Farke must drop 3/10 Leeds man who lost possession 18x

Leeds United’s time sitting at the top of the Championship table turned out to be short-lived as they were knocked off their perch this weekend.

The Whites led the division after they impressively swept Luton Town aside with a 3-0 win at Elland Road on Wednesday night, only for Sheffield United to move back ahead of them with their 1-0 victory over Sunderland on Friday night.

Daniel Farke’s team knew, however, that a win against Blackburn Rovers on Saturday would have been enough to see them go back to the top of the league.

Unfortunately, however, the West Yorkshire outfit were unable to return from Ewood Park with any points to show for their efforts, as they were beaten 1-0 by John Eustace’s men.

Todd Cantwell, against his former manager at Norwich, scored the only goal of the game from the penalty spot after Ao Tanaka brought down Tyrhys Dolan.

There were a host of poor performances across the pitch from Leeds United players and one dud who should be dropped from the starting XI after his display against Rovers is centre-forward Joel Piroe.

Why Joel Piroe should be dropped

The Dutch number nine was selected ahead of Patrick Bamford and Mateo Joseph to lead the line for the Whites on Saturday, and failed to reward his manager’s faith in him.

Piroe has had an intriguing season for Leeds because his all-round performances have left a lot to be desired, but he has often stepped up with goals to earn more game time.

The former Swansea star has scored seven goals and provided two assists in just ten starts in the Championship, which is certainly an impressive return in front of goal.

However, Piroe has also only completed 74% of his attempted passes and lost a whopping 74% of his duels on the ground and in the air, as opposition defenders have found it far too easy to get the better of him in physical contests.

This, essentially, means that the Dutchman is a liability to the team when his finishing is not perfect, as his struggles in possession and in duels prevent him from causing defenders problems in tight games.

As you can see in the table above, that was the case in the 1-0 defeat to Blackburn on Saturday as the number nine lost all four of his duels and did not get a single shot off in the match.

This is why Farke must now consider dropping the attacker down to the bench next time out after the goals dried up and Piroe’s all-round play was exposed in the loss.

The former PSV gem is not the only Leeds player who should be ruthlessly ditched from the starting line-up, however, as Brendan Aaronson should also be in danger.

Brenden Aaronson’s performance against Blackburn

The USA international was selected to start in the number ten position by Farke at Ewood Park, with Dan James and Wilfried Gnonto lining up either side of him.

Tottenham Hotspur loanee Manor Solomon was left on the bench, despite his recent double against Swansea, to accommodate those three players in the attacking midfield positions behind Piroe in the XI.

Aaronson, however, failed to justify his inclusion in the team with a poor showing for the Whites in Lancashire, as he struggled in and out of possession throughout the match.

In the build-up to the game, Football FanCast posted an article suggesting that the American midfielder should be dropped in favour of James out wide and Gnonto in the number ten role, but Farke opted to keep his faith in the former Union Berlin loanee.

As you can see in the table above, that faith may have been misplaced as the Jesse Marsch signing failed to do enough to justify his place in the side.

The 24-year-old lightweight did not register a single shot on target or key pass in 69 minutes on the pitch, which illustrates his lack of impact in the final third.

He was also handed a player rating of just 3/10 by the Yorkshire Evening Post’s Graham Smyth, who wrote that his lack of quality and his decision-making were a ‘problem’.

Why Aaronson should be dropped from the Leeds team

This poor performance from the attacking midfielder could have been brushed aside if it had come off the back of a run of impressive displays from the former RB Salzburg man.

Unfortunately, his showing against Blackburn was simply the latest in an ever-growing run of lacklustre performances from the USA international.

Aaronson has now gone six matches without a goal or an assist for club and country, five of which have been for Leeds, and he has not created a single ‘big chance’ for his teammates in that time.

The American whiz did have a strong start to the 2024/25 campaign for the West Yorkshire outfit with a return of four goals and four ‘big chances’ created in his first 11 league starts.

As you can see in the table above, there has been a huge drop-off in form from the attacking midfielder in the last five matches in the Championship, as his contributions at the top end of the pitch have completely dried up.

Quite simply, the 3/10 Leeds lightweight is not doing enough, as of right now, to justify his continued inclusion in the starting XI for the Whites, as he has struggled out of possession in duels and failed to offer a threat as either a scorer or a creator of goals.

Therefore, Farke must finally ditch the right-footed dud from the line-up alongside Piroe for the club’s clash with Derby next time out in the Championship.