The #LUFC Breakfast Debate (Monday 6th March) Leeds feeling the Blues after latest defeat
Leeds feeling the Blues after latest defeat
Wesley Fofana's first ever goal for Chelsea heaped more pressure on Leeds, whose miserable season just keeps on getting worse. To their credit, they battled hard, and were competitive throughout the game, though never looked like scoring.
In front of goal, Leeds looked amateur at best. Their best effort, came in injury time courtesy of shot stopper Illan Meslier. His goalward header (from a corner) at least tested Arrizabalaga's reflexes before gratefully landing in his arms.
Chelsea were poor, they even got booed off at half time, yet they had the lions share of the chances, in the first 45 minutes. Meslier pulled off a blinding save from Havertz from a one on one situation, Joao Felix rocked the woodwork from the edge of the area and Chilwell, should have done a lot better from an opportunity he had just before the interview.
The only goal of the game came in the 53rd minute from an out swinging corner. Meslier got caught in no mans land, after changing his mind to come, giving Fofana an empty net, once he out jumped his markers.
Although they battled hard, Leeds showed all the creativity of a digestive biscuit. Their set pieces were woeful, their crossing was poor, and in front of goal, it was just embarrassing. It's going to take something special to stay up.
Were we right to get rid of Marsch
Javi Gracia faces a monumental task in keeping Leeds up this season after yet another inept performance from the weekend. They worked hard and were competitive, but are prone to errors, and never looked like scoring. It's like the wheels are turning, but the cogs are missing.
On paper, when you look at the Leeds squad, they should not be in this predicament, especially after spending close to £150m on players in the last nine months. Sacking, and replacing Managers comes at a huge cost, and normally comes with at least a short honeymoon period of results, but not as far as Leeds are concerned. We may have beaten Southampton, but they were truly awful on the day.
I'm not expecting Gracia to wave a magic wand, yet I fail to see any improvement in play, begging the question whether Messrs Orta and Radrizzani were right to get rid of Marsch when they did? In hindsight, they should have done it earlier, meaning Gracia's hands are somewhat tied.
How long before the ER faithful turn on the players
We've seen the ER faithful turn on Marsch, we've seen them turn on the board, yet they rarely turn on the players. With 22 points from 25 games, Leeds find themselves in a worse predicament then they did at this point last season, whilst teams all around them continue (on occasion) to cause upsets. Are the players beyond belligerence? Maybe a kick up the ass would do them good?