Leeds United: Daniel Farke must axe Joel Piroe after what he did v Coventry City
Daniel Farke should axe Joel Piroe from his Leeds United starting line-up after back-to-back disappointing performances culminated in a shocking display at Elland Road against Coventry.
The forward has been a particular disappointment in back-to-back games now for Leeds, with a lack of threat in front of goal and little impact on the game, it may be time for the boss to change things.
Piroe started, as he has all season, in the number ten role behind Georginio Rutter, but struggled with the creative side of the game and was easily restricted by the deep blocks put in place by Sunderland and Coventry.
Piroe has now gone three games without a goal, with just one from open play in his last six, and it seems as if teams have figured out his role and discovered a way to nullify his threat from deep despite his strong record since arriving at Elland Road.
He recorded a 0 per cent aerial duel success rate and won just two of eight ground duels while hitting the target with just one shot as he failed to cause much threat going forward, and just one key pass despite all of Leeds’ attacking progression shows he struggled to create too. [Sofascore]
For comparison, Crysencio Summerville, who plays a different role but occupies a similar space to Piroe in Farke’s attacking line, had double the amount of shots on target and recorded a massive seven key passes.
Piroe’s struggles were similar to those he faced against Sunderland. Plenty of attacking pressure and possession was not evidenced by his performance, where he yet again had just one shot on target while completing just 14 passes. [Sofascore]
If Farke wants to continue his, sometimes chaotic, experiment of playing a striker as a number ten, he has both Patrick Bamford and Joe Gelhardt to turn to on his bench – both of whom offer a different style to Piroe.
Otherwise, Summerville has proven he is capable of playing that role, while Wilfried Gnonto is eagerly awaiting a chance on the wing to prove his worth once more at Elland Road.
In other Leeds United news, a star player had to be restrained after full-time v Coventry.