YEP Jury - New boys nowhere to be seen as goal-shy Leeds United crash to Wigan Athletic

Our fans' panel have their say on Leeds United's hugely disappointing 1-0 home defeat to Wigan Athletic.
Patrick Bamford.Patrick Bamford.
Patrick Bamford.

DAVID WATKINS

There is a trend emerging. That’s our fourth defeat in eight games with just two wins in that run and the defeats are now coming against teams of all calibres, not just the best.

The worst thing is that every game is so similar. We seem destined to suffer this defensive frailty at set pieces for the rest of the season as we don’t have any personnel to swap at the back.

Ben White on the attack.Ben White on the attack.
Ben White on the attack.
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It wouldn’t matter so much if we were still putting the ball in the net but that seems way more difficult now than it did earlier in the season.

We do have new faces who we could try up front, but we must be the only side in the country that has brought in two quality attackers, struggled in games, but not thrown either on to mix things up.

I get that neither is yet ‘Bielsafied’ but surely they are worth a punt even if only for 10 minutes at the end?

We now face two of the toughest games of the season at Forest and Brentford; without changing something we could, probably will, lose both.

Marcelo Bielsa.Marcelo Bielsa.
Marcelo Bielsa.

Man of the match: Mateusz Klich.

MATTHEW EVANS

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There’s not much that can be said about that depressing result on Saturday. It’s fair to say that a club looking for automatic promotion to the Premier League shouldn’t be losing at home to Wigan, especially with the context of our other 2020 results so far. But lose we did.

Wigan’s previous two away wins included their smash and grab at Elland Road at the end of last season and there were plenty of similarities here. Strong defending aside, Wigan offered nothing and we had to pretty much put the ball in the back of our own net to lose all three points.

Tyler Roberts.Tyler Roberts.
Tyler Roberts.

At the other end of the field it was the same old story, a tale as old as time, with Patrick Bamford, Jack Harrison and Helder Costa failing to get anywhere near close enough to scoring for Leeds. It hurts an awful lot at the moment. Just when you thought we might have got it together, we look certain to dip out of the promotion race yet again.

In the world of Leeds United, the result always impairs the judgment of the performance. We were significantly better than Wigan and many of our players had good games. They just weren't good enough. For the second game in a row I had Mateusz Klich down as my man of the match, on this occasion for showing some energy in driving us on to at least try and find a way back.

Man of the match: Mateusz Klich.

JACOB STARR

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Well then, Wigan are doing their best to ruin our promotion hopes yet again.

It may be worth copying and pasting what I’ve said previously this season – one-way traffic and total domination without the vital end product.

Patrick Bamford had a header cleared off the line, but largely, Wigan’s defence were able to handle whatever came their way relatively well.

Helder Costa looked lively as usual, but I can’t think of a time where a white shirt was on the end of one of his crosses.

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Kiko Casilla failed to deal with a corner that flicked off the unfortunate Pablo Hernandez and straight into the net. Shambolic.

Brentford battered Hull 5-1, Fulham beat Huddersfield and West Brom got back to winning ways against Luton.

Nottingham Forest lost at Birmingham City which was one positive, but Leeds are now only three points clear of Fulham, with trips to Forest and Brentford on the agenda next.

Saturday’s game was a must win and they fell short.

Man of the match: Helder Costa.

KEITH INGHAM

Another three points dropped and the reasons it happened are the same, missed chances, good ones as well and we once again gifted the opposition the goal which turned out to be the winner.

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Leeds took the game to Wigan but the final ball wasn’t good enough and good opportunities were wasted. The best chances fell to Jack Harrison who hit the post and minutes later somehow failed to get the final touch when the ball was caught between his legs.

Patrick Bamford forced Marshall into a good stop at his near post. He then had a great opportunity from a corner but put his header wide and had a shot that was woeful to be honest. Against the run of play, Wigan went ahead just before the hour mark, Joe Williams sent in a looping corner which caught out the Leeds defence and went in off Pablo Hernandez to give them an undeserved lead.

Although Leeds brought on Tyler Roberts for Gjanni Alioski, they struggled to get past a well drilled Wigan defence and their best chance was headed off the line by a Wigan defender.

Tuesday’s heroics were a distant memory as the players trooped off the field heads bowed in disappointment and the fans sought a much-needed pint to drown their sorrows after the defeat.

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Most fans in the BBC Radio post game forum were bemused by the fact that both new signings weren’t used in the fixture. It seems that Marcelo Bielsa will gradually introduce them into the starting X1 despite the calls to get them in now.

Myself I think Jean-Kevin Augustin must be at least in the 18 when Leeds travel to Nottingham Forest next Saturday, with Forest only four points behind them they might need all the help they can get!

Man of the match: Jack Harrison.

ANDY RHODES

This was one of those games where you could see a defeat on the horizon. With one away win all season, Wigan had no expectations of a victory and came to Elland Road ready to settle for a point.

Playing with nine men behind the ball, it was never going to be easy for Leeds to break down. They never have been good against sides that park the bus.

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The Latics’ game plan was plain to see – try nick a goal and sit deep – and it worked. Recently, United have been guilty of conceding the cheapest of goals and Wigan’s winner was no different.

It gave them licence to sit all their players behind the ball. Leeds could have still been playing now and they wouldn’t have scored. It was just one of those games.

Would Jean-Kevin Augustin have been worth a run out to offer something different? Possibly. Leeds ran out of ideas and soon the writing was on the wall.

United and Marcelo Bielsa need to find a way to beat these sides. It could be the difference come May.

Man of the match: Ben White.

MIKE GILL

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Once again Leeds succumbed to inferior opposition at Elland Road. The suffering continues despite a positive performance in midweek.

Wigan looked like a relegation candidate and were one of the poorest sides to visit Elland Road this season.

They must have relished the swirling wind that found every corner of the ground.

As usual, United dominated the proceedings without gaining an advantage from it.

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Jack Harrison and Patrick Bamford both came close in the first half but by the break, doubt was beginning to creep in and you started to wonder whether it was going to be another disappointing result. Marcelo Bielsa had chosen not to start either of the new boys and chance after chance was squandered as the Wigan goal remained untroubled. Frustration turned to desperation when a freak corner was turned past Kiko Casilla by Pablo Hernandez.

With a massive 76 per cent possession, United still could not score. Helder Costa had several good runs but his final cross was often ineffective.

Jack Harrison toiled away on the other flank without reward as shots went everywhere other than the net.

Forest on Saturday - that should be fun.

Man of the match: Stuart Dallas.