Journalist Conor McGilligan has admitted that he was wrong to question a substitution made by Leeds United manager Jesse Marsch.
In their last league outing, the Whites managed a dramatic 3-2 comeback win thanks to a last-gasp winner from Luke Ayling.
However, in the 23rd minute of the game with the scores still level at 0-0, Marsch was forced into making a change. Patrick Bamford came off with an injury and Sam Greenwood was brought on to replace him.
After seeing this, McGilligan claimed he was left upset that Joe Gelhardt wasn’t put on instead and vented his anger on Twitter. However, while speaking on the One Leeds Fan Channel, he explained why he later deleted the post.
He said: “I think it was around about the 25th minute we saw Bamford go off, Sam Greenwood come on.
“I actually tweeted it out, I had to get rid of the tweet, but I put: ‘I can’t believe Joe Gelhardt’s not come on.’
“Then you realise, you think to yourself, is he going to bring Joe Gelhardt on with the problems that he’s having with his back at the minute? No.
“[Marsch] brings Greenwood on and you’re thinking, ‘God, this is really weak now’. That’s not a hindrance or a slight on Greenwood, it’s just the fact that he’s not had many first-team minutes.”
TIF Thoughts on Sam Greenwood, Joe Gelhardt and Leeds…
In the end, when you consider how the final result of the game certainly showed Marsch ultimately got things right, it’s no shock that McGilligan deleted his tweet.
However, as the journalist points out, there was decent logic to the substitution regardless, with Gelhardt suffering from a back injury ahead of the game which had kept him from even featuring in the club’s Under-23 side.
Will Sam Greenwood make it at Leeds?
Yes
No
Playing in Gelhardt’s place, Greenwood no doubt would have been delighted to make only his second Premier League appearance as he helped his team claim a crucial three points as they aim to avoid relegation.
Still, with no senior goals to his name just yet, it’s easy to understand why some may have had their doubts when the young striker came on to replace Bamford – especially when Gelhardt had scored the winner last time out.
In other news: ‘In loads of pain’ – Phil Hay reveals another Leeds injury scare on top of four replaced