Simon Grayson delivered his verdict on the spying scandal surrounding Leeds manager Marcelo Bielsa, saying the maverick manager should get a “slap on the wrist”.
He also said he thinks the reason Bielsa did it is because he doesn’t know the domestic players well enough.
Talking on the Jim White Show (talkSPORT, Tues, 10am), the former Leeds manager said Bielsa hadn’t broken any rules.
“He’s wrong in what he’s done in terms of this country. Over here I don’t think any other manager has done it, I’ve not done it,” Grayson said.
“When he came out and defended himself, you could see his attention to detail is second to none.
“I feel why he has to do that level of analysis is that he doesn’t understand the amount of players who are playing or clubs. I know all the Championship and League 1 players inside out.
“Has he overstepped the line? Yes. Has he broken any rules? No. I just think he’ll get a slap on the wrist. Leeds fans are loving it, by the way.
“He’s unique in what he’s done. Not just in this country. No one has told him he can’t go and watch teams train, because no one’s done it.
“He wasn’t on the training ground. People are saying he’d broken in but he was on public ground. There’s no rule against it. I was manager at Preston and there was a path running through it, where anyone could watch from.
“I don’t get why people are calling for a points deduction – he hasn’t broken any rules.”
OPINION
Leeds fans love Grayson and they’ll agree with pretty much everything he’s said here – although we doubt they’ll accept that he’s crossed a line. A slap on the wrist is the most likely outcome, although it’s now such a high-profile case that you wouldn’t put anything past the authorities. They’ve been known to make some ridiculous decisions before and we just hope they don’t lose their minds over this one. No one wants to see the Championship get swamped in a big legal battle but you can bet that Leeds won’t take it lying down if they get docked points. And neither should they. You can’t have a situation where no rules have been broken – and everyone has rowed back on the suggestion that the Leeds employee was caught with pliers, a seemingly scurrilous tabloid rumour – and yet the club still gets a decision against them that could potentially cost them tens and even hundreds of millions of pounds.