Leeds United’s defenders have been in great form recently.
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Former Leeds United centre-back David Wetherall has been commenting on the importance of Leeds’s current defensive partnership.
Leeds have recently found some good form in the Championship. They have won five of their last six games and risen up the table as a consequence.
This improved form has largely been down to the impressive displays by the two new central defenders Kyle Bartley and Pontus Jansson.
Blackburn Rovers
The pair have been in fantastic form. Bartley has been the understated of the pair whilst Swedish international Jansson has been the stand out superstar.
The pair are both solid defenders and Wetherall, who spent eight years at Elland Road, believes that this is an under-rated quality in the modern football era. He told BBC Radio Leeds:
“In this country we’ve been obsessed, in the last 10-15 years, about centre-halves who can play and who are good on the ball. The first thing is, it’s fantastic if they are good on the ball, but can they defend first.
“That’s got to be the key. There’s still some teams in the country at the top level were the ability to defend is being questioned, but the centre-halves are good on the ball.
“But for me, if you’re keeping clean sheets, it’s a great start to getting those results you need to be at the top end of the table, (rather) then at the bottom.”
Leeds United’s Kyle Bartley in action with QPR’s Sebastien Polter
Whilst the Leeds pair are undoubtedly solid and uncompromising when they need to be, both are also very competent with the ball at their feet – especially at this level of the game.
The duo have formed an incredible partnership at Leeds and fans at Elland Road are certainly pleased with the displays they have been putting in this campaign.
If they can keep it up, who knows where Leeds might end up.
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