Leeds United crashed out of the EFL Cup in demoralising fashion, losing 3-0 to Middlesbrough in what can only be described as a car-crash of a performance, right after the drama of the 3-3 opening day draw versus Portsmouth in the Championship.
Nobody would leave the field of play from a Whites perspective with their head held high, as the likes of Josh Coburn for Michael Carrick's overjoyed visitors terrorised the lacklustre Leeds defence all night long, whilst Daniel Farke's men looked bereft of confidence already.
Farke will have his work cut out for him attempting to pick an XI that can deliver the goods away at West Brom and pick up the first win of the campaign, especially with the shocking news filtering out of Elland Road now that Georginio Rutter looks likely to be on the move soon to Brighton & Hove Albion.
The latest on Rutter's future at Leeds
That could well mean that the dynamic Frenchman's final ever game for Leeds was a cameo from off the bench in this disastrous hammering, as Rutter was given 27 minutes on the pitch to try and make an impact for his downtrodden side.
Even Rutter, who has been known to create chances out of nothing with his magical play on the ball in the past for Farke's men, couldn't steer the hosts to an unbelievable turnaround of fortunes, with just one accurate pass managed from the 22-year-old amidst a very forgettable showing.
That looks likely now to be his final ever outing for Leeds, which will be devastating news for Whites fans to comprehend, having seen their electric star pick up a staggering 24 goal contributions in all competitions last season.
Indeed, with Brighton activating his £40m release clause which expired at midnight last night, Daniel Farke has admitted the player has already said his farewells.
Much like Archie Gray and Crysencio Summerville exiting the building, missing out on promotion by the skin of their teeth in the play-off final last campaign has led to this mass exodus of major stars finally occurring.
Not every exit has to be tinged with sadness between now and the close of the month though, with Maximilian Wober's expected departure welcome news at this point, after his dire showing versus Boro.
Wober's performance vs Boro in numbers
Picked in the starting line-up by Farke after sitting out the opening day goal-fest against Pompey, the occasion was set for the Austrian defender to show that he is deserving of a first-team spot back in Championship action.
Instead, it further reinforced what was already known beforehand, that Leeds should just cut ties with their dud once and for all if a suitable suitor comes in for his services, as Wober struggled throughout his ropey 63 minutes on the Elland Road turf.
Minutes played
63
Touches
102
Accurate passes
82/91 (90%)
Key passes
0
Possession lost
11x
Total duels won
2/5
Wober would competently spray the ball about playing out from the back, but the ex-RB Salzburg man would never quite find that killer pass to unlock Boro, which meant a fair number of his 82 accurate passes went to waste.
Moreover, the Whites dud would win just two of the five duels that came his way in the one-sided affair, with Pascal Struijk – who replaced the out-of-sorts number 39 late on – also managing to make one key pass in the game in his place, despite only managing 33 touches to Wober's high 102.
Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Lee Sobot would hand out a low 4/10 rating to the wantaway Leeds man consequently, labelling his display as "shaky", with the potential for this to be the last time he dons a Whites jersey also.
A lot of change looks to be on the horizon in West Yorkshire, as another rollercoaster season for Farke and Co – even in its infancy – begins to throw up some significant twists and turns.
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1 ByDan EmeryAug 15, 2024