Struijk & Rodon: More Than the Sum of Their Parts
Good Cop, Bad Cop. It’s the basis of all great duos. The babyface and the heel. The yin, and yang. Etc. All good duos are complementary to each other, they cover each other’s weaknesses, they accentuate each other’s strengths. Where would Ash be without Pikachu? And this season Leeds discovered their very own dynamic duo — Pascal Struijk and Joe Rodon.
Yes, granted that since the turn of the year, Ethan Ampadu has played on the left side of Leeds’ defence, and to good effect — Leeds have conceded once in the league this calendar year. And that’s led a big section of the fanbase to the conclusion that our best pairing at the back is in fact Ampadu and Rodon, and there’s an argument for it. 7 clean sheets out of 8 in the league, 8 wins out of 8, with Ampadu wearing the armband, and Joe Rodon becoming the organiser of the defensive unit. The obvious Welsh national team connection too, which has surely helped the pair to hit the ground running. It can be hard to argue against that… But three guesses where this is going.
This new partnership hasn’t been tested against a top side in the division yet — Leeds have yet to play a team in the top 6 this year. And the upturn in performance can be attributed to a litany of changes Farke has made to the side, with Firpo and Bamford returning to fitness, and form, to transform how Leeds are able to play. Off the ball, the team has pressed far more effectively with Bamford in the side, and Firpo on the overlap coupled with Bamford’s movement has helped Leeds sustain spells of possession more effectively. All of this means our centre backs become less busy.
Ampadu, for his part, is definitely a good centre back at this level. He’s got experience of the position, he’s comfortable on the ball, he positions himself well, and he’s suitably aggressive in the challenge for a championship centre back. His aerial ability relative to his stature has also been a pleasant surprise, underlined by a header against Peterborough in his first outing as a Leeds Centre back. However, he’s impressed most in midfield, and that has appeared to be his more natural position, given his ability in duels and his aptitude for screening the back four. Playing at centre back deprives Leeds of the opportunity to play Ampadu alongside Gruev, which is surely the most premier league ready pivot Leeds could play in front of defence as a pair. And it deprives us also of the Struijk — Rodon axis.
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Pascal Struijk is the best ball playing centre back at this level, in any country in Europe. People have argued this in his absence from the side, but the data is inarguable. A quick cursory look at FBref will tell you how Pascal compares to every other centre back outside of the top 5 leagues, in terms of his short to medium range passing, the amount of touches, and his ball carrying. When he plays, he’s probably the most important player for Leeds in terms of keeping the football.
Despite the record Leeds have built up in 2024, there’s periods in game, say against Norwich, or Plymouth, where Leeds have found themselves under sustained periods of pressure. It’s not that they look in grave danger of conceding in these spells, the threat will be dealt with, only to find that the ball is lost all too quickly, and so Leeds can’t get out. Sooner or later, those spells and the anxiety the breeds from them will lead to concessions, and conceding in these moments could be a huge momentum shift. Having a player as adept at retaining the ball as Pascal Struijk is so valuable, as a release valve in these moments. And it’ll make us even better at building sustained attacks and keeping the ball for longer periods too.
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Joe Rodon, then. The Spurs loanee has played 2552 minutes this season, the most of any Leeds centre back (Ampadu obviously has played all but 2 minutes but most of these have been in midfield). In that time, he has been dribbled past 4 times. By Duel success, he’s Leeds’ best performer both on the deck and in the air, and at loose balls. He makes the most clearances, and the most ball recoveries, and does the most work in his own half of any of our centre back options.
While Struijk is the man on the ball, striding into midfield, taking the ball off of Meslier, keeping it ticking over, Joe is the sweeper. The covering man, looking after the ball player. The aggression in his defending, the way he reads opposition attacks , his positioning, is impeccable. What the stats above don’t do justice is how whoever his partner is, they feel more comfortable knowing Rodon is on the cover for them. He’s one of those players that makes his partners look better — it’s an invaluable skill. There could be a ceiling to where Joe could end up in the game, but he’s a pure defender, a proper throwback. It does go without saying he is a compulsory purchase in summer.
Struijk and Rodon are an excellent foil for each other. They cover each other’s weaknesses, each allows the other to play to his strengths, and it means both are arguably playing the best football of their careers this season next to one another. Certain members of The Damned Peacock have even questioned if this is a partnership that could carry Leeds into Europe — they’re that good. And they’ve never been this good before. It would be a shame to waste it
By Adam Geldart (@AdamDPM_)
