Marcelo Bielsa

[Mountain]

Liverpool lost 1 or 2 players last season.

And went on to lose 6 home games in a row. An awful run.

But they remembered that they had a great manager who had done remarkable things in recent seasons, so they didn't hit the Big Sam button, they didn't talk about systems failures and beg Klopp to change his style.

[Cjay]

To suggest sacking Bielsa and then expect anyone else to do better with the players at his disposal is ludicrous. IF he was failing with a full strength squad then maybe but it likes trying to compete in a formula 1 race with a bicylcle with two flat tyres at the moment.

But go back and look at the pre season matches, you will see a lot of the issues mentioned now regarding not just the individuals but the system being mentioned then.

And we didnt have injury problems them.

At what point do we recognise that injuries may just be a convenient excuse but actually the issues are more ingrained?

You can't as a team expect to only play well with a full strength squad

We drew 1 -1 with Burnley and had nobody major missing

We drew with Newcastle with largely the first choice team.

Same vs Everton to.

For me the issues are much deeper than injuries and these issues have been obvious since pre season.

People are very protective of Bielsa but if it wasn't him I don't think our fans would be working so hard to deflect from his own deficiencies this season.

[SG90]

And there was a lot of competition too.

A right back making his first start, a centreback playing his first match since the opening game of the season and having not even a reserve match to prepare, Ayling just back from injury and playing in his 2nd best position and Dallas having to slot into a different position every week yet some fans and the media expect them to just snuff out a full strength Arsenal side. Not to worry we have our poster boy defensive midfielder to provide a shield, oh no hang on he's injured so we have Forshaw there instead trying to dribble in our penalty box. Not to worry though we have our outlet up front who defends from the front and scored 17 goals last season, oh wait he's out injured too.

Get a grip on reality. Yes maybe Bielsa was naive not to demand more players but I don't think anyone expected that we'd have 4 centrebacks injured at the same time not to mention the other injuries too. Easy to say we needed more strength but how much do you pay for someone to be our 5th choice centreback, how much do you pay for a back-up for KP that is nearly at the same level and a back up for Bamford that will score the same amount that he did last season.

To suggest sacking Bielsa and then expect anyone else to do better with the players at his disposal is ludicrous. IF he was failing with a full strength squad then maybe but it likes trying to compete in a formula 1 race with a bicylcle with two flat tyres at the moment.

The same Forshaw everyone on here was fawning over just a couple of games ago?
And Ayling is being played out of position over an actual CB who is in the England U21 team.

[1964white]

And there was a lot of competition too.

A right back making his first start, a centreback playing his first match since the opening game of the season and having not even a reserve match to prepare, Ayling just back from injury and playing in his 2nd best position and Dallas having to slot into a different position every week yet some fans and the media expect them to just snuff out a full strength Arsenal side. Not to worry we have our poster boy defensive midfielder to provide a shield, oh no hang on he's injured so we have Forshaw there instead trying to dribble in our penalty box. Not to worry though we have our outlet up front who defends from the front and scored 17 goals last season, oh wait he's out injured too.

Get a grip on reality. Yes maybe Bielsa was naive not to demand more players but I don't think anyone expected that we'd have 4 centrebacks injured at the same time not to mention the other injuries too. Easy to say we needed more strength but how much do you pay for someone to be our 5th choice centreback, how much do you pay for a back-up for KP that is nearly at the same level and a back up for Bamford that will score the same amount that he did last season.

To suggest sacking Bielsa and then expect anyone else to do better with the players at his disposal is ludicrous. IF he was failing with a full strength squad then maybe but it likes trying to compete in a formula 1 race with a bicylcle with two flat tyres at the moment.

So is our horrendous injury just bad luck?

How the hell did one Leeds player Llorente get Covid?

Should we have played the skullduggery card & asked permission for the game to be called off especially as we only had 4 of our squad whom are considered as regular first-team players, just as the majority of the PL clubs have done this weekend?

[SG90]

For the TL;DR here are the main issues:
Playing players out of position over young players in their natural position - Bielsa's fault
Overplaying the same players who are now tired or injured - Bielsa's fault
Dreadful recruitment - Orta's fault
Refusing to improve squad and being over-sentimental - club AND Bielsa's fault
Refusal to change tactics to get a result - Bielsa's fault

So the majority of issues are Bielsa's fault and they are things he could fix rather than being stubborn and this is what could result in relegation.

Yes we are grateful for promotion, but he can't dine off that forever if we get relegated. Same way Orta can't keep dining off Raph and Bielsa.

[Overman]

Like I said it's a results game at the end of the day, and it's not looking good at the moment to put it mildly. We didn't look great pre-season haven't been convincing from the start of this one. It's fortunate that 3 other sides are so poor, but they are not too far behind us. We are steadily becoming a laughing stock and MB's refusal to adapt to a situation accordingly, may well be his undoing. These type of performances are completely unacceptable irrespective of injuries. Sticking with a man to man marking system with the squad we have at the moment, is total lunancy.

[SG90]

The problem for me is we have a few posters on here who genuinely believe we have no chance of relegation and that is delusional imo. Newcastle will buy buy buy, Burnley can change tactics to get a result and Watford are capable of producing big wins out of nowhere. We will sit around and do nothing in January and try to wing it, and that's why we'll be going down.

[1964white]

Like I said it's a results game at the end of the day, and it's not looking good at the moment to put it mildly. We didn't look great pre-season haven't been convincing from the start of this one. It's fortunate that 3 other sides are so poor, but they are not too far behind us. We are steadily becoming a laughing stock and MB's refusal to adapt to a situation accordingly, may well be his undoing. These type of performances are completely unacceptable irrespective of injuries. Sticking with a man to man marking system with the squad we have at the moment, is total lunancy.

We were awful in pre-season, many on here said those games didn't matter

Well, we weren't ready for our opening game of the season against our fierce rivals.

We haven't played anywhere near last season's form over a full 90 minutes.

When was the last time we scored one of our famed goals on the break?

[SG90]

We were awful in pre-season, many on here said those games didn't matter

Well, we weren't ready for our opening game of the season against our fierce rivals.

We haven't played anywhere near last season's form over a full 90 minutes.

When was the last time we scored one of our famed goals on the break?

The Crewe and Burnley games were when I knew we were going to struggle this season.

[Gandalf]

The short answer is NO. Nobody else would be able to manage this group of players to keep us in the PL. So besides a new manager, you would need a whole new set of players, and we know we don't have the finances to do that, and even then they have to immediately gel.

The last two games have been poor, but the game before we outplayed Chelsea with six players out, and to get nothing from that was more disappointing for me than the last two.

Nice to see we have some readymade replacements available. Fat Sam ffs. I thought that the dinosaurs went extinct in the Cretaceous period. Nuno - err Nono. Erik Ten Hag - do you really believe we could get the best young coach in European football, although we did get one of the best coaches in the world 3.5 years ago. We could always ask Pep, I suppose, and even he wouldn't handle it.

I am still confident that given that we can get some players back soon, we can pull clear of the relegation zone - but only if we have faith with MB. I know it's not the most popular opinion on here atm, and I can smell the baying blood so I will sign off. Btw there are several other threads of this ilk that this could have been discussed in, so why start a new one ?

[weasel]

If we could bring in Erik ten Hag (great name), but couldn't see him leaving Ajax, Santo may be a good shout defensively, or Martinez may have had enough with Belgium by now

Martinez the great defensive coach that got Wigan relegated including losing a match 9-1?

[joelufc20]

We were awful in pre-season, many on here said those games didn't matter

Well, we weren't ready for our opening game of the season against our fierce rivals.

We haven't played anywhere near last season's form over a full 90 minutes.

When was the last time we scored one of our famed goals on the break?

Think a lot of fans follow Marcelo Bielsa rather than Leeds united, seen a few posters who would be happy to be relegated if it meant keeping him.

He’s done a good job but is over hyped, plenty of managers have taken teams up from the second tier and kept the clubs up the first season. Then it fell apart the second season. The biggest criminal act though was to think the same players could do it again this season. That’s plain arrogant and stupid. Bielsa isn’t a tactical genius but he’s a very good coach and good at improving average players. A tactical genius would be getting decent results, we have won 3 games this season. 3 games. In 4 years we have failed to stop leaking goals, we don’t score from set plays, we give the ball away cheaply and get dominated by pacey players who rip us to shreds. Harrison can’t cross a ball and we are impotent when it comes to finishing. As for youth only Shackleton has played more than 10 games for the first team, that’s one player in 4 years. Take that as you will.

[Cjay]

I am still confident that given that we can get some players back soon, we can pull clear of the relegation zone - but only if we have faith with MB. I know it's not the most popular opinion on here atm, and I can smell the baying blood so I will sign off. Btw there are several other threads of this ilk that this could have been discussed in, so why start a new one ?

Given our injury issues this season that seems like wishful thinking

Even today Roberts, Raph and Harrison all took whacks and Dallas to.

I'd be amazed if we ever don't have atleast 4 or 5 first team injuries all season.

Long since given up on that situation improving.

[Gandalf]

Oh, and tonight showed that MB was right to protect those young U23 players, as other than Gelhardt (who still needs some work btw) the other lads looked seriously exposed, but needs must when you have 10 players injured (11 if you include Harrison).

[Cjay]

Incidentally if we are offering options

Ernesto Valverde

[SG90]

Given our injury issues this season that seems like wishful thinking

Even today Roberts, Raph and Harrison all took whacks and Dallas to.

I'd be amazed if we ever don't have atleast 4 or 5 first team injuries all season.

Long since given up on that situation improving.

In 2 seasons, all our PL signings have yet to play together lol. Says it all! Injuries will continue because their bodies can't take anymore. To have murderball two days before a game, after a mid week game already, is pure lunacy.

[weasel]

Souness is ripping our tactics and setup apart and it has to be said he isn't wrong.

Souness who failed miserably as a manager at Liverpool and has done nothing of note since. Nice bloke but easy to manage from a tv studio or behind a keyboard.

People will point out to the past but we are in unchartered waters under Bielsa.

Never before have we looked so vulnerable under him and never before has his system looked so predictable and amature.

Never before have we had so many players not playing. Of course it breaks down far easier as the regular starters are all well drilled in the system but more importantly because of the continuity of selection they know exactly where their teammates are, what runs they are making etc. At the moment we are a machine that has several vital cogs missing and have tried to patch it up with spare bits that were left lying around.

[SG90]

Souness who failed miserably as a manager at Liverpool and has done nothing of note since. Nice bloke but easy to manage from a tv studio or behind a keyboard.



Never before have we had so many players not playing. Of course it breaks down far easier as the regular starters are all well drilled in the system but more importantly because of the continuity of selection they know exactly where their teammates are, what runs they are making etc. At the moment we are a machine that has several vital cogs missing and have tried to patch it up with spare bits that were left lying around.

Without injuries, this would've been the line up:
Meslier
Ayling
Llorente
Cooper
Firpo
Phillips
Dallas
Rodrigo
Raphinha
James
Bamford

Would that side really have done any better?

[Cjay]

Souness who failed miserably as a manager at Liverpool and has done nothing of note since. Nice bloke but easy to manage from a tv studio or behind a keyboard.



Never before have we had so many players not playing. Of course it breaks down far easier as the regular starters are all well drilled in the system but more importantly because of the continuity of selection they know exactly where their teammates are, what runs they are making etc. At the moment we are a machine that has several vital cogs missing and have tried to patch it up with spare bits that were left lying around.

The regular starters couldn't beat Everton, Burnley or Newcastle.

Injuries aren't helpful but things weren't all rosey before the Injuries and neither were they rosey in pre season.

For the majority of the season our system especially out of possession has looked like chaos.

[SG90]

Apparently Newcastle are interested in Orta! Please take him!!!! Silly Saudis would probably give us loads of compensation too lol.