Leeds season review: Dallas’s consistency, Bamford’s finesse and Bielsa becoming the king of comedy - The Athletic 27/5/21
By Amitai Winehouse
After more than a decade and a half away, Leeds United might
have wondered what the Premier League had in store for them this season. The
question should have been, ‘What did Leeds United have in store for the Premier
League?’
They have become a narrative as much as a football team.
Head coach Marcelo Bielsa has become a character in his own right in a single
season in the English top flight. A top-half finish was pretty much everything
they could have hoped for.
The Athletic has taken a look at their 2020-21 season at
large, and reviewed the best and worst of what went on at Elland Road and
beyond.
Player of the season
Stuart Dallas has moved past the point where he can be
considered underrated anymore. No one still sees him as the mid-table
Championship winger he once was. His stats alone, even the obvious ones, make
it clear that he is a Premier League-level player.
But when you really think about it, it hits you again.
Dallas has become a phenomenal player for Leeds even in a team that has had
other genuine shining lights. Raphinha is a future Brazil international.
Patrick Bamford has shone in front of goal. Luke Ayling has played every game
and taken to the Premier League like a duck to water.
Dallas, though, has scored eight goals and provided two
assists while being deployed in five distinct positions. He has started all 38
league games too. He dragged Leeds’ 10 men to a famous win at title-bound
Manchester City. He’s simply a bona fide Premier League player in a team that
belongs in the division.
Best moment of the season
It was about a second after the ball left Ezgjan Alioski’s
foot in added time at the Etihad. This had all been preceded by about 50
minutes of defending, Leeds breached just once by the then-champions elect.
There was this sudden realisation. Dallas was in. The pass
was weighted perfectly. The Northern Ireland international nipped in ahead of
John Stones, took a touch with his right foot and then fired the ball past
Ederson.
The nature of the 2-1 win made the moment. After defending
with 10 men for more than a half against a Pep Guardiola side, Leeds had
snatched it at the last.
Worst moment of the season
About three minutes into the 6-2 loss at Old Trafford.
Anyone with any affinity for Leeds United has been waiting
the best part of two decades to compete on the same level — on paper, if not in
reality — as Manchester United again. Even with certain frailties in the side,
there was a belief that they would be able to give their fierce rivals a game.
It became clear that was not the case as Scott McTominay
charged through for a second time, putting the hosts 2-0 up.
Leeds recovered from that nightmare opening three minutes
and fought back, and even managed to make a good show of losing by four goals,
but all hope was really gone the second time the ball hit the net.
Funniest moment of the season
For such a noticeably serious, generally agitated man, Bielsa
is great for comedy moments.
There are the little exchanges between himself and his
translator. There are his occasional fashion faux pas, such as his broken
glasses that had taken the full brunt of a Bamford strike on the training
ground, or the upturned woolly hat he’s taken to wearing in recent months.
A personal favourite is whenever the camera cuts to him on
the touchline and he’s doing something, well… Loco.
The best was probably when he was asked who would play in
the centre of defence against West Ham and he tried to be subtle. He replied:
“It could be Ayling, it could be (Kalvin) Phillips.” He was then asked whether
he’d keep them guessing. As he started speaking in Spanish, his translator
suppressed a grin.
He then translated: “That’s to say, Rodrigo Moreno will come
in for Diego Llorente and the XI will be Meslier, Dallas, Ayling, Cooper,
Alioski, Phillips, Klich, Moreno, Raphinha, Bamford and Harrison.”
Reporter: Are you going to keep West Ham guessing?
— Leeds United (@LUFC) December 9, 2020
Marcelo: No, here's my Starting XI... pic.twitter.com/xoCGD4JvyU
Goal of the season
The team that lined up against Liverpool on the opening day
of the season was, barring Robin Koch, one that could have been picked in the
Championship. Understandably then, after Liverpool battered away at the Leeds
goal for the opening 12 minutes, there might have been fears about how this
Premier League thing would go for Bielsa’s boys.
But a Phillips ping, and a Jack Harrison touch and dribble
later, those worries disappeared. Trent Alexander-Arnold, Virgil van Dijk and
Joe Gomez were left dumbfounded. It was a stunning strike, with Harrison’s
weaker foot, that introduced the Premier League to this Leeds side and showed
the quality they had.
🏴 Jack Harrison
— Premier League (@premierleague) January 9, 2021
👕 @LUFC
🆚 Liverpool pic.twitter.com/GLFonVmR1j
Game of the season
There are quite a few shouts for this one. October’s 3-0 win
over Aston Villa felt impressive at the time, given Villa’s start and the
manner of the performance. Beating Everton a month later was similarly
impressive. Yet it is impossible to look past that remarkable 2-1 victory at
Manchester City.
Leeds had had a good season but needed a standout win, the
kind you reflect on 20 years down the line. It was a backs-to-the-wall
smash-and-grab win, but it was brilliant.
Bielsa planned the game to a tee. They let centre-half
Stones become City’s main attacking outlet. They countered remarkably. They won
in dramatic circumstances. The only shame was that the Etihad’s away end, like
the rest of the ground, was empty.
Quote of the season
Bielsa has a habit of managing to fire out Buddha-level
philosophy in every press conference he has ever sat down for. The day after
the announcement of the Super League project, Leeds played would-be
participants Liverpool. Bielsa was asked for his thoughts post-match: “Of course,
there are different teams, some more important than others, but they should be
conscious of the needs that we need each other.
“But because football always has a view that is more
commercial now… it’s natural in the world of businesses, looking only at the
economic aspect, that the ones that produce the most demand the majority of it.
“That’s something that is common in the world of business
but football is not only a business — but before or after, it was going to
happen because football belongs to everybody, even if there are owners. The
real owners of football are the ones who love the badge and without them,
football will disappear.”
Piece you most enjoyed reading
I’m in a privileged position where I get to read what Phil
Hay writes about Leeds United. Unlike the other people composing The Athletic’s
club-by-club season reviews, I’ve generally been able to sit back and just
enjoy his work.
His piece on Bamford after his hat-trick at Villa was
dripping with detail, brilliantly written and, somehow, turned around just a
day after the game. It tells you everything you need to know about Bamford and
how Bielsa has turned him into the player he should always have been.
Stat that sums them up
Probably Leeds’ final goal difference of plus-8. To finish in
the top half, having scored 62 times, shows their attacking flair. To concede
54 shows the instability of their defence at various points. They are great
entertainers.
That said, Leeds have improved considerably at the back as
the season has rolled on. Next time, they should be much better.
Wish for next season
There are two big ones.
The first, really, is for more of the same — another solid
season in the Premier League would be plenty, although maybe with slightly
fewer heavy defeats. Even just getting to watch Bielsa’s football is a plus, so
him penning another contract would be excellent, and if it came with European
qualification, then all the better.
The other thing is a bit personal, a bit professional.
When I first spoke to Phil about his operation, the only
thing he said was it was a shame he would miss the end of the season. Phil is
one of the nicest guys in the industry and deserves nothing less than a full 38
games next time around.
He’s very much on the mend now, and I’m looking forward to
his return already
