Ed Wootten blasted over Karl Darlow incident minutes before Luton v Leeds
Ed Wootten was responsible for an awkward moment for Karlow Darlow minutes before Leeds United’s game against Luton on Saturday.
Daniel Farke revealed his call to replace Illan Meslier with Darlow for the trip to Kenilworth Road on 5 April earlier this week, as he decided to take the Frenchman out of the firing line after his disastrous performance against Swansea last Saturday (29 March).
Having won just one of their last five Championship games, Leeds cannot afford to throw away more points cheaply if they want to secure automatic promotion this season, thus prompting Farke to make the cut-throat decision.
However, it is worth noting that this will be Darlow’s first league start of the season. The Welshman has not started a Championship match for the Elland Road outfit since their 1-0 loss against West Brom in December 2023.
Jon Newsome blasts Wootten for Darlow incident
One of the major question marks around Darlow playing for Leeds is concerns over his ability to play out from the back.
Wootten is seemingly keen to prepare the goalkeeper for that, as he was seen making him do a pre-match routine involving Meslier and Alex Cairns.
| Matches | Goals Conceded | Clean Sheets |
| 7 | 10 | 1 |
The exercise involved balls being played towards Darlow awkwardly, leading to the 34-year-old miscontrolling a pass at one point.
Newsome was quick to react to the incident, describing the pass as a “really bad” one, while also blaming Wootten for making Darlow do such a complicated routine.
The former Leeds ace is of the view that the goalkeeping coach should focus on boosting the shot-stopper’s confidence ahead of such a big occasion, instead of making things difficult for him.
“It was actually a really bad pass, so I blame the keeper coach there, I do”, Newsome said on BBC Radio Leeds (5 April, 11:42 am).
“You know what, you’ve got a keeper coming in, he’s going to make his league debut [this season] or first start since December 2023, you’ve got to fill this guy with confidence.
“So, you’re going out, you do the warm-up, you want to fill him with confidence.
“You’re not shelling balls at him, bouncing a yard in front of him like an off-spinner.
“Give your head a wobble, Mr. Goalkeeping Coach.”
Leeds to return to winning ways v Luton
With Burnley now level on points with Leeds in third place, Farke must ensure that the Whites walk out of Kenilworth Road with all three points by any means.
The German tactician will be keen to avoid the same disappointment that he faced last season after Southampton quashed their promotion hopes in the playoff final at Wembley.
Luton are placed second-last in the Championship, but have won three and drawn one of their last five league games.