-ista | a specialist, enthusiast or advocate of a belief or principle
Back to that sofa, the coffee and the cake. Daniel Farke has made this season all about his seen it all and ridden the horse approach to the Championship, balancing his experience like a seesaw plank on a pivot of temperamental kids.
My theory is that it’s easier for teams like Stoke and Huddersfield to Champo while bleary because they don’t need to think very much.
Last week in Glasgow, people paid for a Willy Wonka experience that was so bad they called the police over their £35 tickets and it became worldwide news. Meanwhile, in Huddersfield, football fans who handed over £20 to watch a Champo midfielder tying his shoelaces applauded gratefully.
It was impossible to imagine this goal meaning all it meant without fans, without Leeds fans, without Uncle Eddie in the John Charles Stand, without a pile-on of players and fans in the north-west corner, a goal and a scene as Elland Road as it gets.
What seems to be important to Georgi is the act of creativity for its own sake, of seizing the chance to do something he's always wanted to do, now that he has the chance to — not for the status but for the feeling.
These weeks prioritising nutrition, sleep, recovery and good habits have made Farke’s Leeds better than ever. As could be seen at Home Park, in a performance that was easily their worst in the league in 2024.
A word from Piroe – “No speaking? Come on, we win 4-0, bro!” – and Georgi span right round, trying not to let a smile ruin his put-on as he stared down the camera, before breaking character back into character. “No party, no Piroe! Let’s go!”
The latest in the Gray line has that effect on Leeds fans, a seventeen-year-old legend you can’t help being excited to meet, the embodiment of all that’s great about your favourite club.
Here Leeds were in Plymouth, in the cup, passing sentimental batons and striving so hard to win for no other reason than – Than it’s the chuffing point, isn’t it? Daniel Farke’s counter intuitive argument, whenever he is asked about resting players, has been that players love to play.
It feels like faint praise but, compared to the teams we’re facing, Farke is doing a good job simply by ensuring Leeds can play his way without fucking it up every two minutes.