Will he stay or will he go?

[Cjay]

I hope Bielsa gets credit for the job he has done.

He had a month and a half between him arriving and game 1 vs Stoke.

He had injury problems to the extreme, can't remember the exact figure but it was something like through injuries we have had the equivalent of 3 seasons worth of matches missed (player 1 missed 10 player 2 missed 20 etc).

He didnt have the time with the squad to build a side that suited his style like Farke and Wilder had.

He didnt have the money already invested in the squad that Lampard and Dean Smith inherited.

He made do with what he had and largely back up choice signings, Harrison, Baker, Brown, Bamford, they weren't first choice, he wanted Wilson, Barnes, Vydra, James etc.

Of the 11 players who played the most minutes this season 9 of them were part of the side that finished bottom 3 in the form table for the entire calender year pre Bielsa 2018.

The job he did under the circumstances with imo poor backing from the board was superb.

We went from bottom 3 of the form table to spending more time top 2 then any other side.

It really hurts to fall away and we will have to accept the abuse and what not and although i dont personally particularly dislike any of the sides who either went up or could go up, it really stings when you remember the above paragraph, really really does.

We took "Leeds Leeds are falling apart" to another level this season and the club will have to accept that.

But in context i hope the wider footballing community do give Bielsa the credit he deserves, it would be a shame for the dislike teams and media have for us to overshadow totally a very impressive managerial performance.

Which leads me to this, is Bielsa going to stay?

MB has already spoken of how he feels the players couldn't repeat this seasons performances.

He tonight spoke about "mistakes that stopped us reaching our goals", was that regarding individual mistakes from players, mistakes tactically from.him or mistakes in recruitment?

He also said he was willing to "listen to the clubs proposal"

Imo Bielsa will stay but only if backed, thats my view, i think he has been very understanding with Radz and Orta this season, not kicking up a fuss about Saiz and Baker or Dan James etc.

I think MB knows the limits of the squad now and he has spoken about the limits it has.

I think a lot will depend on what funds Radz gives him.

So, will he stay or will he go?

[Genghers]

Stay

[gessa]

I think he'll stay but will want assurances first.

[weasel]

Did the crowd do anything after the final whistle in terms of saluting Bielsa, asking him to stay etc? I turned off at the final whistle but heard that they gave the players applause.

[weasel]

I think he'll stay but will want assurances first.

I agree. I think he will know exactly what he wants, and it won't be about his salary. If the club give him the assurances that they will do all they can to get the players he wants/needs then I can see him staying

[BGwhite]

He'll stay...for now... but he wont hang around if Radz pisses about with transfers . The time has come for Radz to put his cards on the table but if MB doesn't like what he sees he'll go and maybe Radz will too... who knows.

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[gessa]

He'll stay...for now... but he wont hang around if Radz pisses about with transfers . The time has come for Radz to put his cards on the table but if MB doesn't like what he sees he'll go and maybe Radz will too... who knows.

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Imo, we'll know in a few weeks time what's happening, he'll want assurances straight away, as he'll want any incomings sorted asap, he likes to get them in so they are up and running having trained to his system and fitness for 8 weeks.

[billysboots]

As above, he’ll want to see serious investment in the squad.

[Irish Ian]

When Bielsa joined Leeds last summer my immediate thought was how long will he stay? Personally I didn't think he would last the first winter as I believed by then he would not be on the same page with the Chairman. I had a fallout over club personnel as the likely cause.

Now I believe that IF e stays into next season, that by next January, if things aren't going his way he may move on. Probably for the same reasons already mentioned.

Bielsa doesn't suffer fools gladly. If he feels he us being bullshitted he says so, if he feels he doesnt have the right tools for the job he says so. He does it with great tact and diplomacy but he tells the truth as he sees it. He is a man with a clear vision of how it needs to be.

With our seeming lack of resources I worry that if the cupboard is bare to reshape the squad then he will call it like it is, shake hands with Radz and go his merry way.
( Personally I think we are pretty close to skint btw)

Another chapter in his chequered career.

[weasel]

I don't think we are skint we are just being run as a business rather than having an owner throw big sums in and hope that we get to the premiership (and leaving us with a financial meltdown if we don't). Bielsa isn't a fool and he knows how to work within a budget, last season he needed a striker and that meant sacrificing Vieira (as one of only 2 assets we had at the time that would bring in any money - the other being Jansson who reportedly rejected a move). If the board had lied to him or not made the situation clear then he would have left already. As such this summer will be the same, selling to bring in money for new signings. The hope would be that we are now similar to Brentford in that we sell when the player(s) hit peak value and then have scouted well and can bring in good quality replacements at a much lesser cost. For that reason I can see us selling PJ and Kalvin Phillips if we get decent offers, they are probably our 2 most valuable assets at present. The good thing is that because of the whole improvement on the pitch we may even be able to get decent money for some other players if Bielsa wants to sell. If we recruit well then we get stronger.

[Cjay]

I'm concerned because i think Radz has pushed his luck with Bielsa already.

Signed none of his first choice targets and in many cases didnt even get backups.

Didnt get his alleged 1 target in January, indeed failed to get him a winger at all.

Sold Vieira against Bielsa's wishes.

Allowed the squad to get weaker with Saiz and Baker leaving.

Bielsa is an honorable man but he isnt stupid and privately he wont allow this to continue imo. He has alread implied he has taken the current squad as far as he can and they wont be able to repeat it next season.

Summer after season 1 is typically when MB gets more forceful and butts heads with the board especially if they sell key players.

I really can see problems if Radz 1) fails to back Bielsa properly and get the 1st choice targets and 2) sells key players.

This summer feels like we will find out how much Radz wants promotion.

Put up or shut up time