Shaun Derry has suggested that Georginio Rutter must be stinking the place out to not feature for Leeds United in their vital clash with West Ham on Sunday.
Derry was speaking to BBC Radio Leeds after Leeds produced an embarrassing and shameful attempt at trying to boost their survival hopes in the Premier League.
Leeds took the lead after a bright start. But West Ham looked like the team with all of the fight, and all of the things to fight for. And ultimately, the Whites now need an unbelievable final day to pull off an even greater escape than last year.
Derry baffled as Rutter doesn’t feature for Leeds
Leeds capitulated at the very end. A win was obviously the priority, but a draw would not have been a disaster when we were 2-1 down in the final minutes.
And yet, Sam Allardyce decided to not turn to Georginio Rutter. The club’s record signing remained an unused substitute at a time when Leeds were crying out for a goal.
Rutter scored for the under-21s this week. And it is hard to imagine that he could have been any worse than some of those involved today. And Derry was absolutely baffled to not see the young Frenchman get a chance.
“It’s been amazing,” he told BBC Radio Leeds. “You don’t know the ins and outs, I don’t think anybody does, when it comes to the recruitment and the whys and why nots about recruiting people like Rutter. But we’ve just not seen him.
“How do you go and spend that amount of money and not see that kind of player on the pitch? I thought today would’ve been a prime example to put another centre forward on. But I made the point in the game itself, he must be absolutely stinking the place out if you can’t get on the pitch here this afternoon against West Ham.”
Rutter has been put in an incredibly unfair situation. We were excited when Leeds invested in an attacker at a time when they needed another striker.
The fee and the highlight reels suggested that Leeds had signed another really exciting talent in Rutter. But actually, the Whites spent big on yet another talented youngster who is some way off being the finished article.
And it does not appear that he is suited to being a striker in the system Leeds have played.
This is absolutely not Rutter’s fault.
We could yet stay up. But the fact that Leeds broke their transfer record only to not use that particular player in at least six of the final seven games as they battled to stay in the league says everything about what a shambles this year has been.