Now Bielsa must start Gelhardt
FROM their moment in the sun, to their darkest day. Nothing epitomises Leeds’ dramatic decline more than their two visits to the Etihad this year.
When Marcelo Bielsa’s 10 men stunned Manchester City 2-1 in April, it lifted the Whites to ninth in the table and marked the high point of a standout first season back in the top flight.
But on their return, injury-ravaged Leeds slumped to their heaviest ever Premier League defeat, leaving them lying fifth bottom and fearing the worst.
Bielsa’s body language said it all at full-time, standing motionless and staring at the ground as he reflected on a performance he described as the worst in his three and a half years at the club.
With seven senior players now on their injury list, plus another suspended, it is difficult to see where Leeds go from here.
Bielsa could start by giving Joe Gelhardt a run of games.
Fans have been crying out to see more of the 19-year-old striker, who scored with his first touch in Saturday’s 3-2 defeat at Chelsea.
With last season’s top scorer Patrick Bamford still out injured, Bielsa had nothing to lose by giving Gelhardt a go from the off.
Yet he was on the bench, with winger Dan James again playing as a central striker and failing to seize another chance.
It was an admission of a mistake from Bielsa that he brought Gelhardt on for James at half-time. But by then the game had already gone, as Leeds managed just six final-third passes in a pitiful half.
Gelhardt alone would not have altered the course of a one-sided match and he struggled to get into the game in his 45-minute cameo.
But the spark he has shown in previous games is the sort the Whites need — and Bielsa would do well to start him on Saturday against Arsenal to lift Elland Road.
Not that Bielsa makes decisions just to please his public. The Leeds boss is stubbornly loyal to his first-choice players. You only need to see how he stuck by misfiring Bamford in the promotion campaign when fans were calling for on-loan Eddie Nketiah to start.
But something needs to change and he is one of the few options Bielsa has given his injury problems, which right back Jamie Shackleton added to last night.
Of the players on the treatment table, England star Kalvin Phillips — set to be out until February after a hamstring operation — is undoubtedly the biggest miss.
Leeds have lost 11 of the 14 Premier League games the midfielder has missed, compared with only 11 defeats in 41 matches when he has played. It is no wonder many Leeds fans fear relegation.
The January window is going to be crucial but Bielsa is always reluctant to change his squad. If the Argentine stays stubborn, he must at least trust Gelhardt.
He has scored as many goals in three hours as James has managed in more than 19 hours this term, while Tyler Roberts, who started as a No10 at the Etihad, has netted two top-flight goals for Leeds in 33 hours of football.
‘I’m surprised he wasn’t starting because he is a real, real talent,’ said Sportsmail columnist Peter Crouch. ‘He has been held back. The Leeds fans think a lot of him and would like to see more of him.’
Bielsa would do well to give fans what they want.