OPINION
Former Bristol Rovers manager Darrell Clarke should pick his fights a bit more carefully after he made disparaging comments about Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa in an interview on This Football Life. Clarke was offered the Leeds job by Massimo Cellino in 2016 but turned it down for a new deal at Rovers. That didn’t work out so well for him and he parted ways with the club fairly acrimoniously in December. Now, he’s delivered an interview where he berates foreign managers for taking the jobs of homegrown talent, and dismissed Marcelo Bielsa’s rigorous approach to the job as standard. He claims any manager would do what Bielsa does if he came to a new country, including, presumably, getting sleeping quarters fitted at the training ground… He dismissed what he’s done at Leeds with a derisory “not re-inventing the wheel” put-down that just comes across as churlish and unnecessary. Especially as Bielsa never claimed to be inventing the wheel, but was just defending himself in the wake of spygate. We’re not sure why Clarke decided to have a pop at Bielsa, but he might like to be reminded that both Mauricio Pochettino and Pep Guardiola have taken inspiration from and given high praise to Bielsa. He might find that he commands a bit more respect from the game if he were to do the same. In the meantime, he might like to peruse these reactions from Leeds fans to his comments, who make some brilliant points. Suffice it to say, he probably won’t be offered the Leeds job again.
Here are the best reactions from Leeds fans:
https://twitter.com/pokeefe1/status/1098861229853102080
Getting seriously bored by this ‘it’s not unique’ retort now. Do they stick their fingers in ears when Bielsa’s motives are explained?
— David Sarsfield (@DavidSarsfield3) February 22, 2019
https://twitter.com/ThommHol/status/1098861870960779264
https://twitter.com/steve_halstead/status/1098871737473748992
Prior to the #lufc game during an interview, Lampard said he'd watched 15 hours of Leeds games. Bielsa and his staff watched every Derby game from last season. I'm sure all managers do analysis of opponents, but not to the same extent.
— MaltaWhite (@carl_bulger) February 22, 2019
Out of work, sacked, former manager of league one Bristol Rovers favouably comparing himself to Marcelo Bielsa
— Keith Miller (@keester76) February 22, 2019
inferiority complex-
an unrealistic feeling of general inadequacy caused by actual or supposed inferiority in one sphere, sometimes marked by aggressive behaviour in compensation.— JB LUFC (@QuizFooty) February 22, 2019
Well it is pretty 'amazing' in the respect Bielsa is in a job fighting for promotion and Mr 'I turned Down a Big Club ' got sacked by the 2nd club in his city in what league? #lufc
— Andrew Horncastle ??? (@Andymoh1983) February 22, 2019
Completely missed the point, he wasn't showing off, he was saying, this is how we prepare, and how little standing by the side of the road next to a training ground meant.
— Hadders (@tinyfield33) February 22, 2019
https://twitter.com/LeedsMJ84/status/1098874053627179008
I don’t think he did the presentation to say “look at me I’m better than you”. People coming out and playing this down only feel threatened that people don’t think the take their job as professional as Bielsa does. It’s pathetic. It simply was not the point.
— Chris. (@19MOT19) February 22, 2019
Bielsa watched every game of every Championship team from the previous season. He knew how many minutes each player played in every position. The English manager Frank Lampard said he watched Leeds' previous two games. But never mind we all do the same analysis they say. Deluded!
— George____ (@george28265) February 22, 2019
They haven't reinvented the wheel they have just worked out how to make it work better than British coaches, who are literally dinosaurs in comparison.
— Peter Bellerby (@radio_bellers) February 22, 2019
https://twitter.com/legendsofleeds/status/1098867911953956864