Dangers of ‘Bielsa cult’

LEEDS boss Jesse Marsch ventured on to dangerous ground this week by questioning the playing style of Marcelo Bielsa.

But the American coach has not only exposed why a change of manager WAS needed at Elland Road.

He has exposed how, when a manager’s reign, like Bielsa’s, becomes a cult, a club becomes weaker and ends up in trouble.

For the last three years, the issue of whether Leeds were suffering from ‘Bielsa burnout’ has been repeatedly raised.

The question being: was the Argentinian’s super-intense training methods, man-on-man playing style and 100mph game demands causing injury, exhaustion and poor results?

Bielsa (below) refused to change, injuries have impacted this season hugely – but his disciples were having none of it. ‘Bielsa burnout’ was a myth, lazy journalism, poor punditry and the great leader was beyond question.

Until this week, when chatty Marsch – who has overseen three league wins and a draw in the last four games to virtually banish relegation fears – waded in.

“The injury issue, for me, had a lot to do with training methodology,” he said. “These players were over-trained and it led to being physically, mentally, emotionally and psychologically in a difficult place to recover from week to week, game to game.

“You could see in the 15th minute that some of them were already at the max – and that shouldn’t be the case.

“I’ve had a reputation for high running data, but also having healthy, fit, strong players.”

Marsch wants his side to have more dimensions, shifting gears from 100 per cent to 70 to give themselves a breather and control effort.

He’s made his point well and proved that unquestioning loyalty to a manager – however great Bielsa was in getting Leeds back among the elite – can be unhealthy.