Gordon Strachan Urges Leeds to Protect Dominic Calvert-Lewin
Gordon Strachan has urged Leeds to protect Dominic Calvert-Lewin from the relentless punishment he is taking, warning that both his body and mind are under constant strain.
The former title-winning Elland Road captain, speaking to GOAL in association with Grosvenor Sport, praised the striker’s display in the draw at Brentford but insisted Leeds must change the way they use their leading marksman if they want to keep him firing.
‘Non-stop for Calvert-Lewin’
“He is constantly getting knocked down, thrashed at, knocked about. It's non-stop for Calvert-Lewin,” Strachan said, painting a picture of a centre-forward locked in a weekly scrap with Premier League defenders.
Strachan was in the stands on Sunday and did not hide his admiration for the point Leeds ground out in west London.
“What a good point that was for Leeds because Brentford are a top side, by the way. I mean a top side,” he stressed. “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 wide attackers, they're more rounded. They're more of a team than Man United at the moment, that's for sure.”
That was the backdrop to Calvert-Lewin’s performance: a bruising afternoon against what Strachan called “two wonderful centre-halves, big centre-halves” who never gave him a moment’s peace.
‘He’s taking everything on board’
For Strachan, the concern is not just the bruises.
“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,” he said.
His solution is tactical as much as medical. Calvert-Lewin, in his view, needs company.
“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 Erling Haaland as the model of how an elite No.9 can conserve energy and avoid unnecessary collisions.
“And 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.”
At the moment, Strachan believes Calvert-Lewin is doing too much of the dirty work himself.
“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.
A goal under heavy fire
That is why Sunday’s display impressed him so much. Calvert-Lewin battled, absorbed the punishment and still found a way to score.
“I think that's why his performance on Sunday was excellent, because in the first half, I was right in front of it, and 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.”
The goal, for Strachan, was not just about technique. It was a statement of resilience from a forward who refuses to shrink from the fight.
‘Where do you get another Calvert-Lewin?’
Strachan accepts that Leeds would ideally lighten the load by bringing in support – or even a clone.
“So I would agree, I think if you can get another Calvert-Lewin, do so,” he 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 is the dilemma. Leeds have a centre-forward who can scrap, suffer and still deliver. The question now is whether they can find a way – tactically or in the market – to stop that edge from being worn away.
