This is the period of the football season when managers become more conscious of the “totting up procedure” pertaining to players balancing suspensions.
Before Friday night’s Yorkshire derby encounter at Elland Road, Sheffield United’s adversary and Leeds United manager Daniel Farke had good reason to be especially aware of it. Leeds entered the game with three players on four yellow cards, one of whom was one match away from a one-match ban.
Joe Rodon, Junior Firpo, and former Blades player Jaden Bogle were among them, and Willy Gnonto was on three cautions prior to play.
Wilder has also been concerned about important midfield players Gustavo Hamer and Vinícius Souza, who played through a recent home game against Luton Town without receiving a ticket that would have prevented them from playing in West Yorkshire. Instead, both players entered the game on four cautions.
Anel Ahmedhodžić, the center-half, was booked for the fourth time this season during the Hatters game. This means that several players on both teams could face suspensions at some point in the fall or early winter.
It is likely to be an added component of Farke’s managerial brief, which has lately focused on creativity and problem-solving because of some unfortunate injuries and significant departures.
“There is a yellow card sometimes, especially for a defensive player, and you have to accept this,” Farke stated. Once a player is banned from the game, you need to come up with another plan.
“You can always be a little imaginative when playing a single game. When a vital player misses several months, as is the case with Ethan Ampadu and Ilia Gruev, it becomes more problematic.
“Yes of course, the most hurting scenarios at the moment is if there would be a ban or suspension due to a yellow card (in midfield).”