Leeds United were forced to settle for a draw in Norfolk on Tuesday night as they shared the points with Norwich City at Carrow Road in the Championship.
Daniel Farke’s side endured a difficult first half in East Anglia. The hosts took the lead after 15 minutes thanks to a penalty from USA international Josh Sargent.
The German head coach then had to make an early change in midfield for the second match running as Ilia Gruev was forced off with an injury, replaced by Joe Rothwell alongside Ao Tanaka.
Leeds rallied in the second half and found the equaliser in the 60th minute. Wilfried Gnonto turned on the ball in midfield and played a perfect ball through for Largie Ramazani to clinically dispatch a left-footed strike into the bottom corner.
This draw means that the West Yorkshire outfit have only lost one of their opening eight matches in the division and they are currently fourth in the table.
Whilst it was not a dreadful performance from Leeds, who avoided defeat against a side that has now gone 22 games unbeaten at home in all competitions, there were some underwhelming performers – including Joe Rodon.
Joe Rodon's performance against Norwich
The Wales international was selected to start the game alongside Pascal Struijk at the heart of the defence, as they are the only two senior centre-back options available to Farke, with Max Wober and Ethan Ampadu out with injuries.
Rodon got off to the worst possible start in the game by giving away a penalty inside the opening 15 minutes. Ante Crnac slipped the ball down the side of Struijk and the Dutchman’s defensive partner tried to cover for him and, instead, tripped Sargent up.
The former Tottenham Hotspur man caught the centre-forward’s foot as he chopped the ball back inside and gave the referee a relatively simple decision to make to point to the spot.
Sofascore rating
6.3
Tackles + interceptions
0
Blocks
0
Aerial duels won
1/3
Ground duels won
0/2
As you can see in the table above, Rodon did not make a single tackle, interception, or block to help his side out defensively, and lost four of his five (80%) duels.
The Welshman did make eight clearances throughout the match but he allowed Sargent to have far too much joy in their physical contests, whilst also giving away a penalty on the former Werder Bremen star.
Unfortunately, this is not the first time the Leeds titan has struggled defensively in a match this season and it may be time for Farke to ruthlessly ditch him from the starting XI, possibly to motivate him to up his levels on the pitch.
Joe Rodon's declining form
The 26-year-old colossus spent the 2023/24 campaign on loan from Tottenham and enjoyed a fantastic season with the club, showcasing his superb defensive work throughout the year.
This convinced the Whites to secure a permanent deal for his services, as part of the move that saw Archie Gray join Spurs, but he has failed to maintain his impressive form from last term.
In the Championship this season, Rodon has lost a staggering 83% of his ground duels across eight appearances – after winning 69% of them during his loan stint.
Opposition strikers have, simply, found it far too easy to get the better of the Leeds central defender on the ground, and his struggles in that respect were perfectly illustrated by the penalty concession on Tuesday, as he was clumsy and slow in his attempt to win the ball against Sargent.
Last season, Rodon was dominant in his duels and barely gave forwards a sniff in his own third, but that has not been the case in the current campaign.
Appearances
43
8
Tackles + interceptions per game
2.3
0.6
Error led to shot
0
1
Penalties committed
0
1
Duel success rate
68%
41%
Ground duel success rate
69%
17%
As you can see in the table above, the former Spurs man has already made more major defensive blunders, with an error led to a shot and a penalty given away, than he made in 43 appearances in the division last term.
Leeds have kept five clean sheets in their eight league matches but Rodon has the structure of the team and Struijk, who has won 65% of his duels and made 2.6 tackles and interceptions per game, to thank for that.
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To show that no player is immune to being dropped from the side for their poor performances, Farke must now ruthlessly ditch the centre-back from the starting XI.
The player who could replace Joe Rodon
The Whites head coach has already shown that he is willing to be brave with young players during his time at Elland Road, with Gray and Mateo Joseph.
Both players came up through the academy system and emerged as regular starters under the German boss, with Gray last term and Joseph in the current campaign.
It could now be time for teen titan James Debayo to get his opportunity to shine after seven outings as an unused substitute in the Championship.
In his pre-match press conference ahead of the recent win over Coventry, Farke revealed that he has been “very impressed” by the 19-year-old centre-back since his move up to the first-team squad.
The teenage ace, who has played 29 times for the club at U21 level, has been the only central defender on the bench in the last two matches, due to the injuries to Ampadu – who can cover in that role – and Wober.
This means that Farke must persist with the struggling Rodon or boldly unleash Debayo from the start. His career at Elland Road so far, given Gray and Joseph’s respective breakthroughs, suggests that the German tactician could be open to going for the latter.
100% duels lost, 0 passes made: Farke made a mistake subbing Leeds dud on
The Whites boss may regret making this change in the 1-1 draw with Norwich.
ByDan Emery
Hopefully, if the manager does decide to stick with the Welshman, the experienced defender can get back to the level of form he displayed during his loan spell in Yorkshire.