Jones gets one over on Bielsa the analyst
STOKE CITY 2 CLUCAS 49, ALLEN 88 LEEDS UNITED 1 ALIOSKI 90
Nathan Jones suggested Marcelo Bielsa’s open and honest press briefing backfired as Stoke ended their long wait for a win and dented Leeds’ promotion chances.
Bielsa addressed the media on Wednesday in an attempt to quell the uproar over him spying on opposition teams.
During a session that lasted over an hour, the United head coach revealed he had studied every game Luton had played this season before Jones left to take up his new role at Stoke.
Instead of sticking with his tried and tested tactics, the Welshman threw Bielsa a curve ball by changing his formation to 3-5-2 and his gamble paid off as second-half goals from Sam Clucas and Joe Allen earned Stoke their first victory since December 22.
“It’s been well publicised Marcelo watched 26 Luton games and two Stoke games, so he’s well drilled on what our usual formation is,” said Jones.
“We felt with the threats they’ve got and to give us the best chance to win the match we needed to be tactically right at it and I thought we were.”
Jones suffered a nightmare start to his reign as defeat at Brentford last weekend was followed by a shock loss at home to Shrewsbury in the FA Cup after throwing away a two-goal lead. But he got off the mark in style by taking the scalp of the leaders.
“The contrast in a week is very, very big,” said Jones.
“It’s nice to get off the mark because I’ve never lost three games in a row as a manager. Leeds are the best side in the league. You’re not top of the league if you’re not.”
It was a miserable afternoon for Leeds, despite Ezgjan Alioski scoring with the last kick of the game. United had key centre-back Pontus Jansson sent off late on after receiving a second yellow card.
“It was a game we could have won,” said Bielsa. “We were calm and were not afraid of the offensive aspects of the opponent. But we didn’t have a solution.”
Meanwhile, 11 Championship clubs have complained to the Football League about Leeds spying on opposition teams.
The EFL and Football Association are investigating the matter and the EFL has been approached by many of Leeds’ rivals voicing their concerns about events.
Bristol City owner Steve Lansdown has voiced his opinion about the matter, saying: “The only thing that makes sense if I’m honest is a points deduction.”