Surely now is time for Marcelo to call it quits at Elland Rd VERDICT
By Dave Armitage
MARCELO BIELSA’S body language didn’t look right from the start, but then again it never does.
Quite what he is thinking right now is anyone’s guess but surely the love affair Leeds fans have with him has been stretched too far.
Yes, they’ve had criminal luck with injuries but, rest assured, any other manager in the country would have been let go long ago.
But Bielsa is different. Everything about him is different, bordering on odd at times. It’s hard to put up a defence and he seems to be suffering from exactly the same problem.
While Spurs boss Antonio Conte stalked around his technical area, tack sharp, he struck up a stark contrast to the man in the opposite corner.
Conte’s sense of Italian style shines through. He’s probably paid more for a pair of shoes than Bielsa has for an entire wardrobe.
That doesn’t make the Argentinian coach any the worse a person for it, of course, but you couldn’t help wondering how lonely he felt out there as the goals flew in.
Leeds fans love him and that’s applaudable.
But there comes a point when you have to say your goodbyes and now might be the right time for it.
Bielsa’s sides aren’t just getting beaten, they are getting hammered and yet he insists a defensive approach is not an option.
He ought to think seriously about it because, make no mistake, Leeds are in almighty bother and relegation is becoming a distinct possibility.
A run of six Premier League games without a win has included a 6-0 drubbing by Liverpool, a 4-2 home loss to Manchester United and even a 3-0 defeat to Everton.
And those were before another humiliation yesterday.
Leeds fans like goals but they couldn’t have realised what was in store for them when they lost 5-1 to United on the first day of the season.
Bielsa’s men were whacked 7-0 by Manchester City just before Christmas and there’s been little to cheer since.
It’s now 60 goals conceded – the worst in the Premier League – and a goal difference of minus 31.
Yet still they shout Bielsa’s name and worship at the little blue bucket which seconds as an altar.
He sits on it, gazing intently ahead and when he’s not on it he can be observed pretending to sit on an imaginary one with that trademark strange crouch.
Bielsa appears the kind of man who would want to see things out until the end of the season and review things then, but will that be too late?
It’s well worth remembering, this debacle was against a Spurs side beaten four times in their last five league games, including a 1-0 loss to Burnley midweek which had Conte questioning if he was the right man for the job.
Perhaps Bielsa should be asking the same question.