Leeds United moved themselves back into the automatic-promotion spots in the Championship with a victory at Elland Road.
Noel Whelan has told BBC Radio Leeds that although he can never criticise Gjanni Alioski’s work-rate, he is not performing well enough when in the final third – and his lack of form is bound to be frustrating his Leeds teammates.
Marcelo Bielsa’s side are back into the top two of the Championship as goals from Kemar Roofe and Pablo Hernandez helped the Whites to a 2-0 win against Bristol City.
However, both goals came after Alioski had been replaced by Jack Harrison around the hour-mark. The Macedonia international endured an extremely disappointing afternoon, and struggled to show any composure when Leeds were on the attack.
And Whelan admitted after the win that Alioski does need to make major improvements to his game as he performed poorly when Leeds needed that bit of quality going forward.
“The thing I do question is some of his decision-making in the final third and the quality that he sometimes brings when he gets in those areas. It’s not good enough. It’s not. It’s frustrating. It’s got to be frustrating for the fans. It’s got to be frustrating for the players out on the field because it’s opportunities that are wasted.”
In fairness to Alioski, he has actually been one of the club’s more productive players. The 26-year-old has scored three goals and provided three assists in the Championship, and he does tend to create chances for his teammates.
However, with one goal and one assist coming since August, it is no surprise that some supporters are frustrated with the winger. And if that kind of run continues, Bielsa is going to find it more and more difficult to justify keeping faith with the £2 million signing (fee reported by Yorkshire Evening Post).
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