Sam Allardyce’s brutal verdict on ‘nervous’ Illan Meslier will leave Daniel Farke with no doubt on Leeds United solution

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As Leeds United continue to fall apart this season, all the blame is being pointed at Illan Meslier, and Sam Allardyce has no hesitation in outlining the answer to that problem.

Just a few weeks ago, Leeds United looked nailed on to not only get promoted but to storm to the Championship title.

Now, the Whites have won just one of their last five games, including three draws and a defeat. The downturn in form has seen Sheffield United claim top spot in the league, with seven games to go.

Position	Team	Played MP	Won W	Drawn D	Lost L	For GF	Against GA	Diff GD	Points Pts
1	Sheff UtdSheffield Utd	39	26	7	6	56	29	27	83
2	LeedsLeeds	39	23	12	4	78	27	51	81
3	BurnleyBurnley	39	22	15	2	53	11	42	81
4	SunderlandSunderland	39	20	12	7	56	37	19	72
5	CoventryCoventry	39	17	8	14	56	51	5	59
6	West BromWest Brom	39	13	18	8	48	35	13	57

Many have claimed Leeds are falling apart once more, mirroring their demise last season. And, it’s the errors of Meslier in goal that have been at the heart of this poor run for Daniel Farke’s side.

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What Sam Allardyce said about Illan Meslier

Farke has been urged to drop Meslier and play Karl Darlow instead. It would be a risk to switch up goalkeepers at this stage of the season, but given the predicament Leeds are in right now, things can’t really get much worse.

It’s a move that Sam Allardyce would have no problem making, and indeed, it was one of the first things he did when he took over at Leeds back in 2023 for a brief spell.

Speaking on the No Tippy Tappy podcast, Allardyce said: “I never gave him a game. I dropped him straight away.

“I’d watched the previous games and I’d spoken to quite a few people who’d been at Leeds, watching him quite a lot and the first thing they said is, ‘He’s a great goalkeeper, but he’s having a bit of a crisis at the moment.'”

This left Allardyce with no doubt as to what he needed to do. He added: “We know the two most important people are your goalscorer and your goalkeeper. So, he went out of the team straight away.

“He didn’t take it well. Not that it particularly bothers me. When you go in as a manager you have to make these decisions. There was a bit of sulking… but it had to be done, based on the fact he looked nervous… it was harming him, it was going to make him worse leaving him in, even though he’ll be disappointed to be left out.”

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Dropping Illan Meslier could save Leeds United’s season

Daniel Farke believes Leeds will get promoted, but the fact of the matter is, at the current rate, they will end up finishing third.

Sheffield United are grinding out results and have the mental edge, while Burnley are relentlessly marching on and look impossible to beat.

The mistakes Meslier has made have already cost Leeds valuable points, and given the low confidence he must have right now, there are surely more errors to come.

If Leeds had a more competent goalkeeper, they would be running away with the league right now. They are flying in all other areas of the pitch, and as sad as it is to see one player become such a scapegoat, it’s hard not to blame Meslier for how things are going now.

Farke now needs to be brave and as brutal as Allardyce, pull Meslier out of this situation, and get Leeds’ season back on track.