Leeds United’s wins over Ipswich Town and Millwall promised much. If Portman Road marked the arrival of Daniel Farke’s attacking force, The Den welcomed the defence to the party.
The return to Elland Road called for a win, a first in the league this season, or since April for that matter. Come away with anything less and lingering questions may have unfairly been squared at Farke. From the first minute until the last, Leeds battered Watford and while there were growing concerns about the deadlock being broken for 67 minutes, the point is it was broken and emphatically so. This was a scenario and scoreline to settle concerns about low blocks and frustrating, limited opponents.
We still probably don’t know Rutter’s best position, role or how many goals he’s going to score this season, but Saturday’s embarrassment of Watford did show us he’s going to be fun, wherever Farke plays him. Valerien Ismael’s side were poor, that cannot be ignored, but the 21-year-old had them on the rack and never stopped turning the wheel.
It’s going to be a journey just watching Rutter discover himself at Leeds this season. The love on the terraces was already flourishing, but this is a relationship which seems to be working two ways. There is an understanding now between player and supporter. Glen Kamara was given his full debut and performed excellently in midfield alongside Ethan Ampadu. The former Rangers man got up and down the field well, put in challenges and aided attacks.
Striker Mileta Rajovic committed three fouls and escaped punishment, even after going through the back of Liam Cooper and putting his boot to the defender’s head within the space of 30 first-half seconds. It was a dire refereeing performance that quickly got out of control from Simpson.Charlie Cresswell has not played more than a couple of minutes in the league since August 12.