BIELSA GETS A BREAK

LEEDS desperately needed the break their Boxing Day postponement brings.

And I think it may well have kept Marcelo Bielsa (above) in a job… for now.

I’m not saying he will be sacked or was even in danger of the sack – because the Leeds fans adore him and the board are patient enough to stick with him, despite the bad run of results lately.

But his longest-ever stint at one club at senior level is with Leeds – three-and-a-half years is almost a lifetime in his career!

He stuck it out with the Argentina and Chile sides because he didn’t work with the players on a daily or weekly basis, and that maybe keeps his methods fresh.

At club level, you have to wonder whether he burns his players out. You look at their injury problems right now and 10 players out suggests something unusual is going on. It suggests his methods have a debilitating effect.

I have never quite bought into the Bielsa mythology.

I know managers such as Pep Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino rave about him and you have to respect that opinion. Yet, like many ‘visionaries’, sometimes the genius gets hyped up a little.

Leeds are in a tough position. With so many injuries and Covid cases, they could miss three or four games and, by the time they play again, they could be in the relegation zone.

There’s also a case that teams have worked Leeds out a little, know more about them and what to expect – and they were always going to find it tougher this season.

And if they are around the drop zone for too long, then don’t be surprised if Bielsa follows his history and walks, as sad as that would be for so many Leeds fans.