Has Bielsa Given Up?

[gessa]

Hopefully not, lets just hope it's a swipe at the board about us needing new faces.

It is worrying that hisbeloved Newall Old Boys have just got rid of their manager and they have a short list of 2, one named the other not nameed , as "he's in a job presently and it would show disrespect to name him"

[1964white]

Marcelo is disappointed because of the lack of support from the board I suspect

Also this season is a learning curve for Bielsa, he probably realises now that the championship is a demanding league unlike the Argentinian/Spanish mickey-mouse leagues where they play nowhere near the games played in the champs. Three game a week takes it's toll !

So all this working on a small-squad nonsense has comeback to hurt us big-time.

We need a quality squad not just a decent first XI & NOT backed up with average players, no game-changers & U23's filling the bench who have no chance of getting a game

The problems have been there for all to see from day one & throughout the season, unfortunately the owner/directors & many of our fans never recognised what was required hence we now find ourselves in another end of season mess once again

I know as does Bielsa realises our squad is running on empty & the three games are gonna take a huge effort that are now probably beyond us

Teams in great form generally pinch that 3rd spot

Fulham last season

Sadly Villa to go up this time

[paddy parrott]

No!, but seemly a lot of our lot i.e fans have !
Bad as it is the rival fans so to speak are their usual Doomed merchants.
Were better that this.

[gessa]

I don't think it's a given Villa will beat West Brom.

[1964white]

Bielsa goes we are back to square one folks

[1964white]

I don't think it's a given Villa will beat West Brom.

No it isn't mate, but both Villa & the Baggies have the necessary resources to go up unlike us who look in 2nd gear with the engine just about to breakdown

[HarryofOz]

Bielsa goes we are back to square one folks

It's amazing that Square one has not been damaged beyond repair.

[HarryofOz]

In relation to Bielsa's comments, he won't have given up on this season (and for good reason) but as has been said, he's giving the board a message to invest in the team next season.

[gessa]

No it isn't mate, but both Villa & the Baggies have the necessary resources to go up unlike us who look in 2nd gear with the engine just about to breakdown

Both coming down in recent years puts them in a much better position than us, both still having parachute payments for one both still premier league set ups. But we're no worse position than Burnley, Bournemouth, etc..when they went up.
I have no evidence, but I would think Radz, as something lined up with regard takeover or investment, remember he had a 5 year plan to get us up or he would sell, said he'd need to find furthur investment to finance it or sell if we got up.

[Irish Ian]

I was worried by his comments yesterday too. But hopefully whatever happens between now and the end of May the he and the board can speak about what the options are going forward.

I half hope his comments were aimed at the squad in trying to motivate them to dig as deep as they can within themselves, to make as much as they can of the opportunity they have in front of them rather than look back on the one they have squandered.

It was always a two year project at least to turn this club around. If MB knows that the resources to push on next year are not there then why should he hang around.

But deep down I believe he will stay if the situation allows him to.

[The Subhuman]

Bielsa goes we are back to square one folks

Ditto with the board and ownership

[The Subhuman]

No it isn't mate, but both Villa & the Baggies have the necessary resources to go up unlike us who look in 2nd gear with the engine just about to breakdown

Really shocked by that...it's almost like they spent most of the last few years in the premiership ...

[1964white]

I heard from a very good source that our board believe Bielsa will stay at ER

Surely that depends on what the offer is on the table & elsewhere of course

[YorkshireSquare]

The take is slightly different from a lot of people who heard the full conference.

Seems to suggest that the team had put in 100% and given everything this year in challenging circumstances. Learning a new system, the amount of injuries. The implication being that they may not need to perform at such a high level again in future in order to achieve promotion.

[1964white]

Really shocked by that...it's almost like they spent most of the last few years in the premiership ...

Villa were relegated at the end of the 2015/16 season.

Are you telling me we were right to spend only £3m net on signings last summer with expectations of achieving promotion

Mind you if we spent anymore we'd be looking in the wrong direction for signings bringing in soft-bellied players not up to the job

[lufc1304]

Tend to agree with Adam's take on this, and something was perhaps lost in translation. He has been hugely supportive of the players all season, to suddenly say they've peaked, won't be able to replicate what they have this season and are basically not good enough would be totally out of character. Might have been a clever shot across the board's bows re backing in the summer, but could equally have been an observation that the squad is now well versed in how he wants them to play and won't have to put in so much effort to learn the system next season. I'm certainly not convinced that he's waving the white flag and will leave, unlike some fans who seem determined to see the worst possible outcome simply because we've come up a little short.

[Genghers]

Villa were relegated at the end of the 2015/16 season.

Are you telling me we were right to spend only £3m net on signings last summer with expectations of achieving promotion

Mind you if we spent anymore we'd be looking in the wrong direction for signings bringing in soft-bellied players not up to the job

The thing us, we weren't expecting promotion and I don't think that that was the objective this year for Bielsa. We have him 2 seasons and hopefully he'll stay here next year regardless of whether we are promoted.

I do think we should have added at least one other player (as well as James) in January, but Bielsa only had 2 targets (Kiko and James). I suspect Bielsa's ideas surrounding squad depth will have altered if we are still in this division next season.

[Genghers]

The take is slightly different from a lot of people who heard the full conference.

Seems to suggest that the team had put in 100% and given everything this year in challenging circumstances. Learning a new system, the amount of injuries. The implication being that they may not need to perform at such a high level again in future in order to achieve promotion.

I think this is right. Lots of talk on Twitter about it being lost in translation (including from a couple of Spanish Villa fans). This sums that idea up well I think:

Chris George
"Read it differently as well from the Lamrini translation - he said 'And remember what I'm going to say right now because you'll be able to verify it. You won't have one single player of our team who would reproduce the same performance with being that constant in another season because we've been demanding with them and they've given everything. And I have the figures that I'm checking all the time that show what I'm telling is true. The players won't be able to reproduce in another season the level of performance they have shown in this season.'
He's defending the players and saying you can't say that they haven't given everything this season because you can look at the facts and figures and when you look at previous seasons they can't repeat what they've done this season (as in the facts and figures and performances from previous seasons can't repeat what they show for this season - not that the players can't repeat them)."

[Cjay]

Dont think he has given up i see it as recognising the players have given everything they have and it may not be possible to get that out of them again.

He has also recently seemingly publicly acknowledged that the squad isnt as good talent wise as some but have hidden this with effort.

I see this as a good thing, i see it as Bielsa giving the board a shot in the arm.

Didnt like the comments about it not beingup to him if he stays.

Aside from Radz notbeing able to afford him why wouldn't he stay?

Unless as i suspect promotion was the aim and if Bielsa fails he wont have met his goal and the club may go in a different direction.

[dezzy]

What do we read into his comments that this group of players wouldn't be able to replicate a similar promotion push next season?

Is he now resigned to them not being good enough? How might that message impact on our playoff chances?

Is he now admitting that the squad needs serious investment to continue being competitive?

Or is he indicating that he wouldn't attempt the same task again, and may be leaving?

https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/ ... ssion=true

I’d say he’s mentally fatigued after such a long season, playing against teams who mainly just sit back and aim to frustrate his style, the Climate, being away from home, not speaking the language and then to top it off he has the team dominating every aspect of most games and they just can’t put the ball in the net. You’d have to feel for him. 100% he’s questioning it.
What age is he? I would think it would be hard for him to turn down going back to South America and I would imagine there has been contact between the two clubs, but we’re in limbo at the moment as to what league we will be in next season, he wants a crack at the Premiership, does he have the fight for another year in the championship? He owes us nothing in my opinion, I’d be gutted to see him leave but if he did I’d have nothing but good wishes for him. He has helped transform this club and has put the building blocks in place for us to go from strength to strength, but that would go to waste if we didn’t get a quality manager in to replace him.