Leeds are missing Jamie Shackleton this season
As the final whistle blew at Elland Road last Saturday, fans were seemingly in disbelief that they’d blown a 3-0 lead.
The Whites may still be ten points clear of Preston in third place, but this was an indication that if anyone can hurt their promotion chances, it is themselves.
Eventually drawing 3-3, Leeds’ ability to bottle it was best summed up by journalist Phil Hay.
The Scotsman claimed after the encounter that the grip slipped in midfield throughout the second period. That wasn’t the only thing, however, as the strange decision to replace Gaetano Berardi with Pascal Struijk also came back to haunt them.
He allowed Robert Glatzel to get in behind him late onto score a vital equaliser for the Bluebirds.
But they didn’t just miss Berardi when he went off. In fact, in a situation like this, they missed a player like Jamie Shackleton.
On the chalkboard
The young midfielder is targeting a Boxing Day return to action and as a busy festive schedule kicks in his influence could be vitally important, particularly in scenarios when the Whites need to look after possession and see out the game.
The 20-year-old hasn’t played since October after going through a plague of muscle injuries that have kept him sidelined for over two months now.
Just as he’d managed to work his way into the team over the injured Adam Forshaw, a bout of bad luck has halted his season.
The last time Shackleton played was as a substitute against Charlton in October and he hasn’t been seen since.
But with the qualities he possesses, he has proven to be an unexpected miss, especially against Cardiff when more care was needed.
Marcelo Bielsa has previously described him as an “explosive” individual, highlighting his outstanding abilities at both ends of the pitch.
Last term, the Argentine noted: “He can attack by surprise, he defends well and when he moves he has explosive movements. With these kind of movements he can surprise his opponent and he looks for space at the right time.”
He proved this against Barnsley earlier this campaign. Against the Tykes, the youngster made four tackles and achieved a pass success rate just north of 82%. He also showed his dynamism with three key passes and three dribbles.
Virtually impossible: Can you name the year all of these Leeds flops arrived at Elland Road?
It was the type of performance that Leeds required in the dying embers last weekend. Kalvin Phillips was the only screen of protection in front of the back four but even he looked slightly overwhelmed.
That showed the importance of having an added body that’s capable in defensive scenarios too. Shackleton’s return in the coming weeks can only be a good thing based on this.
In other Leeds news, one of their young players has been compared to Johan Cruyff…