Another afternoon, another Leeds United defeat, and another couple of hours in which Leeds fans are left aghast at decisions made by manager Daniel Farke.
At Nottingham Forest, Farke decided to leave Willy Gnonto in Yorkshire. He waited until the 74th minute to make substitutions, and one of them was the decision to put Jack Harrison on as a left-sided defender.
Who was your Leeds United MOTM against Aston Villa?
On Sunday, Leeds were beaten again despite taking the lead, this time against Aston Villa. A 2-1 win for Unai Emery’s side as England star Morgan Rogers scored a brace to cancel out Lukas Nmecha’s opener.
It feels as if the German is hanging onto his job by a thread, with fans questioning some of his decisions on Sunday. Before the game, fans were fuming after hearing Brenden Aaronson would start against Villa.
Daniel Farke explains decision to take Ao Tanaka off on Sunday
Leeds fans sang “make a sub” at the beleaguered gaffer, who eventually opted to make changes in the 71st minute having been forced into one in the first half. Ao Tanaka came on to replace Anton Stach.
But Tanaka was taken off with 20 minutes to go. Speaking in his post-match press conference, Farke said that the fourth official, Peter Bankes, had informed him that Tanaka was one foul away from a red card.
“I didn’t want to take Ao off, but the fourth official said he was risking a red card after another tackle. Everyone is allowed to have their opinion, no problem at all. They should do,” Farke told reporters.
Leeds star Ao Tanaka has endured a difficult couple of weeks
Tanaka found himself out of the starting line-up away at Nottingham Forest, having started the week before against Brighton. More frustration for the Japan star, who then played for his country in the break.
Against Ghana, Tanaka broke the leg of Charlie Cresswell’s Toulouse teammate Francis Abu. A moment that, while he was not on the receiving end, was emotional. He sent a message to Abu on Instagram, too.
Now, Tanaka has been subbed on and subbed off, one of the most embarrassing moments a player can endure. Farke and Tanaka held a long conversation following his removal from the defeat to Aston Villa.
A difficult couple of weeks for Tanaka, who had actually been one of Leeds’ best players during the game, offering some lovely touches and moments of class. With Stach possibly injured, he could start at City.
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