Thomas Christiansen is a growing concern for Leeds United because he has “no answer” when his team are struggling.
That is the verdict of Yorkshire Evening Post correspondent Phil Hay, who covers all Leeds matches and is renowned as a sensible observer of the Championship club.
Leeds slumped to their sixth defeat in seven matches on Tuesday night as they blew an early leading against Derby County to lose 2-1.
United have dropped from first to sixth in the table following their wretched run and are now just three points above Sheffield Wednesday in 14th place.
Hay admitted that he is concerned about Christiansen’s ability to arrest the decline, highlighting how the Dane’s game management is emerging as a weakness.
“My worry about Christiansen is his struggle to change games when they start going wrong,” wrote Hay on his personal Twitter account in the wake of the defeat to Derby. “Had no answer to Derby upping their level.”
My worry about Christiansen is his struggle to change games when they start going wrong. Had no answer to Derby upping their level tonight.
— Phil Hay (@PhilHayYEP) November 1, 2017
OPINION
It is of major concern among the Leeds faithful that Christiansen’s game management is severely lacking. Where are the mid-match tactical adjustments, strategy overhauls or smart substitutions needed to change a team’s fortunes? The likes of Rafael Benitez and Jose Mourinho have earned their reputations through brilliant game management from the touchline, able to spot a problem and solve it to give their teams an advantage. Christiansen appears to set his team up to play one way for each individual assignment, and then hope that it does not go horribly wrong.