Ex-Leeds United striker Noel Whelan has criticised the recent performances of goalkeeper Kiko Casilla, suggesting that the Spaniard’s showings over the last few weeks have been below the required standard.
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Leeds have only won one of their last five Championship games and no longer have the league’s best defensive record, thanks in part to conceding three against Cardiff City and four in the recent nine-goal thriller at St. Andrew’s against Birmingham City.
Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan laid into the 33-year-old, accusing the ever-present Casilla of committing far too many ‘schoolboy errors’ and calling on him to improve his decision-making.
He said: “He’s not covered himself in glory, starting from the Cardiff game.
“We saw him again, I don’t know how to put it into words without being too disrespectful – they’re schoolboy errors, you shouldn’t be expecting that from a Real Madrid number-two over his career.
“I know everyone’s prone to mistakes, but these are really bad mistakes and ones you wouldn’t expect to see at under-23 levels, at times.
“His decision-making and quality has got to be so much better. I’m not sure if it’s the Christmas period but I think he’ll be the first to admit he can do better in situations like this and he should be expecting better from himself.”
In fairness to Whelan, Casilla has certainly seen a dip in his performances – with his current run of five games without a clean sheet following four successive shutouts that coincided with Leeds’ run of seven straight league wins.
That could suggest that Casilla’s form is pivotal to Leeds’ fortunes, while he has arguably been culpable a number of times over the last few weeks, including for Cardiff’s first goal in their comeback draw last month, while he displayed poor distribution in their Boxing Day draw with Preston North End.
With Leeds earning six points from the last 15 available, it is clear why the performance levels of the goalkeeper have been called into question.
However, Casilla made five saves during their draw with West Brom on Wednesday as he was the team’s best performer according to WhoScored, displaying the potential he can still deliver for Leeds.
Therefore, the weeks ahead may tell of whether Casilla’s recent showings are a mere blip or a worrying sign of things to come.
Leeds fans, are you comfortable with having Casilla between the sticks? Let us know what you think below!
