Marcelo Bielsa

[John in Louisiana]

SBNation is reporting the club have reached agreement with Marcelo Bielsa on a one-year contract extension:

https://throughitalltogether.sbnation.c ... elo-bielsa

This is fantastic news. I only wish it had been for longer.

[weasel]

Cant see this fan turning on Bielsa if we have a poor next season.
He has uplifted my heart so much these past two seasons.
He has his flaws but I couldnt think of a better coach to have at EL.

Not often I agree with you but am 100% on this. Some fans simply have unrealistic expectations. Bielsa has not only brought us success but brought so much joy with the way he has made this club play football. He also is just a great human being too. You never hear him blaming players or taking the praise for himself. I would love him to be hear for years and years and leave a lasting legacy even if we don't win anything.

[weasel]

SBNation is reporting the club have reached agreement with Marcelo Bielsa on a one-year contract extension:

https://throughitalltogether.sbnation.c ... elo-bielsa

This is fantastic news. I only wish it had been for longer.

The length of the contract is fairly much irrelevant when it comes to Bielsa, if he wanted to leave a day into his contract he would. Having him on a 4 year contract rather than 1 year would make no difference.

I think it being just a 1 year contract is actually a good thing as it means he can make demands every year (in terms of players coming in as he doesn't seem interested in money) and the board will need to fulfil those promises to keep him.

[John in Louisiana]

The length of the contract is fairly much irrelevant when it comes to Bielsa, if he wanted to leave a day into his contract he would. Having him on a 4 year contract rather than 1 year would make no difference.

I think it being just a 1 year contract is actually a good thing as it means he can make demands every year (in terms of players coming in as he doesn't seem interested in money) and the board will need to fulfil those promises to keep him.

You make a very good point.

[Richard]

Can't believe people are looking forward to Bielsa leaving already. I think he could take us to the very top, if he chose to stay and was adequately backed.

Bielsa doesn’t stay around for very long, I’m just being realistic. I would love to say we are going to spend £50m on 3-4 players and be competing for a top 6 but we’re not.

I’ve seen several posters singing Bielsas praise since promotion and yet on forum(s) they knocked him several times this season for “no plan B” and “predictable”. This entire thread needs bookmarking you’re going to need it when the groans start coming if we’re in the bottom half

The PL is different now, we’ve spent 16 years believing we should be there, 16 years it’s took us to just get back in, only Leeds fans will genuinely believe top 6 is possible in 2-3 years. It won’t be unless we get a major takeover like QSI

[Peter in Blackpool]

while it is true that we need to keep Bielsa, it is equally true that Bielsa needs Leeds.

he is regarded as a great manager, yet his achievements over the last 20 or 30 years as been modest to say the least.

Surely all managers aspire to reach legendary status. In order to do that you take a team get them promotion and elevate them into a top 6 team. there is a very small list of managers who have achieved that in my lifetime.

Arsene Wenger, Alex Ferguson, Bill Shankly, and yes, Brian Clough.

If Bielsa wants to join that list, he must remain at Leeds and emulate Don Revie....only then will he be recognised as one of football's truly great managers....does he have the willingness and ability? I really do not know, but i really hope so

[gessa]

Bielsa doesn’t stay around for very long, I’m just being realistic. I would love to say we are going to spend £50m on 3-4 players and be competing for a top 6 but we’re not.

I’ve seen several posters singing Bielsas praise since promotion and yet on forum(s) they knocked him several times this season for “no plan B” and “predictable”. This entire thread needs bookmarking you’re going to need it when the groans start coming if we’re in the bottom half

The PL is different now, we’ve spent 16 years believing we should be there, 16 years it’s took us to just get back in, only Leeds fans will genuinely believe top 6 is possible in 2-3 years. It won’t be unless we get a major takeover like QSI

I couldn't believe the stick he was getting in some quaters, when we were on a bad run,even though still second. Fortunately it a was the vasy minority but you can bet the number will grow if we struggle in the bottom 3 next season.

[Richard]

I couldn't believe the stick he was getting in some quaters, when we were on a bad run,even though still second. Fortunately it a was the vasy minority but you can bet the number will grow if we struggle in the bottom 3 next season.

Exactly mate, if we go straight back down I’d still support Bielsa as the man to get us back up but he is a coach, not a magician. If he spends £50m and gets us 12th it would be a great result. We need 3-4 players with a budget teams like City take as a gamble on a player.

Bielsa hasn’t a great record either with players who have a “personality” Izzy Brown, Nketiah, Augustin, Pontus he is an old fashioned world class coach but today’s modern player needs handling differently.

ANYONE in charge of this squad other than Bielsa and we’re relegated. My hope is that after one season Rads opens his eyes at how much it costs for success in the PL and he sells us to someone who has the funds to take us the next step. Rads isn’t a football fan, he is a business man, we need to always remember that.

[gessa]

Exactly mate, if we go straight back down I’d still support Bielsa as the man to get us back up but he is a coach, not a magician. If he spends £50m and gets us 12th it would be a great result. We need 3-4 players with a budget teams like City take as a gamble on a player.

Bielsa hasn’t a great record either with players who have a “personality” Izzy Brown, Nketiah, Augustin, Pontus he is an old fashioned world class coach but today’s modern player needs handling differently.

ANYONE in charge of this squad other than Bielsa and we’re relegated. My hope is that after one season Rads opens his eyes at how much it costs for success in the PL and he sells us to someone who has the funds to take us the next step. Rads isn’t a football fan, he is a business man, we need to always remember that.

Getting off to a good start is paramount, if we can do that, then the belief sets in,we could finish mid table, bad start and we could be down there all season but MB would be the only one I'd trust presently to get us out of it.

[Richard]

Getting off to a good start is paramount, if we can do that, then the belief sets in,we could finish mid table, bad start and we could be down there all season but MB would be the only one I'd trust presently to get us out of it.

When we splash £25m on a new striker and we see him on the bench as Bamford starts, then we see Bamford miss a couple of sitters the haters will be out on day one

[1964white]

Getting off to a good start is paramount, if we can do that, then the belief sets in,we could finish mid table, bad start and we could be down there all season but MB would be the only one I'd trust presently to get us out of it.

Without any doubt

[gessa]

When we splash £25m on a new striker and we see him on the bench as Bamford starts, then we see Bamford miss a couple of sitters the haters will be out on day one

I might hate him if he does that

[The Subhuman]

Can you have a vast minority?

[gessa]

Can you have a vast minority?

Definitely in my world.

[hector]

Definitely in my world.

yeeeaaahhhhh............

least said about that the better

[The Subhuman]

Former Bristol City boss Lee Johnson has revealed that he watched back the Robins' opening weekend defeat to Leeds United 'at least 15 times'.

Marcelo Bielsa's side kicked off their season last August with an emphatic 3-1 win at Ashton Gate and would go on to win the Championship by ten points. Johnson was dismissed by City in July after a run of four successive defeats saw them miss out on the play-offs.

And it would appear that the defeat to Leeds to kick off the 2019-20 campaign left a huge impression on Johnson.

"I must have watched that game back about 15 times," Johnson told The Times. "I broke down every little section of it and it was good learning. Leeds are a good side with a world-class coach. What that Leeds side has the ability to do is almost read the minds of the opponents. They're so organised."

One of the areas Johnson believes Premier League-bound Bielsa excels in is 'positional psychology'.

"The first huge shock to me tactically was playing against Brendan Rodgers's Swansea [in 2011]. They were so organised in possession. I was everywhere the ball had just been" he recalled.

"I thought, 'This is ridiculous. I can't get near Leon Britton,' who three months before I'd absolutely destroyed in a game against Sheffield United. From that point I was hooked on the tactical side and positional psychology.

"All the top teams have this positional psychology that drains the opponent from their game very, very quickly. Marcelo Bielsa and Pep Guardiola are masters of positional psychology.

Johnson was the Championship's longest serving head coach when he was dismissed, with the Robins going on to end the campaign in 12th place. They are yet to appoint a successor, while Johnson says he is ready to return to the game and keen to utilise the experience he gained during four-and-a-half years at Ashton Gate.

"I've been very lucky so far to meet some very, very good coaches. Playing against Guardiola and then talking to him for 45 minutes just on football in the office. One of the nice things was he grilled me as much as I grilled him about tactics, formations, why we'd done this against them. He's relentless in the pursuit of excellence."

[hector]

Definitely in my world.

yeeeaaahhhhh............

least said about that the better

[Richard]

I might hate him if he does that

Bielsa is a very loyal man, if Bamford is not injured I’d be amazed if he doesn’t start. If Bamford starts and scores it will cement his place for 3-4 games. Nketiah and Augustin, say no more. We’re all feeling on cloud 9 at the moment and rightly so.

Bottom line is this current squad needs Bielsa but the Rads/Bielsa combination has one more year left in my opinion.

[gessa]

yeeeaaahhhhh............

least said about that the better

Tbf, it's mostly a nice place to be.

[gessa]

Bielsa is a very loyal man, if Bamford is not injured I’d be amazed if he doesn’t start. If Bamford starts and scores it will cement his place for 3-4 games. Nketiah and Augustin, say no more. We’re all feeling on cloud 9 at the moment and rightly so.

Bottom line is this current squad needs Bielsa but the Rads/Bielsa combination has one more year left in my opinion.

Tbh, i think regardless of what happens this will be his last seadon, hope I'm wrong.