Marcelo Bielsa

[The Subhuman]

I believe that Bielsa would have kept us up, and that his replacement will do the same thing.

I think we'll pick up the necessary points over the next six matches - Leicester, Villa, Norwich, Wolves, Southampton and Watford to do so.

Like me you're a great believer in continuity, I do think we'll need to be patient while a new system is put in place, for all the man marking whining we have here it won't be easy to go zonal for players so expect a lot of errors and bad goals conceded. This will probably be the most complex change over between managers in football history due to MB's totally unique system. IMO 12 games may enough to see us putting it together by game 11

Lets not forget we're getting a manager (it seems) with zero experience of English football, maybe no experience of fighting relegation and a team still riddled with injury plus the core still out.

Team selection for the next game will be interesting to say the least. My guess is it'll be very close to MB's selection but with the added comedy of maybe trying to play zonal over man for the first time in 4 years

Napoleon said of his generals, I don't need them to be good I just need them to be lucky ... Bielsa had zero luck this season for the most part. Woodwork 4 times in the last 2 and maybe 5 pen decisions going the against us

[CHAPELALLMAN]

At the end of the day if over your last 4 matches as a manager you have an aggregate score of 17-2 against you, you are going to struggle to survive whether you are Marcelo Bielsa or Don Revie. Or 60 goals conceded in 26 matches for that matter. Except that Don Revie created teams that could defend brilliantly - and that's part of football just as much as the offensive aspect.

For me, MB's managerial career has been all about the 3-3-1-3 formation, and his project in the PL was to try and make it work. On MOD last night it highlighted a situation whereby we had 9 players high up the pitch and one defending. Typically with 3-3-1-3 when we were attacking there were at least 6 players playing very high up the pitch and a massive hole in the midfield.

Tied to this was the man to man marking system which the pundits have been criticising heavily in the last week - hear what they said about it on MOD last night.

This is what Martin Keown wrote about it in one of the tabloids yesterday ;

" Leeds' unwavering man-to-man system is doing more harm than good right now. Just 44 seconds into their match with Man Utd at ER you could see the visitors toying with their opponents' obsession with man -marking.
Harry Maguire was taking a free-kick in his own half and the 10 secs that followed set the tone for the rest of Sunday's game. Ronaldo came running deep and Diego Llorente followed him all the way. If Ronaldo had kept running all the way to his own keeper, I have the feeling that Llorente would have gone with him. Next, Fernandez sprinted into the space left by Ronaldo and Robin Koch followed him. Paul Pogba dropped deep and pulled Forshaw with him.
The same man-to-man sequence happened with Luke Shaw and Dan James, and Jadon Sancho and Stuart Dallas.
United's players were leading their Leeds markers on a merry dance around the pitch whilst waiting for Maguire to take this free kick.
This is the MB way and he refuses to deviate from it.
It is a very single-minded system, and it shows too much attention to the opposition and does not allow his team to play their own game in a creative manner. "

Obviously Keown did not comment about the set piece issue - but clearly that's also caused by obsessive attention to what the opposition are doing through man to man marking, and hence not watching the ball when it comes in.

I think that the keyword with Marcelo Bielsa is always ' OBSESSION ' - and obsessive thinking is not always very balanced or open-minded.

[CHAPELALLMAN]

Orta for me is as responsible for our poor results. Good Call.

I agree - the recruitment has been abysmal - Costa, Harrison, Rodrigo, Llorente, Firpo. Maybe Koch as well - the jury is still out. And far too much paid for James, plus the JKA fiasco which may yet lose the club £20m. Orta helped Boro get relegated don't forget.

As regards team selection, Harrison starting nearly every game under the Bielsa regime sums it up for me - a really erratic and often non-effective player who has had maybe one good game for every 10 played and yet has been undroppable.

[Cjay]

It's a sad day and it wasn't meant to end like this

In my head he would announce his departure before the last game of the season where he gets serenaded at Elland Road on our way to a successful top 7 finish.

LUFC have been a lower league club longer than a Premier league one in my living memory, and largely a crap lower league one.

So when Bielsa came in and we battered promotion favourites Stoke that day it was a moment of great hope and joy which I hadn't seen since we were a Premier League team with O'Leary.

It changed everything after years of dross and gave a sense of hope that I will always be grateful for.

As a person though I was proud to have him as our manager.

Humble, honourable, even slightly embarrassed by the worship he got.

A king and generous man who fully deserved a send off he hasn't gotten.

I hope he comes back to say goodbye to the fans.

Gracias Marcelo.

Bueno

[Mountain]

It seems from the statements that neither Radz nor Orta believe any blame lies with them. There is not one line of humility, no suggestion they may have got things wrong...

[Cjay]

It seems from the statements that neither Radz nor Orta believe any blame lies with them. There is not one line of humility, no suggestion they may have got things wrong...

Agree with that.

Wasn't impressed with that statement.

I firmly believe they don't think they have any responsibility for this season.

They are deluded

[Overman]

Orta for me is as responsible for our poor results. Good Call.

Ultimately they are all accountable for this f**k up of a season.

[Overman]

I think he's had more than enough time to turn it around, but refused to. Any other manager would've been gone at Christmas.

[Tyzy]

None of this will matter when the mad man nukes us all !

[Mountain]

Agree with that.

Wasn't impressed with that statement.

I firmly believe they don't think they have any responsibility for this season.

They are deluded

I actually think they are terrible statements.

Just the usual colour by numbers routine, we are grateful, recent results etc. I would have thought he at least deserved a decent send off. That could be written by any suit about any manager any time. It's almost cold.

[Overman]

Kenny, to answer your question, we do not like insults to other members, however we take a more tolerant view on matchdays, and on the matchday thread, due to emotions being heated during the pressure of the match. If we were to be strict, we would probably not have any members left after a match..

Quick questions, who are the TSB members on here?
and who is Dirty Leeds?

If you don't wish to say on teh open forum,, PM me. TA

I'm pretty sure he's alluding to the fact that I'm 'Dirty Leeds' from the TSB forum. I am clearly not, and have been a frequent member on here for a few years now. I have never been a member on there and never will be. However he has been a member on that site and is now overly paranoid.

[Cjay]

I actually think they are terrible statements.

Just the usual colour by numbers routine, we are grateful, recent results etc. I would have thought he at least deserved a decent send off. That could be written by any suit about any manager any time. It's almost cold.

I thought a video would have been done.

The 3 stooges side by side thanking Marcelo.

But as you say we got a colour by numbers statement.

Doesn't reflect well on the board.

[William]

I am sitting here sad.
I am sad for him, sad the way it ended.
I worry about him as a person and hate the thought that he leaves us under such a cloud.
Worrying that he will look back at his time here as a failure, unable to see through the clouds of this awful season and realise the truth that he bestowed on us a blessing that was so long hoped for that many of us had actually given up on. Heads held high.

I hope that he wont be hurting too much, I would love him to take on another job somewhere and whoever it is I will be with them in spirit. Let him weave his spell on some other fortunate group of disenfranchised supporters having their hearts broken by their dysfunctional club. Let them hope and dream but most of all enjoy the ride. A ride into chaos. But fun all the same.

Marcelo you made me dream, not about the Premier League or European nights, those things just bring their own anxieties- the Icarus factor- the closer you get to the sun the faster you crash and burn-- You made me enjoy the so called beautiful game. Played in the right way, with decency and integrity, he improved those who would allow him to so so , yes we could get annoyed at him and our players but we were never ever ashamed of them. They were taught to play with decency and a sense of fun.

So I hope that with time he wont be too sad. I hope that he will look back not with that ifs but with the what he did do. So much in a few short years.
Leeds United join the Bielsa Widows. Too soon. But we never get it right do we?

Bereaved.

Bereaved of a madman who sat on a bucket and dared us to dream.

Bueno Marcelo.

[danhirons]

Like me you're a great believer in continuity, I do think we'll need to be patient while a new system is put in place, for all the man marking whining we have here it won't be easy to go zonal for players so expect a lot of errors and bad goals conceded. This will probably be the most complex change over between managers in football history due to MB's totally unique system. IMO 12 games may enough to see us putting it together by game 11

Lets not forget we're getting a manager (it seems) with zero experience of English football, maybe no experience of fighting relegation and a team still riddled with injury plus the core still out.

Team selection for the next game will be interesting to say the least. My guess is it'll be very close to MB's selection but with the added comedy of maybe trying to play zonal over man for the first time in 4 years

Napoleon said of his generals, I don't need them to be good I just need them to be lucky ... Bielsa had zero luck this season for the most part. Woodwork 4 times in the last 2 and maybe 5 pen decisions going the against us

There was no bad luck in conceding 20 goals in the last five games...a goal here and there in the last few games would have made no difference. We got two against United and then conceded two more, our goals against United had a fair share of luck in them too, a cross from Rodrigo that flew in and forshaw wiping out fernandes in the build up to the second that could have been given in many games (although wasn't a foul).

This luck rhetoric is absolute nonsense. Us hitting the post is not bad luck, it's a shot that wasn't good enough to in. You forget all the times were were lucky this season - I could go through most games and find it, even in our most recent win against West ham, bowen missed an absolute sitter in the last second...we were extremely fortunate to get the three points there and really it should have only been one. The one place he has been unfortunate is with injuries...but it's also bielsas fault for refusing to get in reinforcements despite us all seeing that they're needed

While a general change in playing style might take a while to be implemented, switching from man marking to zonal marking is a change any professional player should be able to make in a short amount of time. Many players are internationals who will be used to zonal marking rather than man marking or will have played under different managers for a period of their career.

[BGwhite]

It seems from the statements that neither Radz nor Orta believe any blame lies with them. There is not one line of humility, no suggestion they may have got things wrong...

I don't think many boards will blame themselves even slightly .

Sent from my moto g(9) plus using Tapatalk

[Tyzy]

We have scraped all our results this season, I can't remember the last time we had a convincing win, a 2 or 3 -0 it's all very sad but we need a change but at this stage of the season I fear it's too late.

[Tezgamer]

Where to begin? Firstly the sacking has saddened me. Bielsa has been amazing for the club and should always be remembered for his achievements. To see him go in this way is heart breaking.
The fact is though that he hasn't been getting results and we're in a very precarious position.
For months I thought the problems were in the main due to injuries. I did question his training techniques and I'm pretty sure they were at least in part responsible for some of those injuries.
Then he started playing people in positions they just weren't meant to be.
The transfer window came and went with no players brought in to bolster the squad. His insistence on a small squad left us woefully short of players.
What really decided it for me was his inflexible attitude and refusal to play any other way than the one that wasn't working anymore. If you ship 17 goals in 4 games but continue to do the same thing with a point blank refusal to make adjustments then you're buying into failure.
It would have been good to see him keep us up and then leave in the summer but I'm not sure he could do that. As it is with a new manager and fresh ideas we have a chance of survival.

[Muppet the Cat]

Now it is official, as many have said above, it’s a very sad day indeed

MB brought a pride and feel good factor back to the whole club and fan base with his philosophy and style. But, beyond that he is just a thoroughly decent, principled, humble and honest man.

It can’t be ignored that our recent run of results needed addressing, but imo getting rid of him now is not going to help it doing that. The risk is greater to twist than stick….and I fear we may well find out the grass isn’t greener having now done so.

We should all be hugely grateful that he decided to come to Leeds United……and some of the comments made on here over the last days/weeks have been frankly, embarrassing…….”fatboy” ffs is shameful……and I really don’t think are representative of most decent minded and appreciative fans.

Some people have short memories………a couple of years ago was the biggest highlight for many years. We’d been in the doldrums for so long……..

And finally……I hope whoever the next manager may be that they also make the players pick the litter up at the training ground !

[whiteswan]

Some great posts on this topic. I'm welling up again.
That photo says it all for me Muppet.....

I can't believe he's gone.

[WhiteRose]

I get people are upset but seeing interviews with fans saying they reconnected with the club because of Bielsa and now they won’t go and will go back to been disconnected fans - for me they can bloody do one preventing actual fans that stick with the club through thick and thin from getting tickets.