A lot of Leeds United fans have slated Liam Cooper for what they perceived to be a poor performance from the Whites’ captain.
Cooper has transformed as a player under Marcelo Bielsa, but he, like some of the other Leeds players, has struggled in recent weeks as the Whites have failed to win in three.
Was this one of Cooper's worst performances?
Yes, he was dreadful
No, he has played much worse
Cooper’s latest display has received a lot of criticism from many Leeds fans.
I’ve been saying for weeks his form has dipped big time, positionally he’s been lucky for weeks but very badly exposed today with a team playing 2 up top, our manager is being completely out foxed here also!
— Kevin Connolly (@KevRedCon) December 26, 2019
I agree he was fault for the goal, him an Ayling was the worst players on the Field. Dallas is miles better than ayling at the back
— jamie livsey (@Jimjam_1985) December 27, 2019
Probs one off the worse games I’ve seen him play which there hasn’t been to many like that
— Mark (@Mark1461) December 26, 2019
League 1 Liam tonight.
— Craig. (@bandforgood) December 26, 2019
Stats don’t always indicate a good performance. I thought he was well below par personally; like most Leeds fans. Certainly not a leader either!
— Dan Stead (@themightysteed) December 27, 2019
Unfortunately that doesn’t tell the whole story.
I do like Coops but his decision in the build up to their goal wasn’t great.— jamie croft ?? (@CroftLeeds) December 26, 2019
he was awful last night
— Graham watson ??? (@GrahamW98733146) December 27, 2019
Have to agree, he was awful and cooper alongside him, looked liked they had never seen each other before, copper can’t play with his right foot….typical lower league player
— genesis (@genesisTimM) December 26, 2019
What do we think?
Cooper is one of the players that Bielsa has developed, and giving him the captain’s armband has also allowed him to grow as a footballer.
The 28-year-old, though, is not playing well at the moment. This could be to do with the injuries he has suffered this season, but also, Cooper needs to ensure that he raises his game.
Cooper as the captain must lead the team by example and he needs to improve his own displays before he can demand more from the rest of the Leeds squad.