On Sunday, Leeds United decided to dispense with the services of mercurial veteran head coach Marcelo Bielsa. The decision was not a surprising one considering the team has been in woeful form of late. A 4-0 home defeat by Tottenham on Saturday was the deciding factor.
The defeat coupled with weekend results push Leeds closer to the Premier League relegation zone. They are now just two points clear of the danger zone, having played two more games than Everton and Burnley the two teams directly below them in the table.
Bielsa considered a modern-day hero at Leeds
Despite the team’s recent run of results, the sacking of the Argentinian has proven a highly unpopular decision amongst the Leeds fans. Some even consider Bielsa the manager Leeds have seen since the late great Don Revie. He is a modern-day managerial hero at the Yorkshire club.
That status has been well earned, as Bielsa was the man who helped the club return to the Premier League after a 14-game absence. Not only that, but he had the team playing an expansive and exciting brand of football to boot. His reputation as one of football’s innovators only grew during his time in Yorkshire, as he guided Leeds to a ninth-place finish on their return to the English top-flight last season.
Bielsa’s brand of football has earned him respect from some of his current contemporaries and even up and coming head coaches. His philosophy on how the game and how it should be played is certainly admirable. It has proven successful wherever he has coached in the past.
Unfortunately, his strength of conviction in his style of play may well have been his downfall, as he didn’t have a plan b if plan a failed.
The downfall this season
Bielsa’s belief that his way was the right way of playing football was also his downfall in the Whites’ second season in the English top-flight. Leeds are still playing the same style of football, but they are now getting the same results. Maybe teams have figured them out or maybe the absences of key players such as Kalvin Phillips and Patrick Bamford have proven a major factor in Leeds’s terrible form in recent months.
The Yorkshire outfit has now failed to win in six league matches, suffering five defeats in the process. The injuries could be cited as one of the main reasons for the team’s downturn in form. However, when a team is missing such key players or results are not going their way then it is time for change.
Bielsa was unwilling to adapt his style to the available players and this stubbornness has cost him his job and could prove highly costly to Leeds if they suffer relegation.
Marsch set to be Bielsa’s replacement
Media reports suggest that highly-rated American head coach Jesse Marsch could be appointed in the near future. Marsch earned himself a big coaching reputation as boss of Austrian team Salzburg, where he helped the team dominate their domestic competitions, develop young players and make a big impression in European competitions.
He left Salzburg to join RB Leipzig last summer, but his spell was short and not so sweet, as he lasted until early December before losing his job with the team badly off the pace in the German top-flight.
Marsch or whoever takes over from Bielsa has big shoes to fill and a massive job on their hands to turn things around before the Whites drop into the relegation zone. The Argentinian may have left in poor circumstances, but Leeds fans will never forget the veteran head coaches four years in charge at Elland Road.
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Is Jesse Marsch the right man to keep Leeds in the Premier League?
