Stuart Dallas responded on social media after a section of Leeds United fans criticised the winger.
Leeds’ Stuart Dallas in action with Liverpool’s Georginio Wijnaldum
Stuart Dallas took to Twitter recently to comment on some of the criticism he had received from Leeds United fans, with one Tweet from the Northern Ireland international insisting that he will not lose sleep over a comment from a fan who suggested that an opposition full-back would not be worried about facing him.
While Dallas has every right to respond to the debate, and in fairness, never really crossed the line with his responses to the supporters, he may have been wise to follow the example that his Leeds teammate had previously set when he frequently had to deal with fan frustration, regardless of whether the criticism of Dallas is justified or not.
Throughout his first season at Elland Road, Chris Wood – who still finished the campaign as the side’s top goalscorer – faced a fair amount of criticism from the fans after often struggling to look like the kind of striker that could inspire a promotion push.
And that frustration spilled over into this campaign with the New Zealander facing some boos during the first two games of the season.
And that criticism was ready to reach another level when Wood missed a glorious chance when Leeds were 1-0 down to Fulham in August and seemingly on their way to starting the season with three defeats out of three.
Leeds United’s Chris Wood
However, Wood atoned for the miss by scoring a wonderful equaliser and celebrated by putting his hand to his ear, sending a clear message to the section of supporters who had jeered him for much of his time with the club.
And the striker has backed that act up in the best possible way, having gone on to score 25 league goals this term, the most that any player in the Championship has scored this year.
Like Wood previously, Dallas has been in something of a rut this season. The 26-year-old has not scored since February and his most recent assist came against Aston Villa back in December, so it is not a surprise that some fans are less than impressed with what they have seen.
But Garry Monk will be hoping that Dallas can use the criticism he has received in the same way that Wood has, seemingly using it to give him plenty of motivation to prove his doubters wrong.
With their Championship promotion hopes hanging by a thread now, Leeds desperately need someone to step up and inspire the side to do everything they can to give themselves a chance of reaching the play-offs, and Monk will be hoping that the criticism is just what Dallas needs to become that talisman-like figure.
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