MOT View: Leeds blow in January may turn into huge blessing in disguise
A lot of Leeds United fans were, understandably, worrying a lot about their side when Kalvin Phillips was hit with a three-match ban in January.
Phillips, 24, was deservedly sent off in the defeat at QPR on January 18 for an ugly challenge on Geoff Cameron in the closing stages.
As a result, the defensive midfielder missed matches against Millwall, Wigan and Nottingham Forest.
While Leeds rallied without Phillips to beat Millwall, Marcelo Bielsa’s men then fell to disappointing defeats against lowly Wigan and promotion rivals Forest.
Leeds were not in the best form before Phillips’ ban but it was clear how much that Bielsa’s side was missing it’s influential mdifielder.
According to stats by WhoScored, the Whites have averaged 60.3 per cent possession in their Championship fixtures this season but weirdly, Bielsa’s men saw their possession improve during the three games without Phillips.
Against Millwall it was 69.6, against Wigan it was 76.5 and then 70.1 in the away loss at Forest.
This could suggest that without Phillips, Leeds may have seen more of the ball but their quality on the ball was a lot worse.
The Leeds-born midfielder ranks second in the squad for key passes per game this season [2] and for a deeper-lying player, that is very impressive.
That cutting edge was missed in those three games he was banned.
Phillips returned to Bielsa’s line-up in the 1-1 draw at Brentford on Tuesday night and there was instantly a change with the Whites having 66.6 per cent possession – lower than the games when he was banned.
And then in the 1-0 win against Bristol City on Saturday, when Phillips was by far and away the man of the match, Leeds’ possession was 68.4 per cent.
It is clear that with Phillips, Leeds profit from having more of the ball but they lose the quality of the player who’s tipped to play for England in the future.
Before Phillips’ ban, he wasn’t playing anywhere near his best but after having the chance to rest up for a few weeks, it is clear that he has returned to the side in much better form.
Having some time off will no doubt do him the world of good in terms of the rest of the season as Leeds United aim to win promotion back to the Premier League.
What appeared to be a blow in January when he was banned for three games, could in fact be a blessing in disguise.
In other Leeds United news, Phillips’ agent has spoken out about a contract claim made by a Sky pundit.