Leeds United are reeling from another poor performance and result as they continue to stumble in the race to earn automatic promotion to the Premier League. Daniel Farke is under pressure to take some tough calls on his team selection ahead of their big game against Luton Town next weekend.
The 2-2 draw against Swansea City at Elland Road has piled more pressure on the Leeds United players as they seek answers for their patchy run of form.
Leeds have dropped points in four of their last five Championship games and have loosened their grip on the automatic promotion race, which involves Sheffield United and Burnley.
Farke has been urged to make some changes to the team and drop a few underperforming players to the bench in order to get a reaction out of the group in the remaining seven games.
Graham Smyth insists Leeds United man is good enough to be in the team
Illan Meslier’s errors cost Leeds too many points this season, and the supporters have run out of patience and excuses for the Frenchman.
Farke has been urged to drop the goalkeeper, but some are insistent that Karl Darlow is not of the required quality to be in the Leeds team.
However, Smyth insisted that Darlow is a vastly experienced goalkeeper who has Premier League and Championship nous and is currently the Wales number 1.
He is not some young goalkeeper who is not ready for the heat of first-team football in the Championship.
“You look at Darlow, he is playing for Wales”, Smyth said on the Square Ball Podcast.
“It’s not like you have got some complete no-mark underneath him [Meslier] or someone completely untired and untested like [Kristoffer] Klaesson for example, you wouldn’t have wanted to throw in at this point.
“But Darlow is a pretty experienced goalkeeper who has played a lot of football at a high level and he is playing international football presently.
“He has got to be worth a look.”
Can Darlow be any worse than Meslier?
Darlow played for Wales in the recent international break and has not looked out of place on the international stage despite not getting a chance at Leeds.
He has not played for the Whites in the Championship this season, but it is time Farke takes a gamble on the Welshman with seven games remaining.
Can you name these past and present Leeds United players?
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Meslier’s confidence looks shot, and Farke should not worry about bruising his ego since promotion is at stake at the moment. The Whites cannot afford to have a goalkeeper whom the defence can’t trust.
Darlow’s experience means the Leeds boss can definitely trust that the former Newcastle goalkeeper will be ready to handle the pressure.
