On paper, a 1-1 draw with West Brom isn’t too bad of a result for Leeds. The Baggies have been nigh on unbeatable at The Hawthorns this season, losing just one home game in the league.
However, there were certainly negatives to take from the game, and one of them was the performance of Ezgjan Alioski at left-back.
What’s been said then?
Phil Hay was clear on how unimpressed he was with the North-Macedonian at left-back, stating that he doesn’t expect him to be starting Leeds’ next game in that position.
One fan asked the journalist in his Q&A session on The Athletic what he thought about Barry Douglas’ introduction to the game against the Baggies. He responded:
“It had to be addressed. Alioski was becoming more and more of an issue and Douglas is much more of a defender, with a defender’s brain. I’d be surprised if we don’t see a switch there in the next game now. Douglas deserves to start.”
Time for a change
It seems that Marcelo Bielsa was just as unimpressed with Alioski’s performance.
The Argentine brought him off at half-time, introducing the substitute left-back in his place.
The Scot stabilised things at the back for United, limiting the Baggies in the second half as they failed to find the net throughout that period.
With Stuart Dallas still needed in the midfield while Adam Forshaw remains sidelined it seems as if reintroducing Douglas as a starter could be Bielsa’s best bet.
Douglas does have the quality to play for a top-end Championship side as shown by his 14 assists for Wolves in their title-winning season. If he can reproduce that type of form then he will be a real asset for Bielsa’s side during the run-in.
In other news, Leeds fans have been raving about one man’s performance against West Brom.
