Play-off hopes fading for Christiansen’s Whites TSS January 21, 2018 Leeds United 3 Comments Three red cards in three matches has put pay to any talk of promotion for the Whites this season. While the point deficit to the play-offs is still manageable following yesterday’s crazy loss at Millwall, Leeds look like the transitional team that they are. That our early season form sent us soaring up the table is no less remarkable than our recent plummet, for teams with a new boss, new faces and a whole new perspective are bound to have highs and lows. Consistency breeds consistency in football. Keep your manager and the best players around long enough and sooner or later, they’ll develop the nous to win matches they’d previously lost. For Leeds, the biggest problem tends to be an inability to cope with physical sides, but the poor disciplinary record which has left Thomas Christiansen with an alarming number of suspensions hasn’t helped matters. Both these issues can be ironed out with experience however. The side – perhaps with an addition or two – will eventually learn how to cope with the more combative sides the Championship throws up, while Samu Saiz and Eunan O’Kane will both learn from their moments of absolute stupidity having both let their teammates and the fans down. No surprise that the bookies have Leeds as high as 16/1 for promotion at this stage, making 9 teams a more likely promotion candidate than Christiansen’s Whites. If you are betting on the football, be sure to check out TeamFA for daily betting tips and news, though given the unpredictability of this Leeds side, I’d avoid placing large amounts on our fate. Any hope Leeds have of mounting a late charge towards the top will require Lasogga find some consistency. Both he and Kemar Roofe had excellent games v Millwall, but the German has been far too hit and miss since his arrival. The first of our new signings, De Bock, showed promise though and a natural left-back getting forward and stretching the game is sure to create a bit more space. Crucially for Leeds, the difference is likely to be Samuel Saiz. Any team in this division can hit a hot streak at the right moment and find themselves in the play-offs and if anyone is to be Leeds’ catalyst, he’s the most likely. He has another month before he returns to action but what form he returns in could be the difference. A Samu Saiz who’s kept himself in peak condition and is determined to make amends could make for a very entertaining scramble to the line.