John Giles discusses Leeds United and relegation
Former Leeds United man John Giles thinks his old club are suffering from second season syndrome.
Speaking to Off The Ball [02 December], Giles compared the Whites to Sheffield United before claiming that they will be fine and won’t go down.
He also believes that the players might not be “scared” anymore after coming up from the Championship and performing well last season.
He said: “They don’t have a big squad, so Ayling and Bamford, they’ve no real replacements for them; they need them back in the team.
“When you’ve had the first season, players are up for it; they [are a] bit scared and the second season not so good.
“Scared does you good in many ways because you have to go out there and play Manchester United.
“Not being scared reduces the performances of the teams. I mean, Sheffield United got promoted and were looking for a European place at one stage and then they had a disastrous season.
“It can happen. I don’t think it will happen to Leeds; I think they have enough players.”
Interesting stuff from Giles.
For all much has been said about Leeds’ poor start to the season, they are only four points off the top ten and are now five points clear of the relegation zone.
Yes, they haven’t been at their best at times, but so many teams at the bottom have struggled more, and you would hope that after the win over Crystal Palace, the Whites can kick on.
They play Brentford next, which is a good opportunity to push up the table and drag the Bees into a dogfight.
Giles makes some interesting points here, and the point about being scared is not something you would normally consider.
In fact, you most commonly associate playing with fear as a negative that usually inhibits performance.
However, it seems as if Giles believes that players need to respect the opposition perhaps a bit more or to realise that playing in consecutive seasons in the Premier League isn’t easy.
In other Leeds United news, Mark Lawrenson has had his say on the Whites’ game against Brentford.