Micah Richards has been left baffled at how Leeds United can be so inconsistent within matches.
The former Manchester City defender was speaking on the latest episode of BBC 5 Live’s Monday Night Club, where he criticised the Whites for letting promising performances down with poor errors.
Leeds are in need of a miracle if they are to secure their Premier League status on the final day as they sit 19th and two points adrift of safety.
Sam Allardyce’s side will need to beat Tottenham Hotspur and hope results in the Everton and Leicester City game go their way.
Richards baffled by Leeds inconsistency
Sunday’s defeat at West Ham was the perfect example of what Richards is discussing, and a pretty accurate summary of the season as a whole.
Leeds looked dangerous during the early exchanges of the first half, managed to get themselves ahead and then just offered nothing for the rest of the game.
The Whites were dreadful in possession, yet spaces were appearing all over the pitch which eventually saw them punished in the final 20 minutes.
Richards said: “Being a Yorkshire lad, being from Leeds, I don’t know if it’s heart over head. After last season, it was the last day they were safe…
“There’s elements of the game of Leeds which look really good for certain amounts of time. So they’ll be really good for 30 minutes and you’re thinking, ‘Wow, they’ve got the energy’.
“Javi Gracia comes in and you think, ok, they’ve got a bit of stability, they’re sort of timing the way their pressing. I remember doing the away game at Fulham thinking, ‘Okay, I’m seeing something different here’.
“But then they fall into the trap of being over-exposed. It’s almost like they’re trying hard, it’s not like they’re not trying.
“On one of the goals, for Declan Rice, they got through way too easy… the opposition wasn’t really there but they’re all back in a position to help each other out, but there’s a lack of organisation, someone talking.
“They’re letting themselves down with sloppy mistakes all over the pitch.”
Unfortunately that is on the players just not being good enough to sustain a high-level over a full game.
It could be argued that the win over Chelsea back in August is Leeds’ only 90 minute performance of the season, which is why they find themselves near the bottom.
Those spells Leeds have in games are able to score them goals, but ultimately they just can’t withstand the pressure at the back which causes them to make such poor errors on a regular basis.