I think we are seeing that some of Bielsa's strengths are double edged, in that they also contain the seeds of our ultimate demise. To wit: - His loyalty to his core group of players. This doubtless results in reciprocal loyalty on the players' part and motivates them to run through a proverbial brick wall for him, but it seems to blind him to the need for change - and the availability of other options - when members of that core group show clear signs of mental fatigue and loss of form (indeed, it just serves to reinforce the mental and physical fatigue). Just a few examples of this are the failure to find a place in the team for Shackleton when Ayling's form has been so poor recently; the insistence on restricting Jack Clarke to second-half substitute appearances when he was already clearly the most dangerous player in the squad; the failure to even find a place on the bench for Edmondson when our team is clearly bereft of a consistent goalscorer in a division in which goal difference is likely to be crucial. - His obsession with leaving no statistical and informational stone unturned in his preparations. This led straight to Spygate. Of course it's ridiculous that the League fined the club two hundred thousand quid for breaking a rule that doesn't exist, but any Leeds supporter over the age of 15 could have told Bielsa that if he sent a Leeds employee to observe other clubs' training, and that employee was discovered to be doing that, our enemies would pounce on it and use it as a stick with which to beat us. This was dumb. It created a massive distraction at a crucial time of the season and cost the club a not inconsequential sum of money. - His openness and honesty, when combined with his insistence on sticking to only one style of play. By needlessly announcing his first XI for every game two days before kickoff, he gives the opposition manager 48 hours in which to plan how to counter us. Is it any surprise that as the season has gone on, more and more managers have figured this out? This is an absolute own goal. If I were Radz I would have told him to stop doing it months ago. - His insistence on working with a small squad. Bielsa's previous experience in Europe was managing sides in La Liga and Ligue 1. Both of those leagues have a 38-game season (in slightly warmer climes). The Championship has a 46-game season, much of it played through in the (mostly north) English winter. In addition there are two knockout cups and preseason games, meaning the first team is playing more than 50 games per season. For several players (Jansson, Klich, Douglas, Peacock-Farrell, Dallas, etc) there is the added burden of playing in (and traveling to and from) regular international games. The Championship - and English football in general - generally involves a much more physically demanding style of play than is the case in the Spanish and French top tiers. In addition, Rob Price himself acknowledged recently that players at the peak of fitness that Bielsa favors are more likely to get injured. Plus, we are Leeds United - we have injury crises that last years (cf: The O'Leary years). This all seems to argue for a larger squad than might be the case in Bilbao or Marseille. But not only did Bielsa insist on keeping the squad small, as players left the squad (Pearce, Saiz, etc.) they weren't replaced. I understand that it's easier to build camaraderie with a smaller squad, but are Bielsa's motivational skills so limited that he'd be unable to handle a squad with a few more players in it (let's say a creative midfielder, a dominant central midfielder and a proven, uninjured goalscorer)? I find that hard to believe. The results of all this are now clear for all to see. If Bielsa (or Corberan, if Bielsa leaves, as seems likely) could find a way to bend a little on the above points, and if Radz can find the cash to buy more quality while retaining players like Clarke and Jansson, then I'd say we have a good chance of going up next season. Otherwise, it'll be more of the same. Cheers! Sean
-----Original Message----- From: David Smail <[email protected]> To: leedslist <[email protected]> Sent: Wed, Feb 27, 2019 10:17 am Subject: Re: [LU] On the other hand. It wasn't ONLY a "bummer of a result" Our lack of cutting edge is becoming more and more evident. For all our possession, undoubted fitness, and willingness, teams know they can let us have the ball for long periods in the safe knowledge we're unlikely to find an end result. There was only one well worked move from us that nearly ended in a goal. It's becoming mildly embarrassing that our same old same old approach isn't yielding many goals. And then to cap it off, MB always states that with so much possession and domination, we didn't take our chances. I thought QPR were worthy of their win last night - they had a sparkle from time to time that we didn't. I think Brown, Roberts and Douglas are all poor, especially Brown - get him back to Chelsea and lose the other 2 quickly. How did any of these 3 manage to be signed - it's back to Doukara days. I think we'll do well to take a point from WBA on current form. I still see Norwich and Sheff U for auto promotion and a possible place for us in the play offs with WBA joining Norwich and Sheff U in promotion. Not all doom and gloom though - it's been an incredible season and the best we've seen LU for some time. Dave A very fair point Sean - MB is unlikely to be here for more than another season at most. I hope he has now learnt he has underestimated the resources required for this 'project', and will want to give it another go having bought 4 or 5 quality players. It's not all over this season by a long chalk, but last night was a bummer of a result. _______________________________________________ Leedslist mailing list Info and options: https://mailman.gn.apc.org/mailman/listinfo/leedslist To unsubscribe, email [email protected] Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/leedslist/ RIP Jimmy WAC-COE _______________________________________________ Leedslist mailing list Info and options: https://mailman.gn.apc.org/mailman/listinfo/leedslist To unsubscribe, email [email protected] Find us on Facebook https://www.facebook.com/groups/leedslist/ RIP Jimmy WAC-COE
