Leeds United 2-2 Swansea City: When routine bites hard — Square Ball 1/4/25
Dropped
Written by: Rob Conlon
Joe Rothwell and Joel Piroe are covering their mouths. Sam
Byram has his head in his hands. Joe Rodon can’t help but look. They are the
expressions of footballers who have just witnessed a sickening leg break and
are waiting for the medical staff to come help the poor bastard with his shin
splintered into a right angle. Except there was no physical torture at Elland
Road on Saturday — only pure psychological and emotional anguish. To quote Jack
Charlton after Gary Sprake tested his patience one too many times: “What’s that
bloody idiot done now?”
Illan Meslier is only one item on a long, long list of
things that went wrong for Leeds United, but whether it’s fair or not for him
to be the focus of blame is irrelevant. That’s the life of a goalkeeper, and as
the bloke wearing the gloves, that’s the life Meslier has signed up for.
Daniel Farke is not the only Leeds manager to have put his
unequivocal faith in Meslier as his number one, but has anyone ever stopped to
contemplate whether that is what Meslier has needed? As Jamie Kemp pointed out
after what we hoped was Meslier’s nadir at Hull, he has played more minutes
than any goalkeeper in the top two tiers of Europe’s major leagues over the
last five years. And the evidence suggests it has been to his detriment.
Meslier is a much worse goalkeeper than the 19-year-old who made his debut at
Arsenal.
We are well beyond the point of worrying about shattering
his confidence by making a change between the posts. For a start, what
confidence does he have left? Even a rare penalty save in the first half
couldn’t stop him from crumbling once again. And if you’re worried that getting
dropped will make Meslier feel bad, then just imagine how rotten he will feel
if he keeps getting picked and keeps making errors that cost Leeds promotion.
If Farke won’t save Meslier from himself, then it’s time for
Rodon to step up and do what he has so clearly wanted to do all season: pin
Meslier up against the wall of the changing room and leave his feet dangling in
the air until Farke finally accepts a different goalkeeper might be what this
team and this crowd are crying out for to start feeling better about the
remaining seven games of the season — as Meslier himself provided in 2020 as
blessed relief from Kiko Casilla.
Because let’s face it, there was a lot to be worried about
on Saturday, starting with Farke’s botched team selection, rushing Ethan Ampadu
back into the starting XI when United’s captain was so evidently not ready and
persisting with Dan James and Manor Solomon on the wings despite their weary
performances of recent weeks being followed by busy international duty. I’ve
backed Farke throughout his time at Leeds, but his decisions need to start
justifying his confidence when he says, “I know what is necessary to bring it
over the line — I’m 100 per cent convinced we will play in the Premier League
next season.”
Likewise, the rest of players can’t keep hiding behind the
criticism of their manager and goalkeeper. Now is the time to show they’re
worthy of their reputation as the best squad in the league. For all Brenden
Aaronson wants to be known as a creative menace of an attacking midfielder, he
remains Josuha Guilavogui stuck in Dan James’ body, tackling the opening goal
into the net and celebrating by pointing to his temple before spending the rest
of the game brainlessly getting caught in possession time and time and time
again. Largie Ramazani should be forcing his way into the side ahead of Solomon
or James but was Aaronson-lite in his twenty minutes off the bench — in his six
touches of the ball he gave it away three times and failed to even attempt a
single pass or cross. Fellow subs Ao Tanaka and Mateo Joseph were at fault for
both Swansea’s goals — Tanaka needlessly giving away the corner that Meslier
dropped at Harry Darling’s feet before his paper thin defending failed to stop
Joe Allen in the build-up to Zan Vipotnik’s equaliser after Joseph let a
throw-in bounce off him with a first touch that would make Luciano Becchio
wince.
The most infuriating thing of all, though, is that Leeds
should have got away with it.
As bad as the first half was, United were still leading at
the break and improved afterwards, James finding a final reserve of energy to
flash two threatening shots across goal after cutting in from the right, Sam
Byram doing the same from the left, Piroe directing a volley onto a post via
Lawrence Vigouroux’s save and forcing another stop from the ‘keeper from the
edge of the box. And when Wilf Gnonto came off the bench to will Leeds back in
front, meeting the ball after Pascal Struijk’s header from a corner was parried
and clattering a low shot into the back of the net, the game was there, won.
Until it felt like we’d lost it.
My main fear at the start of the campaign was looking at
this Leeds team and wondering who would be the player with the personality to
drag the Peacocks over the line when promotion is there to be won or lost. In
2020 it was Pablo Hernandez and a burst of inspiration to rival any footballer
I’ve ever seen. It gets forgotten that Pablo was only fit enough to change
games from the bench in that run-in, and even if Gnonto is being held together
by tape and painkillers, as Farke said afterwards, Wilf might just be The Guy
with enough magic left in his boots to get the job done. And if he’s not… well,
we’re all going to need something a lot stronger than painkillers.