Chris Sutton ‘absolutely baffled’ by Sam Allardyce decision that could cost Leeds United Premier League survival

Chris Sutton believes Sam Allardyce may have made a crucial mistake in Leeds United’s battle for survival.

Allardyce has been given limited time to save the Whites from relegation, having been appointed with just four games to go. One of those games was against Manchester City, while the Whites have also picked up a point against Newcastle United, leaving them one point inside the drop zone with two games to play.

But Leeds could have picked up all three points against Newcastle had Patrick Bamford scored a penalty to put them two goals to the good. Instead, the penalty was missed, and Newcastle went on to go 2-1 up before the Whites scored a late equaliser.

Bamford has previous for missing spot-kicks, and pundit Sutton believes it was an oversight from Allardyce to allow the striker to take the penalty.

“I don’t know whether that’s a good point or not. The truth is everybody’s looking at the penalty miss, that moment in the game, it’s an enormous moment,” he told BBC Radio Five Live.

“I know Patrick Bamford’s had death threats after, what sort of world are we living in when stuff like that happens? I really feel for him ... it takes a lot to stand up and take a penalty. I think he missed his last one and I’ve got to say I expected to take it because I think he’d scored his last one, so that didn’t make any sense.

"What I’m absolutely baffled about is Sam Allardyce saying he hadn’t designated a penalty-taker, he’d left it up to them. It’s a detail like that that ultimately may cost them staying in the Premier League. I found that, a guy whose attention to detail is so precise with things, to get that wrong, that’s a big moment in their season. I think Leeds are down… so that’s not a good point.”