Illan Meslier ‘major crime’ verdict as Leeds star at centre of another incident
Leeds United fans will have left Elland Road frustrated on Saturday after Illan Meslier was at the centre of another “annoying” moment in their 1-1 draw with West Brom.
The Whites still managed to keep their place at the top of the Championship table even though they only added one point to their tally.
Three points now separate Leeds from second-placed Sheffield United with both Yorkshire clubs gunning for automatic promotion.
While most of the West Yorkshire outfit’s players were on top form as usual, Meslier once again ended the game with a few question marks hanging over his head.
Adam Pope backs Meslier after performance v West Brom
Speaking on the Don’t Go To Bed Just Yet Podcast (3 March), Adam Pope shared his stance on the Frenchman’s performance after they conceded the equaliser.
The journalist went through each member of the team who had a part to play in the goal and, in the end, decided Meslier wasn’t really at fault.
“The goal was annoying,” he said. “Pascal Struijk, I think he should have maybe had a foul before hand and then he fouled Adam Armstrong who’s a clever, clever player, definitely a step-up in terms of his movement.
“That goal, I didn’t look at Illan Meslier as being guilty of a major crime there.
“Rodon gets a bit of a bump, I think Bogle gets a bit of a bump and nobody is marking Furlong and that’s the issue really.”
Leeds United need a new goalkeeper in the Premier League
At this moment in time, it feels almost certain that Leeds and Sheffield United will be the two teams to earn promotion to the Premier League.
The Yorkshire duo have been the best teams in the second tier all season long and to be quite frank, are arguably the ones who deserve it the most out of each of the teams in contention.
However, no matter how dominant they’ve been in the second tier, the Premier League is a whole different ball game.
As things stand, the three teams who earned promotion last term are set to come straight back down despite spending countless amounts of money to try and keep their place.
| Position | Team | Games | Points |
| 16th | Everton | 27 | 32 |
| 17th | Wolves | 27 | 22 |
| 18th | Ipswich | 27 | 17 |
| 19th | Leicester | 27 | 17 |
| 20th | Southampton | 27 | 9 |
And, while Leeds’ team will certainly need a revamp in some areas, a position of priority is the goalkeeper.
Indeed, there are times when Meslier can produce moments of class but more often than not this term, he’s been the cause of the Whites losing games and dropping points.
There’s no knowing who Farke will target in the summer but if a new ‘keeper isn’t on that list, the Whites may as well kiss their hopes of staying up goodbye.
Because at the end of the day, if you can’t 100 per cent rely on your ‘keeper, then there isn’t going to be all that much hope for the team.