Former Leeds United midfielder Stuart Dallas believes Daniel Farke believes it might be time to give second choice goalkeeper Karl Darlow a stint between the sticks following the latest round of blunders from Illan Meslier.
Meslier has been an ever-present in the Whites starting XI for the past five years, racking up over 200 appearances for the club. His performances have come under scrutiny this season though, with a string of errors costing his team at crucial points.
The Frenchman was at fault for both of Swansea City’s goals at the weekend, the latter of which saw the Welsh-based side snatch a point in the dying stages of the game. This saw them surrender the top spot in the Championship to Sheffield United, whilst third placed Burnley moved level on points with Daniel Farke’s team.
Meslier Continues To Spark Debate
His errors at Elland Road weren’t the first this season. He has also been at fault for goals conceded against Portsmouth, Sunderland, Preston North End, Hull City and Sheffield United. This has led to concerns that Leeds could miss out on automatic promotion and be left having to navigate a way through the play-offs.
Former midfielder Dallas has now weighed in on the debate, hinting it might be time to take the 25-year-old out of the firing line for the coming weeks. Speaking to The Yorkshire Post, the 2019/20 Championship winner said:
“I’m sure the manager will deal with it in the right kind of way, (Illan) needs an arm around him as well, but I know you’re hinting to take him out of the team – he’s done really, really well and he still is a fantastic goalkeeper but for me, they’ve got Karl Darlow there as well, who is an experienced goalkeeper.
“He’s not an 18-year-old kid with no experience. He’s a really, really top, top goalkeeper. It might be time to take (Illan) out. I don’t know.
“Obviously, only the manager will make that decision. As I said before, he’s had a difficult season. I said it a number of weeks ago, after the Hull game, obviously, Karl played in the Harrogate game (in the FA Cup) and I was asked about it on ITV for the Sheffield Wednesday game.
“My point then was that Karl is a more than capable replacement, so it’ll be interesting to see what Daniel (Farke) does.”
Writer’s View
Leeds have been arguably the standout team in the Championship this season. All the cogs have seemed to click into gear and they are capable of blowing any of the teams in the division away. That said, one cog appears to be failing and it is the one that could now cost them promotion. Daniel Farke may have to make a tough decision or run the risk of another play-off campaign, where they famously lost in the final last year against Southampton.
