Marcelo Bielsa is hailed as El Loco and is one of the most loved figures in Leeds. He brought this team up to such a level, and they certainly haven’t shied away from going toe to toe with the big boys of the Premier League. Which has positioned them in just outside the top-ten favorites at 200/1. They even managed to raise a few eyebrows when they drew against the likes of Manchester City and beat Aston Villa while narrowly conceding defeat to Liverpool.
Leeds have had a mixed start to their campaign in the top flight, but their philosophy of football has swept many a PL fans of their feet turning them into supporters of this underdog team. Their recent run of form hasn’t been great though, and it begs me to ask the question ‘Is Marcelo Bielsa’s philosophy suitable for the Premier League?’ we have seen that many of the newly promoted teams prefer to play either a low or mid-block which helps them put more men behind the ball and break on the counter-attack.
While this may not be the most beautiful way to play, it seems like a pragmatic route for most of the teams that are newly promoted but not Leeds. Leeds United are currently sitting on 15th position on the Premier League table, and though they have impressed us, it seems that towards the last quarter of the game their players start showing signs of fatigue which is very harmful.
All of their focus on building the play right from the keeper along with their defenders getting involved can take a toll especially with the kind of intensity at which the game is played at the top tier of England. They have leaked a lot of goals in their run up till now and it looks like life at the top tier is much tougher at least when it comes to defence and this is not helped by the fact that they had to let go of Ben White, who was one of their star performers in the backline last season.
Personally speaking, I am a massive fan of Marcelo Bielsa and his style of football, but their recent form sparks a debate as to whether they have the resources to play the kind of game that won them promotion from the Championship to the top tier. While Leeds may have spent substantial amounts of money to recruit players getting the system together may take a little while, and I hope that it doesn’t in any way affect the survival of the club at the premium level of football in the country.
Me cuesta coincidir contigo y me pregunto si tienes la estadística de cuántos equipos recién ascendidos, jugando con 9 y hasta 10 jugadores por detrás del balón, han mantenido la categoría y cuántos han descendido.
Y ni hablemos de que tipo de fútbol nos gusta ver! La propuesta de Bielsa siempre me encantó y debo reconocer que está temporada, todos sus partidos se resolvieron a favor o en contra, por pequeños detalles.
Vence al Sheffield después de que Meslier salva dos goles cantados, podemos decir lo mismo de Aston Villa que dispuso de dos situaciones clarísimas de gol. Por el otro lado, contra Leicester Bambord al minuto de juego era un gol imposible y de inmediato Koch regala un gol. Contra Crystal Palace otro cantar hubiera sido si no le anulan el gol a Bamford y la guinda fue ese ridículo tercer gol antes de que finalice el primer tiempo.
Lo dicho, no coincido contigo en absoluto y creo que al estilo de Bielsa hay que seguir dándole crédito en el Leeds.
Un cordial saludo,
Charly Katz