Marcelo Bielsa

[1964white]

Marcelo is such a gentleman even through times of adversity.

To greet & say his goodbyes to our fans is incredibly gracious when the majority of managers would walk away without a word.

Goodbye Marcelo.

[Cjay]

[Cjay]

Place for any tributes you find.

[whiteinfrance]

All I can say with tears in my eyes is WE love you Marcelo

[White Riot]

It's very conflicting emotions for me Cjay.

I'm actually heartbroken that things haven't worked out at Leeds for Marcelo. We do owe him a lot, for giving us back pride and belief in our club and team.

I wish him all the best of luck and good health for the future and cherish the memories he's given us.

It feels like a bereavement today.

But for me this change had to happen and I have to say that I respect the decision to part company with MB in the hope that we can save our EPL status.

Wishing Marcelo all the best

[White Riot]

I'm really gutted that it ended this way.

I've talked to quite a few footy supporters from Leeds, Liverpool and even Millwall today and all were full of good word about Marcelo.

I still think it was the right decision as it's imperative that we retain our EPL status.

But to show you how much this man touched my heart, I've literally been tearful all day and had to choke back the sobs when I've been talking about him

I'm really sad that things haven't worked out but treasure the memories he's given us.

Adios amigo.

Good luck, good health and happiness to you forever

[CHAPELALLMAN]

With only a few days in charge, I don't expect to see much of a change to the line-up. Maybe Gelhardt or Rodrigo up front instead of James.

I've not seen how teams play under Marsch but yes I think we'll go zonal. We'll probably play a lot more cautiously too.

He plays two strikers apparently - it will be a relief to see this again.

[whiteswan]

Jesus wept. I mean O'Leary was a harsher sacking, funny how no one ever speaks of the era anymore.

Probably because of THAT book, certainly in my eyes. O'Leary was part of our downfall.

[CHAPELALLMAN]

Jesus wept. I mean O'Leary was a harsher sacking, funny how no one ever speaks of the era anymore.

And what about Wilko ? He made the club second and first division champions plus a 4th and two 5th place finishes in the old first division in the course of the 5 seasons before he was sacked !

It's almost as though most of the fanbase are unaware that the club existed before Bielsa arrived...

He seems like quite a nice chap, but a strange personality cult has built up around him - as it says in the headlines of one of the tabloids today ' Cult of Bielsa has lost its lure. '

[HarryofOz]

He plays two strikers apparently - it will be a relief to see this again.

Thanks for the info. Fingers crossed that what ever he does works.

[CHAPELALLMAN]

Thanks for the info. Fingers crossed that what ever he does works.

Absolutely.

[HarryofOz]

Those are not easy games, Harry

Fans are underestimating how well Wolves & Southampton have performed this season.

My fingers are crossed tightly, hoping we can win three or four of our final twelve games.

No games are easy but their style of football is less threatening to us.

[HarryofOz]

Jesus wept. I mean O'Leary was a harsher sacking, funny how no one ever speaks of the era anymore.

I remember being amazed by the sacking of O'Leary.

In those days the main - in fact the only live coverage - of English football here in Oz was the BBC world service. We did get to see our exploits in Europe, but that is an aside.

I remember listening to a sports' show on the BBC and the 'upcoming story headlines' was about a shock sacking in the Premier League. I even chuckled to myself something along the lines of, 'imagine if it's O'Leary'.

[HarryofOz]

And what about Wilko ? He made the club second and first division champions plus a 4th and two 5th place finishes in the old first division in the course of the 5 seasons before he was sacked !

It's almost as though most of the fanbase are unaware that the club existed before Bielsa arrived...

He seems like quite a nice chap, but a strange personality cult has built up around him - as it says in the headlines of one of the tabloids today ' Cult of Bielsa has lost its lure. '

People - myself included - do love Bielsa. We love the way we play the game under him, the fact that we give it a go and don't play to avoid defeat. It makes being in the bottom half of the top division more acceptable. He is also truly a very good human being which helps a lot. Plus he turned us around in such a short period of time.

And Wilko did the same, and the football we played under him was brilliant. Virtually anyone in the team (except maybe Batty) could be relied upon to score goals. That midfield was amazing, second only to the Revie midfield.

The DoL era was equally thrilling especially that great run in the Champions league against the likes of Barcelona, Real Madrid and AC Milan. A different style in which we triumphed on the back of low possession percentage.

[Mountain]

Leeds United still matters...just not as much.

For a while Leeds was not just "the football club I support", they were different, better than any other club. Not in the way most understand, in league position. But in going about things the right way, playing amazing football, not reaching for the chequebook, finding improvement from within players, never lashing out at decisions, refs, the media.

That's all gone, it's back to results above everything, and the usual support levels from me, I won't get too carried away by wins, won't get too down about losses. It's not as if the club is actually any better or worse than others (bar Man City and Newcastle), it's just another business that will do anything to protect the value of assets, share price etc.

[Mountain]

And what about Wilko ? He made the club second and first division champions plus a 4th and two 5th place finishes in the old first division in the course of the 5 seasons before he was sacked !

It's almost as though most of the fanbase are unaware that the club existed before Bielsa arrived...

I certainly remember the Wilko era, and it was great for a while. But it did end up with the likes of Palmer, Deane, Pemberton and Worthington playing a style of football that would have made Bielsa's eyes bleed.

[SG90]

I certainly remember the Wilko era, and it was great for a while. But it did end up with the likes of Palmer, Deane, Pemberton and Worthington playing a style of football that would have made Bielsa's eyes bleed.

But he did win the league. I guess it comes down to would you rather play beautiful football and finish midtable or play crap football and win trophies?

I know I'm in the minority, but it would be the latter for me! I haven't seen us win a major trophy or even play in a final. I barely remember 1996.

[HarryofOz]

I remember a press conference back in the Championship days when some people complained about Bielsa announcing his line-up early in the week.

As part of the conference he said (words to the effect) 'People have told me not to announce the team early, so I am going to follow that advice. But just between you and me, it's the same team as last time'

[CHAPELALLMAN]

I certainly remember the Wilko era, and it was great for a while. But it did end up with the likes of Palmer, Deane, Pemberton and Worthington playing a style of football that would have made Bielsa's eyes bleed.

Yes - some of the later signings were pretty poor. Yet up to winning the 1st division he didn't seem to put a foot wrong with his signings.

Yeboah though scored some of the most spectacular goals in the club's history - so the latter Wilkinson years were at least lit up by Yeboah's brilliance.

[CHAPELALLMAN]

But he did win the league. I guess it comes down to would you rather play beautiful football and finish midtable or play crap football and win trophies?

I know I'm in the minority, but it would be the latter for me! I haven't seen us win a major trophy or even play in a final. I barely remember 1996.

I agree - though in the season that we won the first division I don't remember the football as being boring - we scored 74 goals and conceded 37 in 42 games, so that's 23 fewer goals than we have now conceded after 26 games...We have scored 29 goals so far this season.