Mowbray raises Leeds conundrum after West Brom draw – ‘Relegated by February’
Leeds United were forced to settle for a point at home to West Brom, with Tony Mowbray sharing his immediate thoughts on how the Whites could fare in the Premier League.
Junior Firpo scored the opening goal of the game at Elland Road, with Darnell Furlong heading home the equaliser 30 minutes later.
Leeds failed to carve out any real opportunities after that, with the Whites forced to rue a lack of quality in the final third in a 1-1 draw against West Brom.
In terms of the race for promotion, the result shouldn’t hamper Leeds’ chances of going up much, if at all, though it did raise concerns from Mowbray in regards to the next campaign.
Leeds will need to move on swiftly from Baggies draw
Leeds will not be overly pleased with the performance on show against West Brom, but they just need to move on and ensure they keep picking up points.
The Whites can take some heart from the fact that the Baggies have proven to be a tough test for all of the sides occupying the top four, though they may be concerned by comments made by Mowbray after the game.
| Leeds V West Brom | Goals | Shots | Passes | Possession |
| Leeds | 1 | 15 | 396 | 53% |
| West Brom | 1 | 7 | 332 | 47% |
In quotes reported by Adam Pope (1 March), Mowbray said: “Spend £200m or go with this team & there’s a chance you could be relegated by February.”
First and foremost, Leeds are still not across the finish line yet, and until then, the overwhelming majority of focus has to be on achieving that.
However, a small amount of that focus must also be on future recruitment, with Mowbray partially right with that he said, though it does appear rather condescending.
The gulf in quality across the two divisions is huge, though it feels as though Mowbray is slightly underestimating the level of quality in this Leeds squad.
Leeds need to show ambition in the summer
Do Leeds need to spend £200million as alluded to by Mowbray? Definitely not. Though, they will need to invest smartly and show ambition.
Leeds certainly took a risk by not signing anyone in the winter, though if they were to replicate that or anything close to it in the summer, it would be a huge mistake, regardless of what league they are in.
Farke’s side are still on course to achieve automatic promotion heading into the final 12 games of the campaign.