Daily Mirror (Northern Ireland)
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Bielsa says being great entertainers will mean squat if Leeds miss out
Gross
14 pen, Welbeck 2 0
BANK holiday weekends in Brighton were once the preserve of mods and rockers brawling on the seafront.
As Leeds United’s slim hopes of Europa League football next season were dismantled like a Lambretta in a pitched battle, Marcelo Bielsa was left to confront the limitations of his great entertainers.
Not enough squad depth? If you think you’ve seen this film before, and it doesn’t end happily, you’re right. It’s called Squadrophenia.
But instead of Phil Daniels and Leslie Ash getting up close and personal in a back yard, this one features Bielsa trying to direct a cult movie when half his leading actors were missing.
Without Kalvin Phillips, Raphinha, Liam Cooper and Helder Costa, Leeds fluffed their lines at the Amex and Europe looks a long shot now. On this evidence, they won’t get past Woolley Edge services on the M1.
Brighton are virtually safe after an early Pascal Gross spot-kick and Danny Welbeck’s brilliant solo – although it would be a travesty if the Seagulls went down. They would have to collapse like Devon Loch or a European Super League stitch-up, and that’s not going to happen. Albion have invented some unique ways to lose football matches this season, including a penalty awarded after the final whistle, but they are much easier on the eye than some of the grinding attrition above them in the table.
For Leeds, another breath of fresh air amid the recent stench of greed elsewhere, the challenge is now to convert their enterprise and artistic merit into tangible success at the top table. Bielsa won’t let them give up on Europe but, until there is more back-up for top scorer Patrick Bamford and cover for Phillips to screen the back four, they won’t be seeing El Loco down at Celta Vigo or any other continental outposts.
Winger Jack Harrison remained defiant. “We’re an ambitious team, we’re always pushing to break our limits and the European places are something we’re definitely looking forward to,” he said.
“We’re not finished yet and we’re going to keep fighting until the end.
“It’s just frustrating after getting a good few points in the last month not to come away with more. It’s something we’re going to review next week and we’ll be looking to improve on all the aspects from today.”
All good things come to an end and Bielsa had no complaints about his side’s unbeaten six-match run reaching a dead end. It did not help his mood that Ben White, whose year on loan at Elland Road did so much to help Leeds win promotion last year, was among the Brighton rocks who denied them a clear-cut chance.
A top-half finish is probably Bielsa’s best bet now, with only five clubs having conceded more goals than Leeds in the top flight this season.
But he is not satisfied with pats on the back for a team who play with commendable urgency instead of pretentious keep-ball in their own box like Morris dancers mincing around your local maypole.
Asked if being English football’s great entertainers was enough, Bielsa growled: “Every time a professional team steps on to the pitch, they have an obligation to entertain their fans.”
Let’s hear it for El Loco – give him the choice between Morris dancers or mods and rockers having a tear-up along the promenade and we all know the answer.
I predict a riot.