“Do you put Piroe in for Rutter? Or do you carry on with Rutter on the basis that if he has a really good game, he could well be decisive?”- Phil Hay drops verdict on if Daniel Farke should axe Georginio Rutter for crucial Leeds v Norwich 2nd leg play-off clash

Phil Hay believes Georginio Rutter could be dropped by Daniel Farke from the Leeds United lineup for the playoff semi-final clash with Norwich.

The Whites host the Canaries at Elland Road on Thursday night (16 May) after a goalless first-leg, but they come into the game having won just one of their last seven.

Rutter has struggled for form since returning from hernia surgery after the international break in March and while appearing on the Square Ball podcast (16 May) he was asked about the chances of the French forward being axed from the team.

“Great question because the system made sense to me at Norwich on the basis that it hadn’t worked with Piroe in previous games where he’d started,” he said.

“There’d been big issues with the midfield against Southampton and whether or not you agree with Farke about taking bigger risks, but more to the point defensively they haven’t looked anywhere near as sound as previously.

“It almost seemed logical to put Archie Gray in there, tighten things up which it definitely did. It’s easier to play safe, not negative, but conservative away from home in the playoffs, playing the first leg. In the second leg somebody has got to win it.

“Do you put Piroe in for Rutter? Or do you carry on with Rutter on the basis that if he has a really good game, he could well be decisive? Because Bamford isn’t going to be fit so they have a choice, and it doesn’t feel like at any stage it’s going to be Mateo Joseph unless he surprises everyone.

“I fall on the side of thinking that it hasn’t worked with Piroe for quite a while, but I can’t pretend that Rutter is in any sort of form at the moment. It’s not quite happening for him. And there’s no suggestion at all that it’s going to be Mateo Joseph, unless perhaps he is going to surprise us with that on Thursday.”

It’s hard to argue that despite everything that has happened this season, this game is the biggest one of the campaign. So therefore it is undeniable that Farke is under big pressure to get all his decisions right, and the starting lineup is an incredibly important part of that if Leeds want to get to the Premier League.

If fit, Patrick Bamford would definitely be in the starting lineup but without his experience and goals there are downsides to all the alternatives and it is down to the manager to weigh those up and go with the right option.

If everyone is at their best then it’s definitely Rutter who should be starting, and the best option is probably to go with the same team as the first leg but with a bit more freedom.

It Rutter is dropped and the team don’t go through it would be an easy stick to beat Farke with, but on the basis of the whole season and what the team looks like when they’re all their best, he simply has to start the game.