EPL
Rodon is an ever present in the Premier League for Leeds this season Linnea Rheborg/Getty Images
For 60 years, footballers passed through Leeds United without threatening club icon Norman Hunter’s unbroken appearance streak. Between 1962 and 1965, defender Hunter racked up 113 consecutive league starts.
Now, 60 years later, Joe Rodon is closing in — with 103 appearances on the bounce.
Rodon is the first outfield Leeds player to hit an unbroken century since Hunter. Is it any wonder his team-mates are trying to emulate his recipe for success? Rodon has even clocked Sam Byram, a 32-year-old professional with more than 300 career appearances, copying his meal choices at the training ground’s canteen.
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Not only has the quality of Rodon’s performances made him an integral part of Daniel Farke’s team, but his durability and knack for avoiding injuries are rare in the fixture-congested modern game. When he spoke to The Athletic ahead of Saturday’s 4-1 win over Crystal Palace, Rodon was asked what he puts it down to.
“My personal inner circle team in the background are unbelievable with me, but I’m also a bit of a freak when it comes to looking after my body,” he said. “You won’t see me change much.
“When I eat at home, it’s always the same routine and rhythm throughout the week, but credit goes to that behind-the-scenes (team) and everyone involved at the club. I’m just really obsessed with it, I guess.”
The 28-year-old mentions massage, stretching and nutrition when it comes to this inner circle, but he’s reluctant to be specific with names or processes. Rodon says he’s not superstitious, but he likes routine and very much feels that if something is not broken, do not try to fix it.
He has been ticking over like clockwork since he arrived at Elland Road, initially on loan, in August 2023. Palms are planted firmly on the wooden table between Rodon and The Athletic as we navigate the secrets to this longevity without cursing him.
Have the other players asked for advice?
“Some of the boys have seen it close up; the ones I’m really close with, they’ve seen it,” he said. “I’m always willing to give that kind of advice to them, but it is quite funny sometimes.
“I see Sam Byram, for example, copy my meal, and he thinks I’m not looking. He’s all of a sudden gone from that (meal) to that (meal). Little things, but I love it, and I would have been the same before I came here.
“I’m just really structured in my routine. That’s probably the biggest thing.”
Rodon has made 115 Leeds appearances in total. He has never played this frequently for any club before United. He is in uncharted territory.
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There was a Cheltenham Town loan and Swansea City breakthrough at 20, but a broken metatarsal and ankle tendon surgery limited the appearances the Wales international hoped to make for his hometown club. Tottenham Hotspur had seen enough to sign him for £11million ($15m) in October 2020, but he would make just 15 league appearances over the next two terms before Rennes gave him 16 Ligue 1 outings on loan during the 2022-23 season.
Rodon feels his body is now benefiting from years of what he compares to a brand new car being left in the garage. United’s 28-year-old is more like a 24-year-old, in his eyes.
“I was very unfortunate (at Swansea),” he said. “Freak things. I don’t like talking about it, but just freak accidents, and I wasn’t used to that.
“Through my whole academy (years), I didn’t really have any issues, so, touch wood, that was new for me. Then going to Spurs, I look at it in the sense of… you buy a new car, and I felt like I was just in a garage for four years, where I wasn’t used.
“Now it’s like I’m fresh (and) with Leeds. The last three years have been non-stop, but I feel fresh. It’s like I’m catching up on things I missed through that period.”
Rodon started 45 of the 49 Championship games in that first season at Elland Road for him and Farke. Like everyone, he was bruised by the pain of the narrow Wembley loss to Southampton in the play-off final.
He was set to return to Tottenham after a year as one of the second-tier’s finest performers. Premier League interest in his services would predictably materialise, but Rodon felt there was unfinished business in West Yorkshire.
“There was a lot of (transfer) interest,” he said. “But from where I was before I came to Leeds and how that went… I loved it even though we failed. It was so important, and there was no other option.”
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Not only did Rodon return to Elland Road, but he did so on a permanent transfer with no guarantee of promotion from the Championship. After watching so many players scramble to leave Leeds after relegation, it was jarring to see someone turn down top-flight interest for a second year in the second tier.
“It’s funny you say that because I had a chat with a player before I signed permanently,” he said. “He laid it all out for me and (said), ‘The Championship is very difficult to get out of. Mentally and physically, it’s a gruelling season, but (once) you’re in the Premier League, you’re in the Premier League’.
“I just believed in it. Of course, I really wanted to be in the Premier League, but I wanted to do it the right way.
“Leeds is such a big club and going to the Premier League with Leeds, that’s all it was for me. I said in an interview at the beginning of last season, Leeds took a chance on me when no one else did.”
Leeds achieved their goal and are in the Premier League. They have found a recent groove with a starting 5-3-2 shape. Rodon, a fixture as the right-sided centre-back in Farke’s back four since August 2023, has shifted across to the right of the central three and covers Jayden Bogle when he roams forward.
At the weekend, when Palace visited, Rodon was an out-and-out right-back, even venturing forward into a role on the wing when the team was upfield. He likes the freedom the back-five system has given him.
“The wide centre-halves have to be very adaptable in being able to step out and press,” he said. “We did kind of do it in training in pre-season, so we had a picture of it if we were going to do it in-season.
“It’s good for us to be adaptable. Against top teams, you’ve got to show respect. We have to earn our respect in this league, playing against the best.
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“Me being on the right side allows me to show more of my ability to run and be in higher positions. If you watch the games, you see me more in the full-back position in the system.
“It allows me to show more things in my game. Being comfortable in wide areas, I love it.
“Some of the players we have here are so physical (and this allows them) to be dominant in this formation.”
The pivot in shape has precipitated a remarkable turnaround in results and confidence. Since half-time at Manchester City, Leeds have amassed an aggregate lead of 13 goals to seven against five opponents, including four of the current top eight.
The interval at Etihad Stadium may come to be seen as the turning point in their season. They went into the dressing room 2-0 down, bereft of confidence or any foothold in the game. They fought back to 2-2 and only a late Phil Foden goal saw them leave without any points.
“We were saying, ‘Listen, if we’re going to be like this, we’re going to be absolutely fine’,” said Rodon. “That’s what brought more confidence in, knowing then we had the back-to-back home games against two top opposition (Chelsea and Liverpool). We knew in ourselves, ‘We can win here, we can do this’.”
The festive period brings with it fixture congestion, but also one of the most important dates in the calendar for the players: their Christmas visit to Leeds Children’s Hospital. Rodon was among the squad as they visited patients, families and staff, sitting for conversations, pictures and presents.
“I’ve done a lot with Leeds over the last three years and, at Christmas, it’s important we give back to the community and the kids, the ones who are unfortunate not to be at home on Christmas,” he said.
“It’s important for us to go in and share some laughs, some joy for the families as well. It’s amazing what the club do and how we get involved with the community like that.”
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Rodon does not have children of his own yet, but he acknowledges it can hit some of his older team-mates, who are fathers, harder. Even so, everyone, including the club staff, finds it a deeply emotional experience.
“The older ones especially,” he said. “It’s difficult, depending on the situation of what’s happening in the room, but it hits everyone. The staff as well.
“It’s important we, given how strong they’re being, stay strong for them as well and try to make it as happy and as comfortable as possible for the little ones.”
The visit to the hospital took place before Leeds’ win over Palace at Elland Road. At home, they have 15 points from their nine matches this season. There is a sense that matches on their own turf will be critical to the team’s success in 2025-26. For Rodon, the recent clash with Liverpool set new levels for noise.
“Last season, if I had to pick the best game, it’d probably be Stoke (City) at home,” he said. “Everyone was on edge, but when we scored four goals in the first 25 minutes, the place just exploded.
“I don’t think I’ve heard it louder than Liverpool. When that second goal went in, I was just like, ‘What is going on?!’.
“I started running off, but I was just like, ‘What is going on?!’ for the five minutes after that, until they scored the third.”
Rodon, like Leeds, is off and running in the Premier League — and closing in on a record run of his own.
Beren Cross is a football writer for The Athletic, covering Leeds United. Before joining The Athletic, he reported on Leeds United for Leeds Live. He was born in Doncaster and grew up in Lincoln. Follow Beren on Twitter @Berencross

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