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View: Javi Gracia must drop calamitous Leeds United individual at fault twice v Liverpool

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Leeds United defender Pascal Struijk is having a tough time at the moment, and Javi Gracia needs to do the right thing and drop him for the Fulham match.

The Leeds manager has plenty of food for thought this week as the dust settles on the Liverpool embarrassment and focus shifts to the Fulham trip this Saturday.

His defence have conceded 16 goals already in April, well on course to beat their previous record of 20 set in February 2022 for the most shipped in a month.

Who is to blame for Leeds?

Gracia is the third manager to see the defence in front of him completely dissolve in more than one game, suggesting that no matter the tactical system, the same results can be expected.

So the personnel have to come under scrutiny, and there are a handful of individuals who share most of the blame, including Pascal Struijk, who has struggled massively in the last two games.

Against Liverpool, the Dutchman was at fault twice (at least) for Leeds as he allowed Mo Salah the opportunity to drift across the edge of the box to fire past Illan Meslier under no challenge – following Weston McKennie’s sloppy work further up the pitch, before he was too slow to challenge Cody Gakpo in the build-up to Diogo Jota’s goal for 3-1 on Monday.

Struijk was beaten so easily by his fellow countryman, and it left a massive gap for Curtis Jones to exploit as he played Jota through.

Struijk was slow off the mark when tracking the movement of Liverpool’s dynamic front three. (Stu Forster/Getty)

Time for Struijk to be dropped?

Looking ahead to the weekend where Leeds travel to Craven Cottage for the second time this season under Gracia, there has to be changes in the back four.

The main one is that Leeds need to get their best left-footed centre-back straight back into the team, with Max Wöber seemingly fit again after his injury on international duty last month.

It gives Leeds the sense of calm that the back four needs, while they quite clearly benefit from the Austrian’s leadership to organise their shape.

As for Struijk, the opposite seems to be the case when push comes to shove, as he looks unable to cope with masses of pressure, leading to mistakes at every turn.

Quiz: Leeds United’s last 15 results v Fulham – Can you score 100%?

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FA Cup - February 2023

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Leeds United season ticket holder since 2013/14, currently situated in the middle of the FA5 noise. From Pablo Hernandez to 5-1 drubbings, I've seen it all at Elland Road.

0 comments

  • Charlotte says:

    Apart from Wober they can shift all of the back line out of the club as far as I am concerned. Not one of them good enough for the EPL

  • Kevin John foster says:

    It’s not him it’s the goalkeeper who needs dropping

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