Leeds United vs. Cardiff City: Three Talking Points from the 4–1 loss
Another shambolic display sends the Whites further away from the playoff positions.
2018 has seen Leeds United once again go through an awful patch of form, and yesterday, this came to head in what was, in my opinion, the worst performance of the entire season. The Whites were unable to deal with the direct and physical approach by Cardiff who completely bossed the game.
I think the most concerning thing about yesterday was that I fully expected Leeds to be beaten and to be beaten comfortably. Over the past 18 months, I have usually felt the Leeds team had enough about them to beat any team. However, I am genuinely struggling to see Leeds winning any of the upcoming games.
The game opened up strong conversation throughout the fanbase, but here are our three talking points from the game…
1) Injuries and suspensions played a part
It would be silly to say that the injuries and suspensions have not played a substantial in recent poor displays. We have lost the players that have made up the foundation of the turnaround over the last few seasons.
The problem is that we have relied on these foundations too heavily and the squad as a whole is not up to the task. We signed a vast amount of players in the summer, but the squad still isn’t strong enough to compete in the top half of the league table.
The situation at the club is regrettably high in terms of absentees, but the Championship is a long season. At times, the entire squad will be called upon and we do not have enough strength within to compete when a situation like the current one occurs.
2) Wrong decisions throughout the game
The lack of quality on the bench yesterday had meant options were limited when the game started to get beyond us. In my mind, you should stick with the starting 11 as much as possible and only make changes that could get us back into the game.
So, when Lasogga was replaced by Sacko in the 74th, I was heavily confused as to why a proven striker was being replaced by a winger who is known for being the most inconsistent player within the squad.
Personally, I do not rate Grot, but he is a striker and we didn’t see him enter the game until the 86th in another confusing move. I think TC and the rest of the management team got the whole game plan wrong, which leads to my third point.
3) TC has lost the dressing room
For me on Saturday afternoon, we saw various things that highlighted the lack of desire within the team. In previous defeats, I have still seen the players believing in the system and showing the commitment to Thomas Christiansen. However, I did not see that yesterday. Excluding Pennington and Forshaw, the players did not turn up or even look like they were trying.
The lack of discipline and desire points to a lack of belief in Christiansen and, unfortunately, a new direction and stronger leadership may be needed for Leeds to reign in that discipline and to salvage the season.
It is a little unfair to Christiansen who is only partly responsible. Orta should be taking the majority of the responsibility, but the way the club’s hierarchy works, it will most likely not be Orta who leaves.
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