Rio Ferdinand wowed by ‘borderline calamity’ at Leeds United as he names Liam Cooper
Rio Ferdinand delivered a “calamity” verdict on Leeds United, ahead of another defeat for Javi Gracia’s side.
The former Leeds and Manchester United defender was speaking on BT Sport ahead of the game at Craven Cottage, which Fulham won 2-1 on Saturday.
Leeds now face a pivotal meeting with Leicester City on Tuesday evening at Elland Road, with the Foxes coming off the back of a morale-boosting home win over Wolves.
The six-time Premier League winner was as scathing as he was accurate in his assessment of the Whites’ drastic defensive failings.
“It’s borderline calamity at times when you look at it, wow,” Ferdinand stated ahead of the Fulham games on BT Sport.
“I mean, confidence is shot but you look at the numbers, they tell their own story. It doesn’t matter if you like it or not. They’ve got to find someone in there, we talk about (Liam) Cooper coming in as captain of the football club, you need voices back there.
“For me, the functionality of the team, the way they’re structured and set up needs to be looked at. I think they’ve been too easy to pass through and they’ve been missing tackles.
“Once a team beats the press, they’re going straight through to the backline, especially in the last two games where they’ve conceded a lot of goals.”
Ominous pattern
Ferdinand was right to point out that it keeps on happening, and for as long as it does, Gracia’s team will continue to get punished.
Time and games are running out if there is to be a turnaround, which the Spanish coach will be very aware of.
They have conceded a massive 20 goals in their last six games, which must serve as a glaring warning that this ominous pattern cannot continue.
On Tuesday, Leicester travel to West Yorkshire and they will sense that they can take something from the game. It is very evident that Leeds have a soft underbelly at present.
As Ferdinand said, once you beat the press, the remaining structure of the team is non-existent. It makes the otherwise capable attack, redundant.
That has to be the first fix if Premier League survival is to be secured at Elland Road.
In other Leeds United news, the club is said to be in talks with a Spanish club for sale of player amid £16m development – reliable journalist.