Leeds United's lacklustre start to the new season continued away in the Midlands on Saturday afternoon, Daniel Farke's men left to take a point from the Hawthorns following a 0-0 draw with West Brom.
To be honest, it was a pretty decent point considering what's happened over the last week.
Leeds drew 3-3 with Portsmouth on the opening day before being hammered by Middlesbrough in the Carabao Cup in midweek as they shipped six goals in their opening two matches for the first time since 1959. Yeah…it's not great, is it?
Then came the hammer blow of losing Georginio Rutter and his absence was more than felt this weekend. Leeds had just six touches in the opposition box, the lowest throughout Farke's entire managerial career.
Going into the break, they only had a 50% pass accuracy in the final third. It makes for grim reading.
The latest on Rutter's future
Just hours after Leeds had suffered defeat to Boro, it was confirmed that Brighton had activated Rutter's £40m release clause.
It was heartbreaking, it was anguish, particularly for a fan base who have already seen Archie Gray and Crysencio Summerville walk through the exit door.
So, when will Rutter be confirmed? Well, Farke admitted during his pre-match press conference that he had already said his goodbyes to the squad.
Leeds paid £25m for him in 2023 so they are making a mighty fine profit on the player. That said, the prize of reaching the Premier League would bring even greater riches and they may well struggle to get there now without the Frenchman and Summerville.
Joel Piroe was the man to replace Rutter against the Baggies on Saturday but didn't take his chance to shine in a worrying display.
Piroe's performance in numbers
The Dutchman has rather flattered to deceive since being signed from Swansea City last summer.
During the 2023/24 campaign, Piroe registered a haul of 16 goals and three assists, but struggled in the number 10 role, despite 50% of his strikes coming from that position in the team.
As a result, it was frustrating for supporters to see Piroe selected in that area of the field again against West Brom.
Hauled off after 64 minutes for Joe Rothwell, he vacated the pitch having had 23 touches, far fewer than goalkeeper Illan Meslier's 49 touches.
The 25-year-old registered a dismal haul of just six passes, of which none created a goalscoring opportunity. For someone playing a role such as Piroe's, you should be expected to create. After all, Rutter ended last term with 16 assists, 13 more than his Dutch colleague.
Minutes played
64
Goals
0
Assists
0
xG
0.33
Accurate passes
6/10
Key passes
0
Crosses
0
Shots off target
2
Shots on target
0
Dribbles
0/2
Ground duels won
1/6
Aerial duels won
0/2
Possession lost
13x
To make matters worse, the former Swansea man ceded possession 13 times and won just one of his eight duels.
The attacker was subsequently slated after the game as he was handed a 4/10 match rating by journalist Beren Cross who described his outing as 'a familiar and poor display' which 'left a lot to be desired'.
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So, it wasn't a great audition from Piroe as Farke attempts to solve the Rutter-shaped hole in his side.
It's a long old season and Leeds will surely improve but the omens are not good if an internal solution is sought in that number 10 role. For their next clash, the manager must try something else and put Piroe back on the bench.
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