'Not his fault' - Former star defends key Leeds United figure with 'replacement' from rivals question and autos prediction

Burnley hadn't had a shot after half an hour of last weekend's 1-0 defeat at Elland Road. Take away the slip from Manor Solomon for the Burnley goal and would they have another chance? Potentially not. It was a great chance that Mateo Joseph missed after about 45 seconds so there's a lot in there.

There's debate potentially about a Leeds penalty. I've actually seen it back, and I thought that Joe Worrall just about won the ball with his toe so it depends where you fall on the side of that particular debate.

In these situations, obviously, people look at the manager, but there's not much else he can do with what he's put on the pitch. The players have to create the chances, take the chances, not give away opportunities to the opposition to score goals, ie the Luca Koleosho goal.

I totally get the fans' sense of frustration, absolutely, especially given the fact that West Brom are top with Sunderland second. But going into that Burnley game Leeds were statistically better off points wise than they were at the same stage last season albeit that has now changed.

I just think the wind gets taken out the sails a little bit because of who left in the summer transfer window and what they meant to the football club.

But the reaction to that has got to be one that steps forward and one that has got to be positive. I don't think it's panic stations at all. They're operating under the same amount of expectation. They're expected to be at least in the top six, if not the top two.

And just potentially, while it might sound like a daft thing to say about an elite football club, they just need maybe a bit of luck, maybe the rub of the green when it comes to strikers finishing chances or slips in possession which suddenly turns frustrating situations into positive ones and points building.

If fans are looking at someone like Carlos Corberan at West Brom as a replacement or alternative then with the greatest respect to both clubs, why would he leave West Brom for Leeds? I know that he has worked there before but you don't know what the ins and outs are with West Brom. You don't know what the details are with regards to takeovers and money available and how much power he's got over his squad and what he wants to do and how he wants to play. It might be a different set of circumstances at Leeds.

You can talk about him but he is the name of a man and a manager that's doing well. That's how that kind of falls into the chat. Other than that, the realistic element of being able to pluck someone from the team that's leading the way at this point in time - it's still very early on.

I know we've had an international break, and we'll have another one in a couple of weeks but it's still early on although when it comes to games against a rival such as Burnley, I think it is very, very important. It's almost like, forget the performance, you just need to win and that's exactly what Burnley did.

I'm not saying Daniel Farke is without responsibility, because that's inherently what a manager is. A manager is in charge and takes responsibility. But if it was a Leeds side that wasn't creating chances it would be different.

Look at the Pompey game. Yes, it was a topsy-turvy game but Brenden Aaronson has got that chance to win the game in the dying seconds and misses it. If you are questioning Daniel Farke, that's not his fault that Aaronson can't take that chance.

I understand frustration being pointed at the manager and the easiest fix when things are not going great is the manager. That's the quickest thing to change because you can't sack 10 players or 20 players. You can sack a manager but you can't sack the squad. That's one for the ages and that will always be the case with managers and the way that football clubs are run.

But broadly speaking, I'm not seeing managerial mistakes week on week with setup or formation or personnel. There's no glaring omissions than I am seeing from the team.

There's the set pieces issue but then has he got the right people on delivery? If the quality is not there and they're not attacking it then obviously you can work that all the way back to personnel and recruitment.

But the people in the building are the ones that he's got to work with and if they can't deliver a ball in the right place, or the players can't make the right run, then that's literally a player's responsibility.

Leeds are still firm favourites to win the division with the bookmakers and I think that would be reflective of what we saw for them last season as well. Maybe they're looking at West Brom and thinking that they may fall short like they did last season or Sunderland might not be able to keep up the pace that they've started with. Or maybe a dodgy month from someone like Watford which given what Watford are suddenly puts the manager at risk. You just don't know.

But I can absolutely understand it because if you're looking at big fish in that particular pond then Leeds still remain that big fish. They were a big fish when they came up from League One. So I can absolutely understand Leeds still being favourites because they are still one of the biggest if not the biggest boys in the division and I would still have complete belief that they can seal automatic promotion this time around.

There was always going to be a hangover from the play-offs. There was always going to be a hangover from players moving on. We looked at the West Brom game where Joe Rodon talked about having a bit of confidence, which I think you can be drawn into just assuming that a team and a club and a playing staff in Leeds is full of confidence.

But it's a game played by human beings, which is what makes it so wonderfully interesting - that they're all prey to the same form of fitness issues regardless of where you play your football. They're not super human. There's a lot to like about the squad. They're just not a) taking the chances and b) killing teams off.