Simon Jordan says Daniel James has been a "fundamental disappointment" and "a waste of money" at Leeds United.
Wales winger James made the headlines this week after seeing red for a studs-up challenge on Chelsea's Mateo Kovacic in Leeds' 3-0 defeat to the Blues at Elland Road.
The result leaves Jesse Marsch's team in the relegation zone with just two games of the season to go. Burnley, a place above the Whites, have played a match fewer and have a better goal difference than their rivals.
READ MORE: What Leeds United's Daniel James said in dressing room after horror red card vs Chelsea
James is now suspended for the final two fixtures of the campaign. On talkSPORT, Jordan and Martin Keown were discussing Leeds’ recent sendings off, with Luke Ayling and James seeing red in consecutive games to leave the Whites teetering on the brink.
Down to 10 men against Arsenal and Chelsea, Leeds went on to lose both games to keep them in the bottom three ahead of this weekend’s game against Brighton.
Jordan went on a mini-rant to declare James' £25million move from Manchester United last summer "a waste of money in my eyes", believing that ill-discipline could well cost Leeds their top-flight status.
Jordan said: “Luke Ayling’s decision was not about anything other than getting the Leeds fans behind him in that corner of the pitch and that particular moment in time because he had been given the runaround by a particular player.
“Dan James’ decision - it’s irresponsible, it’s not a case of... they’ve got to go into these games with blood and thunder. This is what they’ve got. Against Brighton on Sunday... this is it. You either want to stay in this Premier League or you don't and whether Brighton want this intensity, they are going to have to be at that level.
"What that doesn't excuse is irresponsibility. You bring intensities to the pitch, you bring physicality to it, but you don't bring what Luke Ayling brought to that particular situation, because there is no reason behind it.
"The reason behind it is because he was given the runaround by a certain player and wanted to leave something on him so the Leeds fans went "whoa, Luke Ayling!" and what he did was he got himself sent off.
"Dan James, who has been a fundamental disappointment all season to Leeds and a waste of money in my view, has left them in a situation in a game which they might not have been expected to get much out of, they might have been able to nick a draw, but has made it virtually impossible for them to do so.
"Against Brighton, they've got to bring to bear all that passion and the intensity that's going to win that game, because Brighton are a better side than they are right now."
Jordan did add, though, that he sees Leeds escaping the mire and surviving at the Clarets' expense. "I do still think there is a puncher's chance for Leeds. I think they've put themselves in an awful position, and on the balance of probabilities, and I've spoken to some big Leeds fans over the course of the week who think they are done, but I think if they can beat Brighton, and I think they will beat Brighton. That puts everything back on Burnley. Burnley get smashed by Tottenham at the weekend and all of a sudden, it's game on."
Keown had previously said on Match of the Day that he did not see that aggressive trait in James during his time at Old Trafford, and suggested it came with the territory of playing for Leeds.
"It's something, Gary (Lineker), he didn’t really do at Manchester United, I don’t know whether it comes with playing for Leeds," Keown said. "A part of that getting stuck in and getting around people. But at the moment it’s costing them. They've had a catalogue of injuries, down to 10 men again, everything that could go wrong in this game went wrong.
"You look at the fixtures and what's coming up and it does feel like now it is starting to fall apart for Leeds."
