Kiko Casilla has a ways to go before he can justifiably be written off at Leeds United.
One of the curses of being a goalkeeper is that it only takes one mistake to erase all the good that came before it – and that will certainly ring true for Leeds United’s Kiko Casilla right now.
Last month, Casilla and Leeds centre-back Liam Cooper orchestrated a horrendous mix-up which saw Derby County score a goal which ultimately helped them move into the playoff final at the expense of Marcelo Bielsa’s side.
Some United fans blamed Casilla, while others blamed Cooper. The truth is that neither of the two covered themselves in much glory, but it’s the Spaniard, a January signing from Real Madrid, who seems to have come off the worst and accidentally burnt his bridges with a lot of supporters as a result.
Many of the Elland Road faithful want the 32-year-old either gone or displaced by Bailey Peacock-Farrell next season, but it’s worth remembering that his first half-a-year in West Yorkshire had more bright moments than dark and he could still be a fantastic asset for Bielsa.
This is a player who has won three Champions League titles with the Spanish giants and although he wasn’t a first-team regular, he was deemed good enough as a number two and even that fact alone indicates that the Whites shouldn’t go chucking the baby out with the bath water here.
There’s no denying that Casilla, who also endured a difficult trip to Ipswich Town on the final day of the season, had a rough end to the campaign, but the same is true of the three or four players in front of him and to scapegoat the one-time Spain international for Leeds’ failure to win Premier League promotion is lazy.
Let’s face it, Casilla doesn’t deserve to be thought of in the same bracket as Felix Wiedwald or somebody of that ilk, and yet you can already feel opinion of him going in the same direction nonetheless.
If he keeps the gloves next season and puts a couple of shaky displays behind him with the sort of form that he showed in February and March, it won’t be a case of improvement; it’ll be because he’s a fine keeper and one who shouldn’t have been written off in the first place.
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