Joe Rothwell and Joel Piroe are covering their mouths. Sam Byram has his head in his hands. Joe Rodon can’t help but look. They are the expressions of footballers who have just witnessed a sickening leg break and are waiting for the medical staff to come help the poor bastard with his shin splintered into a right angle. Except there was no physical torture at Elland Road on Saturday — only pure psychological and emotional anguish. To quote Jack Charlton after Gary Sprake tested his patience one too many times: “What’s that bloody idiot done now?”
Illan Meslier is only one item on a long, long list of things that went wrong for Leeds United, but whether it’s fair or not for him to be the focus of blame is irrelevant. That’s the life of a goalkeeper, and as the bloke wearing the gloves, that’s the life Meslier has signed up for.
Daniel Farke is not the only Leeds manager to have put his unequivocal faith in Meslier as his number one, but has anyone ever stopped to contemplate whether that is what Meslier has needed? As [Jamie Kemp pointed out](https://x.com/jamiemkemp/status/1876594862071705781) after what we hoped was Meslier’s nadir at Hull, he has played more minutes than any goalkeeper in the top two tiers of Europe’s major leagues over the last five years. And the evidence suggests it has been to his detriment. Meslier is a much worse goalkeeper than the 19-year-old who made his debut at Arsenal.
We are well beyond the point of worrying about shattering his confidence by making a change between the posts. For a start, what confidence does he have left? Even a rare penalty save in the first half couldn’t stop him from crumbling once again. And if you’re worried that getting dropped will make Meslier feel bad, then just imagine how rotten he will feel if he keeps getting picked and keeps making errors that cost Leeds promotion.
If Farke won’t save Meslier from himself, then it’s time for Rodon to step up and do what he has so clearly wanted to do all season: pin Meslier up against the wall of the changing room and leave his feet dangling in the air until Farke finally accepts a different goalkeeper might be what this team and this crowd are crying out for to start feeling better about the remaining seven games of the season — as Meslier himself provided in 2020 as blessed relief from Kiko Casilla.
Because let’s face it, there was a lot to be worried about on Saturday, starting with Farke’s botched team selection, rushing Ethan Ampadu back into the starting XI when United’s captain was so evidently not ready and persisting with Dan James and Manor Solomon on the wings despite their weary performances of recent weeks being followed by busy international duty. I’ve backed Farke throughout his time at Leeds, but his decisions need to start justifying his confidence when he says, “I know what is necessary to bring it over the line — I’m 100 per cent convinced we will play in the Premier League next season.”
Likewise, the rest of players can’t keep hiding behind the criticism of their manager and goalkeeper. Now is the time to show they’re worthy of their reputation as the best squad in the league. For all Brenden Aaronson [wants to be known as a creative menace of an attacking midfielder](https://thesquareball.net/leeds-united/if-brenden-aaronson-doesnt-know-what-he-is-then-how-am-i-supposed-to/), he remains Josuha Guilavogui stuck in Dan James’ body, tackling the opening goal into the net and celebrating by pointing to his temple before spending the rest of the game brainlessly getting caught in possession time and time and time again. Largie Ramazani should be forcing his way into the side ahead of Solomon or James but was Aaronson-lite in his twenty minutes off the bench — in his six touches of the ball he gave it away three times and failed to even attempt a single pass or cross. Fellow subs Ao Tanaka and Mateo Joseph were at fault for both Swansea’s goals — Tanaka needlessly giving away the corner that Meslier dropped at Harry Darling’s feet before his paper thin defending failed to stop Joe Allen in the build-up to Zan Vipotnik’s equaliser after Joseph let a throw-in bounce off him with a first touch that would make Luciano Becchio wince.
The most infuriating thing of all, though, is that Leeds should have got away with it.
As bad as the first half was, United were still leading at the break and improved afterwards, James finding a final reserve of energy to flash two threatening shots across goal after cutting in from the right, Sam Byram doing the same from the left, Piroe directing a volley onto a post via Lawrence Vigouroux’s save and forcing another stop from the ‘keeper from the edge of the box. And when Wilf Gnonto came off the bench to will Leeds back in front, meeting the ball after Pascal Struijk’s header from a corner was parried and clattering a low shot into the back of the net, the game was there, won. Until it felt like we’d lost it.
My main fear at the start of the campaign was looking at this Leeds team and wondering who would be the player with the personality to drag the Peacocks over the line when promotion is there to be won or lost. In 2020 it was Pablo Hernandez and a burst of inspiration to rival any footballer I’ve ever seen. It gets forgotten that Pablo was only fit enough to change games from the bench in that run-in, and even if Gnonto is being held together by tape and painkillers, as Farke said afterwards, Wilf might just be The Guy with enough magic left in his boots to get the job done. And if he’s not… well, we’re all going to need something a lot stronger than painkillers. ⬢
(Photograph by Every Second Media, via Alamy)