Leeds United’s recent form is at least partially down to their poor defensive performances.
Indeed, the Whites have conceded 17 goals in their last nine league games, but the majority of the fanbase’s fury has been aimed at the club’s attacking players.
We’ve seen Helder Costa and Patrick Bamford receive a lot of flack for their performances of late, and while that reaction may be deserved, there is one man whose form has fallen off a cliff lately that has escaped this type of scrutiny.
As you can see, Ben White’s defensive contribution over the past few weeks hasn’t been at the standard we’ve come to expect from the Brighton loanee.
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He’s performing below his usual standard in almost every metric that matters when it comes to judging defensive performance.
He’s making fewer tackles, interceptions and clearances, and with Kalvin Phillips being suspended for a number of these games you’d hope that White would have stepped up rather than seeing his performances wane.
The centre-back was key in Leeds’ brilliant defensive run at the start of the season. The Whites conceded just 10 goals in their first 20 league games, and the loanee was named by both fans and pundits as the club’s Player of the Season after a few months of the campaign.
Unfortunately, his poor showings have coincided with Leeds’ worst run of the season, and unless he rediscovers the form that saw him compared to John Stones, the Yorkshire club could fall out of the promotion picture.
White’s dip has seemingly gone a little unnoticed by fans, but he’s just as guilty as the likes of Bamford and Costa. His performances simply haven’t been good enough.
In other news, Leeds fans should think again when criticising Marcelo Bielsa for one thing.
