It’s a Privilege to Play For Leeds United, No Room for Reluctance - Marching On Together 19/8/23

By YorkshireSquare

If you’re triggered by people banging on about Marcelo Bielsa then you might as well stop reading now. Because I’m going to wax lyrical about the great man.

Marcelo Bielsa wasn’t just a football coach, he was something different, he was something special. He made us think about football differently, he made us think about the players differently and as Liam Cooper said after over a decade of disillusionment he united a club, a city and a team. For those looking in from the outside he was an idiosyncratic oddball who didn’t bother to learn English and sat on a bucket. But to us he was truly unique, a visionary who created something very special.

Bielsa believes that in football, the most important element is the people who love the shirt. Throughout his whole career he has shunned bigger roles in favour of coaching teams where he truly felt there was a strong connection between the club and the fans and he demanded that his players understood that connection too. Having the players pick up litter for the same amount of time it would take a fan to earn the money to pay for a match ticket was just an example of this.

There is no doubt Bielsa was a hard taskmaster, his ‘murderball’ sessions notoriously difficult have seen many players watching on the side-lines. To succeed in a Bielsa team players needed to buy into his methods 100%. Many of the trappings and luxuries of top-flight footballer put to one side as the body fat targets were met and running stats hit. There was no room for passengers, those who didn’t buy into it would train on their own, those who did would play some of the best football of their careers.

This effort, this determination wasn’t lost on the fans. We could see how hard the players were working, we bought into it just as much as them. It was a new way of thinking about football, a new way of judging the players who had been written off time and time again. The first two season under Bielsa in the Championship, when we were still allowed into the group, were two of the best if not the best seasons I have experienced supporting this great football team and I know it was the same for many more.

Even as things started to fall apart, it still felt like Bielsa and the players were giving everything but amidst a considerable injury crisis he was not backed. Instead, everything which had been built was torn apart and true ethos was replaced by worthless motivational quotes not backed up by any real substance. Where once a player’s character was a serious consideration when making a signing, the last 18 months has seen the team filled with mercenaries.

The ones who could have made a difference last season, the ones who didn’t put the effort in are now the ones who deem themselves too good for the Championship, pushing for moves and refusing to play. I for one can’t be doing with them. I want my club back, I want players who care, who will give their all to be pulling on the white shirt every week. I want to feel that strong bond between the fans and the club again. If you refuse to play, don’t come back.

In Daniel Farke we have a composed and considerate manager. He demands a level of work ethic not seen since Bielsa departed. If we want to achieve anything this season, the players need to buy into it, they need to want to be here, they need to want to fight for the shirt. Those training on their own, pushing for moves don’t understand what a privilege it is to play for Leeds United, they don’t deserve to be here. So, if they want to go, let them. We will be better off without then. Just make sure make sure we extract the most cash we can out of those trying to pick the meat off the bones of our great football club.