Aaronson's Redemption

After two insipid displays against Brighton and Forest, before surrendering a 1-0 half-time lead against Villa, the mood around Elland Road was a sombre one to say the least. And for good reason: the upcoming fixtures didn’t look particularly winnable, and many were calling for Farke’s head. As Leeds trudged off the field at half-time, 2-0 down to Man City, those calls were only growing louder. However, as Leeds emerged for the 2nd half, something changed. Farke finally shrugged off the system rigidity which had threatened to define his time as manager of the club, and switched to a 3-5-2. The transformation was immediate; Leeds looked like a team reborn, taking the game to City and pulling the score back to 2 each. They eventually succumbed to a late Phil Foden winner, but something had clicked.

Over the next 7 games, Leeds managed 2 wins and 5 draws, and accumulated 11 points, in what looked like their toughest run of the season. It was an incredible return which not even the most optimistic fan could’ve predicted - in fact, I imagine most fans would’ve been satisfied with even half of those points. And even though that unbeaten run came to an end after an unlucky - and undeserved - 4-3 loss to Newcastle last time out, the fact that Farke has gone from dead-in-the-water to leading the team to an 8 point cushion above the relegation zone is, frankly, remarkable. However, his redemption arc is, arguably, not even the most impressive……

Brenden Aaronson has not exactly always had the best reputation amongst the Leeds faithful. Having been a long-time target for the club, he finally joined Leeds in 2022 under the management of Jesse Marsch. Despite a relatively bright start, things quickly went south for both him and the team. Fans quickly grew tired of his lightweight presence in the team: there were only so many times we could look into his sad, pleading eyes as he feebly went to ground yet again. The season ended with relegation, and Aaronson, among others, became emblematic of Victor Orta’s failed transfer policy. To make matters worse, it turned out that Aaronson was one of the players who had a relegation loan clause in his contract, meaning that he wouldn’t be around to help fix the mess that he'd been partly responsible for creating. For the fans, it was the last straw.

Fast forward to the summer of 2024, and Leeds’ first attempt to win promotion back to the Premier League had ended in failure. It was also the summer that many of the loan-clause players returned to the club. Leeds managed to ship most of the unwanted returnees out, but with no takers, Aaronson remained. Rather than freeze him out completely (like what happened to Max Wober), Farke reintegrated the much-maligned young American back into the squad. Hardly music to the Leeds fans’ collective ears, but there were more pressing concerns; a return to the Premier League was an absolute necessity this time.

Heading into that 24-25 season, Aaronson will have been under no illusions as to how well things would have to go for him to win back the hearts and minds (hearts and minds that were never very convinced to begin with) of the Elland crowd. Things went……OK. There wasn’t exactly a lot for Leeds fans to complain about during a season where promotion was achieved with 100 points on the board. However, when the team did have a slight wobble, it didn’t take long for Aaronson to be singled out; in the eyes of the fans, whether fairly or not, he became the on-field representation of Farke’s misplaced loyalty and inability to make timely changes to the team and system.

Before this Premier League campaign, Aaronsson was, again, written off by the fans (I include myself in this). It’s one thing to perform adequately in the Championship, but there are levels to football. We all saw what happened last time, and our minds were made up: he wouldn’t cut it in the Premier League.

Of course, Farke has never been one to be swayed by fans’ opinion (or performances in some cases), and his loyalty towards Aaronson continued despite underwhelming performances and results from both him and the team. Finally, just when things were looking terminal for Farke, he took action, changed the system, and removed Aaronson from the starting line-up. It worked. And not just for the team.

The next 4 games saw Aaronson relegated to the bench, making substitute appearances in 3 of those. He returned to the starting line-up against Brentford and hasn’t looked back: he no longer goes to ground so easily; his decision making is better; his off the ball effort is more calculated, rather than the headless chicken he seemed to imitate before. He looks like a different player. In the last 4 games alone he has scored 3 goals and assisted 1, to mark his incredible turnaround.

Even giving away a last minute penalty in his last outing didn’t provoke the ire of the fans (he was very unlucky, in fairness) - fans who weeks ago needed only the slightest excuse to voice their displeasure at him. Who knew football could be such a fickle game, eh?

It has to be pointed out how well Aaronson has done to fight his way back into the fans' good graces; his redemption arc is a triumph of perseverance. Even during the deepest troughs of his Leeds career, he never threw in the towel. It’s a testament to his mental fortitude and overall attitude; he’s finally starting to see the fruits of his labour. So, fair play young Brendy, you’re beginning to make a fool out of me and many, many others. Long may it continue.