A lot has been made of the Leeds players’ mindsets as of late.
Whether you want to chalk it down to unresolved sporting trauma like Graham Smyth did on the Inside Elland Road podcast last week (4/2/20 43:00), or you want to say it’s a lack of a sports psychologist at the club, either way, something does seem to be affecting the players’ mentality.
One man who is seemingly not in the right headspace at the moment is Kiko Casilla.
The Spaniard made yet another dreadful error at Brentford on Tuesday, and one journalist stated that his head has gone.
It’s hard to argue with that sentiment as his performances on the pitch have certainly reflected that, and Phil Hay believes that he’s being affected by one off-field issue.
What’s been said then?
In the wake of United’s 1-1 draw and another Casilla error, one fan asked Hay whether or not he thinks the former Real Madrid man has been affected by the charge that looms over his head.
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“Do you think the whole racism charge got to Casilla Phil? He hasn’t looked the same player since it,” the supporter queried.
Hay replied: “It must be affecting him to some degree. It’s a stain on his reputation and he’ll be in for a lot of negative coverage if he gets found guilty. Something is going on in his head. You can see it in his body language.”
More to it than that
While the charge that is looming over Casilla may be affecting him a little bit, it seems as though there may be more to it than that.
The Spaniard was charged in early November, but this poor run of form didn’t really start until late December, and it coincided with a dip from the rest of the team.
Fans and journalists were actually full of praise for the goalie more than a month after his initial charge, so if that was the main issue it surely would have been prevalent back then rather than three months down the line.
It’s not just Casilla who has dipped. The whole team haven’t been at the races lately, winning just twice in their last 11 league games, and the 33-year-old is the only one with a potential suspension looming.
Could the FA charge be affecting his form at the moment? Absolutely, but his performances throughout November and early December indicate that there is more to it than just that.
In other news, one Sky Sports pundit believes Leeds should be more like Fulham in one area.