Leeds United’s current goalscoring woes are about more than just Patrick Bamford.
Yes, the striker has been poor in front of goal, missing 20 big chances and firing 53 attempts off target throughout the season, but the midfield hasn’t helped.
Indeed, Mateusz Klich, Stuart Dallas and Pablo Hernandez have just 10 goals between them, and perhaps that’s down to their unwillingness to shoot from range this term.
What’s been said then?
Graham Smyth and Joe Urquhart discussed the decline in the number of shots Leeds have taken outside the box this term on the latest edition of the Inside Elland Road Podcast.
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“Last season they were averaging 7.15 shots from outside the box per game, and this season it’s 5.7, so they’re shooting from outside the box less this season,” Smyth said.
“I didn’t know that, but from the naked eye it kind of seems like that,” Urquhart replied.
“You go back to when Wenger was at Arsenal, and they coined trying to score the perfect goal, and it’s just like that isn’t it?
“It’s just frustrating because you just think in the last 10/15 minutes and you need a goal, just take a shot when the chance materialises, and there were so many times where Dallas, Klich, Harrison, Roberts – some of them got blocked, but most of the time it was just a sideways pass.”
Needs fixing
Goals from the midfield need to be more common at Leeds if they are to improve their form.
Klich and Hernandez both hit double figures last term, but this season they’ve only hit seven between them, and we’re way past the halfway point of the campaign.
In 2018/19, Leeds fans chanted about Klich’s tendency to hit the net from long-range, but we’ve rarely seen that this term from him, or indeed any other United midfielder.
It’s an issue that needs fixing, Leeds need to start firing more often, and more accurately.
In other news, Leeds fans should think again when criticising Marcelo Bielsa for one thing.