Jon Newsome has told BBC Radio Leeds that he was surprised to see Jack Harrison not taken off sooner during Leeds United’s loss at Everton on Saturday, insisting that it really was not the winger’s day at Goodison Park.
Leeds had a nightmare this weekend. The Whites have fallen into the relegation zone in the Premier League after the bottom three all won. And of course, one of those to win was the Toffees.
Leeds produced an embarrassing display at Goodison Park. If anything, it was only ever going to be Everton who scored the game’s second goal.
Jack Harrison criticised after Leeds defeat
Michael Skubala’s men showed almost no quality going forward. And perhaps the player who endured the worst afternoon was Harrison. The winger got another chance at number ten after a bright display against Manchester United.
However, the 26-year-old was extremely poor. Any potential openings went by the wayside. And his delivery from set-pieces was nowhere near good enough.
Skubala waited until the 86th minute to take Harrison off. Before that, Max Wober had come off with a knock. Meanwhile, Crysencio Summerville and Weston McKennie were also replaced.
Newsome had some sympathy for Skubala over his decision to take Harrison off later in the day. But he admitted that he was not entirely sure why the Englishman stayed on so long.
“Yeah I was surprised that he wasn’t withdrawn earlier. I don’t think Summerville was great in any stretch of the imagination. But yeah, I would’ve made that change,” he told BBC Radio Leeds.
“But listen, it’s hindsight. It’s easy to say after the event. But yeah, Jack just had one of those days.
“Nothing came off for him. I thought his touch was poor. His awareness was poor. He didn’t seem at the races. It’s sad when that happens to you, but it happens to us all. But it’s how you react to it. It’s how you deal with it and you’ve got to go and get yourself busy.”
Leeds have not lost today because of Skubala. The Whites came up against an Everton side which also lacked any quality. And they barely laid a glove on the Toffees.
Most Leeds fans would have been fearful about what was going to happen from the early stages. There was a feeling in the air that Leeds were off the pace. And that proved to be the case.
With that, Harrison is not the only player who deserves criticism. It would be much, much quicker to list the players who did turn up on Saturday.
But Harrison is one of the players with the ability to play much higher up the Premier League table. So it is all the more frustrating when he is well off the pace.