Daniel Farke must axe Joel Piroe after he did in Leeds United win v Watford
Daniel Farke has to drop Joel Piroe from the Leeds United starting lineup after he failed to impress against Watford on Tuesday 22 October.
The 25-year-old led the line for the Whites in their 2-1 victory over the Hornets at Elland Road in the Championship, but was replaced by Mateo Joseph after being ineffective during the 72 minutes he was on the pitch.
Joseph went on to squander a chance from Daniel James’ cross. That does not mean Farke should overlook Piroe’s poor display up front, however.
The manager needs to axe the Dutchman, who also received criticism after the win against Sheffield United last week, at Bristol City on Saturday (26 October) if he does not want to see Leeds’ six-game unbeaten run end.
Joel Piroe flops in Leeds United win v Watford
Despite being on the pitch for 72 minutes, Piroe registered only 19 touches, according to FotMob. Only Largie Ramazani, who went off injured after 14 minutes, and substitutes Joseph, James and Sam Byram had fewer among teammates.
More notably, he completed only seven of his ten passes, with only the aforementioned players faring worse in the Leeds United squad.
The former Swansea attacker was also futile in front of goal as he could only muster a tame shot at Daniel Bachmann after being played through by Willy Gnonto in the first half. He had five touches in the Watford box and two shots, of which one was on target and the other was blocked.
Piroe hardly contributed elsewhere on the pitch, failing with his only dribble attempt and losing both his duels. His only involvement in defence was a recovery.
Furthermore, he lost the ball six times (Sofascore), which is particularly bad considering he saw very little of the ball anyway.
To Piroe’s credit, he has grabbed four goals and two assists in 11 Championship games this season. However, after Tuesday’s performance, it may be time for Farke to continue playing Joseph, who appears a constant threat in front of the goal, up front.
In other Leeds United news, Simon Grayson was blown away by what this Whites star did against Watford.
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