Leeds News

Do statistics show that a drastic change is needed to avoid a repeat of Swans defeat? – Opinion

|

Well, the undefeated streak in the league comes to an end.

I knew it was nigh-on-impossible to go through the season unbeaten, there’s a reason ‘The Invincibles’ are so revered, it’s because it’s so hard to do, so I’m not too disappointed with the result. However, there is one thing that really bugged me over the weekend.

I’ve never been a huge fan of statistics, I very much fall into the ‘the most important stat is on the scoreboard’ kind of crowd. There were though a few statistics that came out of the defeat to Swansea that really caught my eye and they predominantly came in the attacking area of the pitch.

Most notably the three of ‘shots’, ‘shots on target’ and ‘chances’. The numbers provided by @LUFCDATA show just how sloppy Leeds can be on occasion.

I could easily put it down as ‘one of those games’ where things just don’t go right for you and you just put it down to fate. However, given the high standards that Bielsa set us last year, both in terms of style of play and getting so close to promotion, I’m not quite sure I’m willing to accept it.

This is just further to what I said a couple of weeks ago in response to Ian Holloway’s comments about Patrick Bamford stepping up. Although Eddie Nketiah has proven his usefulness in fits and spurts, don’t the statistics show that we need a more clinical finisher if we are to see off games like these on a more consistent basis? Failing that, we need a change in formation.

Not necessarily a change in style, I think the dominance in the other aspects of the game are OK as they are. However, if we keep creating the chances, but fail to put them away then we’re going to end up losing a lot more points that we don’t deserve to over the course of the season. Phil Hay reported a few weeks ago that Marcelo Bielsa was looking at playing Bamford and Nketiah upfront together, and if this past game is anything to go by, he may have to do so sooner rather than later.

What about you? Do you think this is just a one-game issue and that things will be fine after the international break? Or do you think that changes should be afoot if Leeds are to maintain their push for promotion?

Share this article