Bamford goals, running even harder and killing off the burnout myth – Leeds’ big talking points for new season - The Athletic 9/8/21
By Phil Hay
Leeds will be looking to build on their superb first season
back in the Premier League after so long away from the top flight.
Again led by Marcelo Bielsa, there will be some with an eye
on Europe. But is that likely?
Phil Hay answers the key questions…
What would be a good season?
From my perspective, anything resembling a competent
mid-table finish or better. That’s not particularly romantic and after the
success of last season, the temptation to think about Europe is naturally there
but it’s a big challenge to get promoted and then improve year on year without
taking a little time to consolidate. If, in year two, Leeds are competitive and
cohesive then that will do nicely. And after that, build again.
What would be a bad one?
Anything resembling a significant backwards step from ninth
place last season. Nobody wants to think about the bottom three, least of all
Marcelo Bielsa, and Leeds will expect to keep themselves well clear of that. In
terms of individual games, I don’t doubt that Bielsa hopes to cut out things
like the heavy defeat at Manchester United in December. Old Trafford is Leeds’
first port of call this season and a good result there would be a nice start.
What’s the biggest unknown about this team?
Whether or not they can repeat an excellent first year in
the Premier League. It’s a bit uncharitable saying that because plenty of
players in this squad have already gone through the transition of mid-table to
title winners in the Championship, and then made the jump from the Championship
to the Premier League. But the novelty won’t be quite the same this time and
it’s on them to perform in exactly the same way. I think they can, or
thereabouts.
Who will be a star by the end of the campaign?
I’m going to pick out Rodrigo. He came into form towards the
end of the season, helped by him finally being free of injury and illness. He
is Leeds’ record signing and I fancy him to have a much bigger impact this time
than he did in his first year. That said, he might have a hard job outshining
Raphinha. Some of Raphinha’s performances have been ridiculously good and you
know that he can get better. I also think Diego Llorente will impress if he
stays fit.
The most common type of goal this team will score is…
Finishes from inside the box. Leeds don’t tend to shoot on
sight and they much prefer to work the ball around patiently rather than having
a go from 25 yards out. The third-man runs and the overlaps out wide are often
the best route to goal and also extremely difficult to anticipate and defend
against. Because of this, Patrick Bamford should be top scorer again. No one at
Leeds got close to him last season.
Thing other fans or pundits say about this team that annoys
you most…
Burnout. The Bielsa burnout theory. It’s like the question
about a tree falling over in an empty forest. If Leeds can be this good for
three seasons back-to-back (while training like they’re actually trying to kill
themselves), does Bielsa burnout actually exist? Most of the players seem as
addicted to the treadmill as he is and when I bumped into Liam Cooper a couple
of weeks back, he’d clearly shed a bit more weight (as if there was any for him
to shed in the first place). On and on.
How safe is the manager on a scale of 1 (not at all) to 10
(Pep Guardiola)?
The true scale is probably 1 (not at all) to 11 (Marcelo
Bielsa). That’s not to say he’s entirely untouchable but he’s as close as can
be possible. He must be the most popular Premier League coach among his own
supporters. Leeds don’t like to think about the day when he leaves. He’s been a
phenomenon.
Tell us something you’ve been hearing…
I mentioned this in another piece last month but there was a
bit of talk in the spring about Bielsa house-hunting and looking to shift away
from the flat he’s occupied in Wetherby for the past couple of years. How long
he’ll be here for, no one ever knows, but he seems to have plunged some fairly
deep roots into Yorkshire. It’s rapidly becoming his home away from home.
Who will be the first player the crowd get on the backs of?
This is hard to answer because most of the players at Leeds
are in credit. It might well be Bamford, despite his consistent impact and the
fact that he suits Bielsa’s tactics so well. He takes more criticism than most
and he’s easy to target when things go wrong. But I’ve always liked the fact
that the more criticism Bamford gets, the more Bielsa backs him. In Bielsa’s
own way, he’s managed Bamford brilliantly.
