the new year and that’s a lot more likely if their danger men aren’t, you know, around for a while.
Six points would do grand
Leeds have two more Championship matches before 2017 and six points would be a perfect way to bookend the calendar year. Monk’s side visit Preston North End on Boxing Day, before then making the trip to Aston Villa on December 29. Neither will be an easy match and the Whites boss would probably take four points if you offered him it now.
The nature of this division is that positions – and feelings about certain things – can change very, very quickly. Two defeats would not be detrimental but the fans and players might feel further away from the promised land than they did last week.
Receive exclusive football transfer news and updates twice a week to your mailbox
