Leeds United fans left Elland Road on Tuesday feeling an opportunity had been missed after they drew 1-1 against Leicester.
It was a crucial game for Javi Gracia, as three points would have lifted the Whites four points above the bottom three.
Unfortunately, the Spaniard was unable to oversee a victory, and has now come under fire from Jermaine Beckford for his management of the significant six relegation points.
What is the history?
Well, Gracia only made two substitutions, one of which was forced after Luis Sinisterra suffered an injury, and bizarrely left Wilfried Gnonto on the bench as Leeds dropped two points.
Speaking about the 52-year-old’s decision to make just two changes and ignore the Italy international, Beckford told BT Sport: “As soon as Sinisterra got injured you could hear the whole stadium erupt with Willy Gnonto, they started to sing your song
“I don’t know (why he didn’t go in). If I’m being brutally honest, I don’t know. There was also another opportunity to bring him in when Brenden Aaronson came on. Today there have only been two substitutions and one of them has been forced. That’s weird.
Grace started well at Leeds with two wins and a draw from their first five games, but quickly became a source of frustration due to some very strange decisions.
Leeds United vs Leicester is cause for concern
In our opinion, Leeds fans will be very pessimistic about their chances of survival after Tuesday’s 1-1 draw.
It’s one thing to see bad results produced when a coach uses his best players, but for Gracia to ignore players like Gnonto and the £36 million Georginio Rutter as relegation stares Leeds in the face is very worrying.
It almost feels like friendly fire: why does the Spaniard shoot himself in the foot like that?
As things stand, it seems highly unlikely that Gracia will be offered a contract extension this summer, even if he manages to keep Leeds in the Premier League.
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