Even Samu Saiz has not been able to stop Leeds poor form.
Samu Saiz’s red card for spitting in January may have been the moment Leeds United’s 2018 began to fall apart.
He picked up a six game suspension for the incident against Newport, and Leeds went on a winless run which saw manager Thomas Christiansen fired
During his weeks on the sidelines, Leeds fans were longing for his return, hoping the talented Spaniard would provide the spark to kickstart a play-off push and save their season.
The expectations were perhaps too high, but even moderate hopes that Saiz would bring a change in fortunes have not worked out.
Leeds have since managed two wins – in which Saiz started just one, but their form is desperately poor.
Saiz has been a non-factor and has gone missing in defeats.
Last night against Fulham he was anonymous and struggled to match the hype.
Since returning to the team following his suspension, Saiz has no goals, and just one assist. Beforehand he had five goals and five assists.
This form had seen Saiz heralded as Leeds’ best and most important player, but he is a shadow of the impact making attacker who played in the first half of the season.
Some of this must come down to management too. New boss Paul Heckingbottom seems at a loss on how to get the best out of Saiz.
He needs to figure it out soon, his job may depend on it.
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