Gordon Strachan Warns Leeds Must Protect Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Gordon Strachan has warned that Leeds must protect Dominic Calvert-Lewin from being battered into the ground – physically and mentally – if they want to keep getting the best out of their leading striker.
The title-winning Leeds hero, speaking to GOAL in association with Grosvenor Sport, drew a sharp contrast between Calvert-Lewin’s workload and the way Erling Haaland is used at Manchester City, arguing that the Everton loanee is being asked to absorb too much punishment on his own.
Strachan had a close-up view of the problem during Leeds’ hard-earned draw with Brentford on Sunday, a result he called “a good point” against what he sees as one of the most complete sides in the division.
“Brentford are a top side, by the way. I mean a top side,” he said. “You're talking about a rounded team, that is them. Their three midfield players, I couldn't tell you who was the best. They're three forwards, I couldn't tell you who was the best. I just know they're all good.
“Three midfield players were excellent. The three forwards, with the wide men – I call them wide attackers – they're more rounded. They're more of a team than Man United at the moment, that's for sure.”
Against that kind of cohesion, Calvert-Lewin had to fight for every scrap. Strachan watched him get smashed by Brentford’s centre-backs, yet still find the strength and focus to score.
“In the first half, I was right in front of it,” Strachan recalled. “I see him getting crashed into by two wonderful centre-halves, big centre-halves, taking knocks, trying to keep it in. And then he still managed to score a goal, which is quite phenomenal.”
That resilience impressed him. The volume of contact did not.
“Going back to Calvert-Lewin, yes, I worry about the actual contact he's taking all the time – not just the physical, but the mental side,” Strachan said. “Calvert-Lewin needs to get somebody up beside him, that's playing number 10, or a midfield player getting there.
“So for the rest of the team, there is a drop-off area round about Calvert-Lewin, not just Calvert-Lewin. So if there's somebody else round about him, don’t care who it is who gets up there, it takes away 50% of the knocks that Calvert-Lewin's getting.”
Strachan pointed to Haaland as the template for how an elite No.9 can be protected by the structure around him.
“If you actually keep him away from the game like Haaland, if you get people up there, you keep him away from the game like Haaland, because that's what he does – he stays away from the game, he lets the people in front of him take the knocks, take the ball, and that's why he's always in the box.”
Calvert-Lewin, in Strachan’s eyes, is doing the opposite: coming towards the ball, taking every hit, trying to link play and still expected to be the one on the end of chances.
“So I just worry that Calvert-Lewin, he's taking everything on board, and it's very hard for him to get in the box,” he said. “So I think that's why his performance on Sunday was excellent.”
Strachan’s solution is clear: share the burden. Push a No.10 close. Get a midfielder running beyond. Create bodies around the striker so defenders have more than one target to hit.
And if the club wants to truly ease that strain?
“So I would agree, I think if you can get another Calvert-Lewin, do so,” Strachan said. “But where do you get another Calvert-Lewin that’s not going to cost you £40-50 million, for that type of striker?”
That’s the dilemma. Leeds have found a centre-forward willing to take every knock for the shirt. The question now is whether they can afford not to find him some help.
