Leeds United boss has actually taken the side backwards.
Leeds United hoped for the famed ‘new manager bounce’ when they appointed Paul Heckingbottom in February.
It has not happened, and somehow, Heckingbottom is looking like part of the problem at Leeds rather than the solution.
Much of it is not his fault. He inherited a squad of players who are not good enough, and their confidence is shot.
But there is no escaping the cold hard facts, that Leeds are worse under him than his predecessor Thomas Christiansen.
| Manager | Won / per game | Drawn / per game | Lost / per game | Goals / per game | Goals Conceded / per game | Points / per game | |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Leeds | Thomas Christiansen | 0.43 | 0.17 | 0.4 | 1.37 | 1.23 | 1.47 |
| Leeds | Paul Heckingbottom | 0.13 | 0.38 | 0.5 | 1.13 | 2 | 0.75 |
Leeds have won only once under Heckingbottom, and this came a month ago.
The Whites sit down in 14th place and are already well out of play-off contention.
Owner Andrea Radrizzani hoped Heckingbottom could spark the side into a reaction when Christiansen was fired, but he has not been able to inspire them.
Starting with a 2-1 loss to Sheffield United, Heckinbottom’s Leeds have played so poorly that under Christiansen they averaged nearly double the success rate in terms of points per game.
Under Heckingbottom Leeds are scoring fewer goals per game, and worryingly they are conceding more per game.
The new manager could in his defence point to a small sample size, and hope that a strong run of results between now and the end of the season can make his record look a lot better.
But given that a new coach’s best period is often at the start, Leeds fans are within their rights to wonder if it will get worse before the summer.
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