Leeds United journalist Beren Cross has been discussing Illan Meslier and his drop-off in performance compared to last season.
The 21-year-old Frenchman, having spent the majority of his first season at the club on the bench, has slowly managed to establish himself as the club’s No 1, however, this season has not been a fun one for him in goal.
He has conceded the most goals in the Premier League this campaign with 56 and has been on the receiving end of some drubbings, including their 6-0 loss to Liverpool on Wednesday night.
Speaking on the latest edition of the Blue, White and Yellow podcast, Cross discussed Meslier’s performances this season as a whole, and noted that whilst his performances have been good, he hasn’t been performing all that well compared to last season – and that there are numbers to back it up.
He said: “Distribution was off tonight. I don’t think he’s without blame this season. I know he’s had a generally good season.
“I did come across some numbers the other day, and his expected goals prevented – the quality of the saves you make. Last season, it was really good, and this year, it’s actually one of the worst and he should actually be saving more than he is.”
TIF Thoughts on Beren Cross’ comments on Illan Meslier at Leeds United…
Would you consider selling Meslier?
Yes
No
The numbers that Cross mentions are legitimate and they are as bad as he portrays them to be. According to FBRef’s ‘Post-Shot Expected Goals minus Goals Allowed’ values – which measures the saves made against what their opponents’ expected goals tally is – last season, Meslier’s rate stood at +5.3, whereas now, he is on -8.0 – by far the worst in the league.
Some of that can come down to other factors. For instance, without the defensive solidity of Kalvin Phillips in front of the back four and the injury to defender and captain Liam Cooper, Leeds are arguably likely to be facing more shots and putting more pressure on Meslier, which results in more goals.
But for his numbers to dip that low and to drop that far compared to last season, some of it has to be on him. Hopefully, he will be able to get out of this slump sooner rather than later, because Leeds will need all the help they can get to move away from the rut they’re in, and a strong pair of hands between the sticks could go an awful long way to doing that.
In other news: ‘Surprised’ – BBC pundit claims Leeds will try sign £20m star ‘if they stay up’