Are Leeds United Over Complicating Their Team Selection?

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YorkshireSquare
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Are Leeds United Over Complicating Their Team Selection?

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Leeds United had a fantastic start to the season under Thomas Christiansen but since then, the wheels have started to fall off. Leeds haven’t turned into a bad team, we know that much, but they have started to struggle in some games and have been bullied by their opponents. One of the questions a lot of fans have been asking is why Leeds changed their starting line-up given their recent failures.

It doesn’t feel too long ago that Leeds United were sat at the top of the Championship and things looked to be on the up for the West Yorkshire club. However, after a disappointing run in recent weeks, they have slipped down the table and now find themselves in tenth position and outside of the playoffs. They have lost five of their seven games in October and November, and many have questioned the team selection during those defeats.

One of the biggest issues is consistency in midfield. With so much of this summer’s recruitment having been focused around attacking players Christiansen is still not sure what his best starting line-up is. Sáiz has undoubtedly been one of the stars of the season but has played in a variety of places as Christiansen shuffles his pack in order to fit in Alioski, Roofe, Hernández, Dallas and Lasogga too.

Pablo Hernandez started the season as part of the first 11, and looked in good form, but has since been used mainly as a substitute. He is a very good player, but seemingly isn’t the right fit for the system now, and due to that had been left out in recent weeks. With Alioski and Hernández returning to the score sheet in recent weeks how do you fit them all into the team? You can’t drop Sáiz surely?





Likewise the middle of the park has seen personnel chopped and changed. The upcoming star of last season Ronaldo Vieira was nowhere to be seen at the start of the season, weary from his summer exploits. With Phillips and O’Kane performing so well early on it was difficult for him to regain his place. But as results and performances have got worse, as teams have got to grips with our attacking style he returned to steady the ship and break up play. But what is our best midfield pairing?

After picking up a much-needed confidence-boosting win over Middlesbrough, Leeds need to build on that. Last night’s result is a kick back down but we were against a good Wolves side in a run of form. They have a tough run of fixtures, including a local derby against Barnsley, but latest football tips could be backing the Whites for success and if the early season Leeds United team return then they would fancy their chances of picking up points.

After a very good start to the season, it was a little strange to see Leeds experiment with their starting lineup. Things were going very well for the club, but manager Thomas Christiansen still decided to change things around. He may be regretting that now, and over the next few weeks he needs to decide which way he wants to take the team. Leeds will be interesting to watch over the coming games, and their team selection will no doubt continue to divide their fans.
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