Leeds United’s play-off semi-final with Norwich City remains all to play for after a 0-0 draw at Carrow Road today.
It was an extremely cagey affair in Norfolk with both sides clearly nervous to make any sort of mistakes. There was just three shots on target from either side across the whole 90 minutes.
Daniel Farke sprung a tactical surprise in his starting XI as he dropped Joel Piroe to the bench in place of Archie Gray, who played in a more advanced number 10 role.
That saw Georginio Rutter move up front for the first time since before the turn of the New Year, something which LeedsUnited.News mooted could happen.
However, Rutter was very much part of a Leeds attack that struggled to create anything throughout the match, giving Farke food for thought ahead of Thursday night.
Leeds fans all say same thing on Rutter performance
Rutter has been struggling with his confidence lately and that is now the ninth match in a row since his surgery that he has failed to register either a goal or an assist.
He completed just six passes, really struggled to hold the ball up and lost possession on 10 occasions, despite the fact he only touched the ball 26 times.
Fans were left very frustrated at what he offered leading the line this afternoon, with one suggesting Leeds looked ‘better when Rutter went off’ on 70 minutes.
Others, meanwhile, believe he needs dropping for the return fixture at Elland Road, but with Patrick Bamford out, that just feels highly unlikely.
“Rutter has to be dropped for Thursday surely,” he said.
The Leeds attacker has also been heralded as a ‘fantastic player’ by one fan, but insists he has a lot of work to do when it comes to his ‘decision making’.
Rutter may be better as an impact sub
Rutter has been disappointing for a while now and the repeated insistence of Farke to keep playing him since his surgery is looking like the wrong one.
Thursday does feel like the right time to make the change and given it is back at home, Farke may be tempted to play a more attacking side again.
With that in mind, Piroe and Mateo Joseph both should come into the side, with the latter leading the line.
That would allow Rutter to come on in the second half against tired legs where there might be more space for him to do what he does best.
