Illan Meslier’s play-off criticism labeled ‘harsh’ by ex-Leeds United man

It’s safe to say that Leeds United goalkeeper Illan Meslier has always divided opinion among fans.

The 24-year-old has developed into a regular for Daniel Farke since arriving at Elland Road last summer and has been a reliable member of the side that almost secured promotion back to the Premier League. But that doesn’t come without its critics.

An excellent shot-stopper, Meslier’s positioning and decision-making are often two facets of his game that face close scrutiny, with a suggestion that Leeds might be better off with someone else between the sticks. It’s worth noting that he’s still only 24 and kept 19 league clean sheets last season, the most in the division.

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Leeds’ goalkeeping department has been a bone of contention for many years, from the days of Bailey Peacock-Farrell to Paul Robinson. But a former stopper who faced the weight of expectation at Elland Road believes Meslier deserves far more credit overall.

“I think in all honesty as a goalkeeper it’s a position you feel a little bit about but I think what I always try to do is be very honest about my performance,” began Nigel Martyn, speaking to BestBettingSites.co .UK.

“So if I concede a goal that I think I should have saved or I should have done better, I’ll tell my team-mates straight away, the manager, I’ll go in and apologize and I’ll apologize, this is’ not good enough.

“On the other hand, if you play really well, I keep my mouth shut and move on. Obviously there are multiple outlets and there are multiple ways to take out your frustration, back in my day it was more a day, you. he would get the pain and if you deserved it, you deserved it and that’s part of being a goalkeeper, but you just work hard and come back for the next game. It’s tough, he (Meslier) is young, but he’s played, I don’t know, 200 games now, probably or more, so the experience has to be there.”

“Technically on the goal, to go where Adam Armstrong finishes, and he finished well, but to go the way Ilan did that day, I think he might reflect on that and think he shouldn’t have I get to the position I got. to try to save, there was enough distance there for the reaction to happen and not try to get into that blocking position, which is a good position when the player is a lot closer to you.