Marcelo Bielsa's Old Trafford disaster shows how quickly knives come out for Leeds United head coach - YEP 19/8/21
Marcelo Bielsa is not above criticism, he is not untouchable, even at Leeds United where he has risen to the status of legend.
By Graham Smyth
The defeat at Manchester United, by a 5-1 scoreline, was
humiliating. The performance was poor, organisational issues posing problems
players could not solve and it bore a horrible resemblance to the last time it
happened at Old Trafford.
Last December I wrote that the idea of that 6-2 defeat
taking place in front of travelling supporters was unthinkable. On Saturday the
unthinkable became reality, leaving 3,000 Whites stunned and angry, even if
they refused to remain silent.
The inquest that took place among supporters had begun
before the final whistle even took place and although certain players took more
of a kicking than others, Bielsa’s role came under scrutiny.
There was anger at midfield issues arising, fueled by a
perception that lessons from the last horror show in that stadium were not
learned. The head coach persisting beyond half-time with Robin Koch in a role
he is yet to prove he can master against an opponent in Bruno Fernandes he
could not control, while Kalvin Phillips stayed on the bench, was chief among
the complaints.
Concerns over the lack of cover for Phillips are a
longstanding bone of contention between sections of the fanbase and the man they
adore for leading the club back to the top flight.
Legend or not, Bielsa does not get a free ride at Leeds.
No-one does.
But while differences of opinion remain, anger dies down and
it will take more than a drubbing, or two, to put any kind of dent in the
Argentine’s popularity.
What that kind of result does do, however, is offer an
insight into just how quickly the knives come out when Bielsa is involved.
There are pundits who plainly could not wait to get stuck in
and just like last season, the reaction in some quarters was a little over the
top.
A single game, albeit one in which five goals were shipped,
was sufficient to decry Bielsa’s ability to coach defending, when the evidence
of an entire 2020/21 season strongly suggested he could get that side of it
spot on, even against the very best teams.
The strength of the criticism, which on more than one
occasion has come complete with warnings that Leeds will soon start considering
Bielsa’s future if he does not buck up or vary his ideas, is remarkable.
One game. Against a team with Premier League title hopes, a
team with an array of talent to die for, or at least to pay hundreds of
millions for. One game that lacked the physicality and defensive nous Kalvin
Phillips brought to the Elland Road meeting between the teams. Just one game.
If Everton, Burnley, Newcastle, Watford and Southampton do
to Leeds what Manchester United did to Leeds, then it might be time to start
dishing out some home truths but even in that highly implausible case, there
would be a huge body of evidence to consider that could convince most
reasonable Leeds United minds to continue trusting in Bielsa and his process.
What is clear is that, if this second season in the top
flight proves as difficult as everyone at Leeds has been suggesting since the
start of pre-season training, then Leeds fans will need to revisit that body of
evidence on a regular basis if they are to withstand the noise from outside. If
the knives can come out this quickly, a genuine bad patch will rival the Royal
Armouries. If Bielsa’s tenure at Leeds ends on a negative note, it will be a
bloodbath.
It is easy to form the suspicion that there’s something
about Bielsa that rubs some up the wrong way.
The fascination with his idiosyncrasies – something Leeds
themselves play on by selling buckets or revealing tales of his obsessive
behaviour – is understandable in a sport craving something new and different to
talk about. But it can lead to a depiction of him as an oddity and the desire
for something new can give way to a desire to see anything different crushed or
at least discredited and outed as a hoax.
Raphinha was an angry, angry man.https://t.co/gFqfzvmOQL#lufc
— Leeds United News (@LeedsUnitedYEP) August 18, 2021
The word genius, one he himself would spend an eternity
disassociating himself from, puts a target on his back.
Yet is there any other way to describe a man who can take a
mid-table Championship team and coach them to the top 10 of the Premier League,
ingraining his methods in no time at all, convincing players to go beyond
themselves in pursuit of intensity while playing football that entertains so?
Is there a better word for a man who creates a style of
football that his peers deem unique?
It’s much easier to knock something down than it is to build
it.
Bielsa is flawed, like any manager. He gets it wrong, like
any manager. He can be criticised, like any manager. Does he enjoy the same
treatment as any manager?
Ultimately his duty is not to the outside footballing world,
but to the fans, owners, players and staff of Leeds United and it is their
collective opinion that matters most.
If, at any stage, he needs telling, they’ll tell him.
