The defeat at Portsmouth has opened a can of worms on Leeds United who, until recently, were expected to earn automatic promotion on a canter. However, their significant lead at the top has been wiped out within a week and the team are now part of a three-way fight for two automatic promotion spots. Performance levels have dropped and Leeds were especially guilty of missing some terrific chances at Fratton Park on Sunday. Joel Piroe’s profligacy in front of goal has come under the scanner with Leeds now needing their top stars to step up in the remaining ten games of the Championship season.
Leeds United are under pressure after a week where they have seen their advantage at the top of the Championship table almost get obliterated by two bad results.
The Whites are set to face Millwall at home on Wednesday night before taking a trip to Queen Park Rangers this weekend, in their last game before the international break next week.
Leeds are under pressure to score the maximum points and ensure they get into the break at the top of the league table, regardless of what Sheffield United and Burnley do.
However, Farke needs to find a way to get the best out of his squad in the final ten games of the season and he seems to have a conundrum to solve with one of his star players who appears to have hit a rough patch at the business end of the campaign.
Daniel Farke needs his Leeds United star to step up
Piroe is the joint top scorer in the Championship with 15 goals this season and is in line to win the Golden Boot this season. However, he is still attracting criticism because when he is not scoring, the Dutchman often looks alienated.
He scored as recently as in the 3-1 win over Sheffield United, but his performances have dipped in the last couple of weeks, which is a feature of the Dutchman who often goes through barren patches in the middle of the season.
The forward missed a couple of wonderful chances in Portsmouth, which should have been converted, and Leeds paid for it by losing the game at Fratton Park.
Strikers can miss chances and they cannot score in every game. However, the quality of chances Piroe missed were criminal and it could have huge ramifications later in the season.
Piroe also spent a large portion of the game in midfield and only had four touches inside the penalty box. In a tough tight game, sometimes a team need their number 9 to keep himself busy inside the opposition box but he was failing to do so at Fratton Park.
The Dutchman was also bullied by the Portsmouth defenders and struggled to keep hold of the ball as the team’s primary number 9 up front at Fratton Park.
With ten games left in the season, Farke cannot afford a barren run from Piroe and he needs his top striker to step up to the plate and get his goal-scoring touch back.
At the business end of the season, the Leeds boss needs the senior players in the squad to take the team over the line and he is heavily dependent on Piroe getting the goals.
What option does Farke have?
The answer is, not much. The striker problem at Leeds this season has been solved by the sheer luck of Piroe not getting injured and the team sharing the goalscoring burden between them.
Mateo Joseph has flattered to deceive and Patrick Bamford has not been fit enough to consistently make the bench, forget getting on the pitch and actually scoring goals.
Leeds have been down Piroe as their target man and while he has scored goals, he has had his barren patches and his performances can often be frustrating.
Can you name the season these 10 Leeds United shirts are from?
Even if Farke wants to change things, he has very little option to do anything. Joseph has done scant little to suggest that he can do better than Piroe up front.
The Dutchman has still found a way to score 15 goals this season while the Spaniard has huffed and puffed to a haul of two strikes in the Championship.
For better or for worse, Farke doesn’t have a way out of this conundrum and it is more than likely that Piroe will start against Millwall on Wednesday night.
