Sky Sports pundit expects Leeds United still to be relegated despite Javi Gracia move
Leeds United are still likely to get relegated from the Premier League this season despite Javi Gracia’s arrival because of the remaining fixtures, says Phil Babb.
The Whites have finally settled on a new manager, although he is yet to be announced or even started work thanks to the latest in an never-ending series of missteps in replacing Jesse Marsch.
The change in the dug-out is aimed at kickstarting a side that now finds itself in the relegation zone after the 1-0 defeat to fellow relegation-strugglers Everton last Saturday (18 February), but Sky Sports pundit Babb doesn’t think it will be enough because the games that are still available will be too much to overcome.
Speaking live on Sky Sports News on Wednesday (22 February), in a clip shared via Twitter by Football Daily, the former Liverpool defender told Robb Wotton: “Unfortunately, looking at their fixtures, they’ve still got Chelsea, Liverpool, Spurs, Arsenal, [Manchester] City to play, to name a few.
“I think it might be a season too many for them.”
Fight
Evidently it is going to be a scrap because results last week plunged the club into even deeper trouble than they have yet been this season.
The situation was far from bright under Marsch but his sacking and the debacle that the board has managed to produce in attempting to replace him has made things worse.
Having hoped to ride out the storm under caretaker boss Michael Skubala, after failing to land any of their top targets, they were jolted back into action after the loss at Goodison Park, and while they might have got the best option in the circumstances with Gracia it won’t be possible to tell until he can actually work with the players.
Leeds United are capable of beating any side in the league on their day, but given there have been far too few of their days this year it is now three-and-a-half months since the last victory in the league, over Bournemouth on 5 November, albeit with the World Cup break since.
The remaining fixture list, including an unforgiving May run-in that consists of Champions League-chasing Manchester City, Newcastle and Tottenham, as well as a possible relegation play-off with West Ham, shows why the club cannot afford to let matches go begging as they have done during the managerial transition.
One trip to Old Trafford under a caretaker team was one thing, but leaving Skubala and company to handle the return at Elland Road plus the crucial trip to Everton was wasteful.
If Gracia’s work permit isn’t awarded in time for an even bigger clash with Southampton at home it has the potential to dump the Whites even further into the mire.
Survival on the final day last season will give supporters hope that Babb’s prediction is wrong, but the more games that go by without a win will heighten fears that he is right.
In other Leeds United news, the 49ers takeover is also in jeopardy to add to the concerns at Elland Road.