Farke must drop the 4/10 Leeds man behind West Brom

Leeds United's poor start to the new season continued in the Midlands on Saturday afternoon, with Daniel Farke's men left to take a point from the Hawthorns following a 0-0 draw with West Brom.

To be honest, it was a pretty good point considering what happened last week.

Leeds drew 3-3 with Portsmouth on the opening day before being beaten by Middlesbrough in the Carabao Cup in midweek as they shipped six goals from their opening two games for the first time since 1959. Yeah…it's not good, is it?

Then came the blow of losing Georginio Rutter and his absence was more than felt this weekend. Leeds had just six touches in the opposition box, the lowest in Farke's entire managerial career.

By halftime, they were only 50% accurate in the final third. It makes for painful reading.

The latest on Rutter's future

Hours after Leeds lost to Boro, it was confirmed that Brighton had activated Rutter's £40m release clause.

It was sad, sad, especially for the fans who have already seen Archie Gray and Crysencio Summerville walk through the exit door.

So, when will Rutter be confirmed? However, Farke admitted during the press conference before the game that he has already said goodbye to the team.

Leeds paid him £25m in 2023 so they made a good profit on this player. That said, the prize of reaching the Premier League will bring even greater riches and they may struggle to get there now without the Frenchman and Summerville.

Joel Piroe was the man to replace Rutter against the Baggies on Saturday but he didn't take his chance to show concern.

Piroe's work with numbers

The Dutchman has been on a roll since signing from Swansea City last summer.

In the 2023/24 campaign, Piroe registered 16 goals and three assists, but struggled in the No.10 role, despite scoring 50% in that position for the team.

As a result, it was frustrating for the fans to see Piroe selected in that area of ​​the pitch against West Brom.

Subrogated after 64 minutes for Joe Rothwell, he left the field having touched 23 times, far fewer than goalkeeper Illan Meslier's 49 touches.

The 25-year-old scored just six points, none of which resulted in a goal-scoring opportunity. For someone playing a role like Piroe's, you have to be expected to create. After all, Rutter finished last season with 16 assists, 13 more than his Dutch counterpart.

To make matters worse, the former Swansea man conceded 13 times and won one of the eight.

The striker was then graded after the game as he was given a 4/10 performance rating by journalist Beren Cross who described his outing as a 'standard and poor display' which 'left a lot to be desired'.

So, it wasn't a great interview from Piroe as Farke tried to solve the Rutter-shaped hole in his side.

It's a long season in the past and Leeds will surely improve but the prognosis is not good for an internal solution in that number 10 role. In their next match, the manager should try something else and bring Piroe back to the bench.