Marcelo Bielsa’s claim that Leeds United spied on all of his team’s Championship opponents this season is untrue, according to the Yorkshire Evening Post.
The newspaper claim that some training grounds are “almost impossible to view externally” and Leeds now believe Bielsa’s interns “were able to study around half of the 23 other teams in the league”.
The YEP report that the Argentine manager made the incendiary revelation during an hour-long PowerPoint presentation to the media because he “took the attitude that the number was immaterial”.
OPINION
While Bielsa’s motives behind his claim were honourable – he thought if Leeds had watched one club train they might as well have spied on all of them – it appears he has only multiplied the difficulties for United and the corresponding investigations by the EFL and the FA. Had he just stated the absolute truth – if indeed the YEP are correct with the figure they have come up with – maybe the likes of Bristol City’s Steve Lansdown and the 11 Championship clubs who signed the collective letter calling for a rigorous inquiry would not have been so vocal. It appears Bielsa may have shot himself and his employers in the foot, even though it was not his intention to do so. Such an accident should perhaps count in Leeds’ failure in the long run, although the ‘Spygate’ cloud continues to hover over the club. Quite why the EFL need more time to investigate this matter is something of a mystery, and only demonstrates their lack of organisation and clarity. Poor show. Not that Bielsa has helped matters.