OPINION
Leeds United have undergone a bit of a slump in form recently after back-to-back defeats against Wigan and Brentford.
They take on Aston Villa on Sunday in what is a crunch clash for both sides, and the fans will certainly have their fingers crossed that their team can turn it around at a crucial stage of the season.
Those fans will definitely agree that there has been one player who has been especially pivotal into getting the Whites where they are now, and that player is midfielder Kalvin Phillips, who has appeared 42 times this season.
Well, they would have been scratching their heads over why the 23-year-old was left out of the 2-0 defeat to the Bees on Bank Holiday Monday, as he is, by a long mile, one of the best midfielders that Leeds currently have on their books.
Just 24 hours after that defeat, Marcelo Bielsa took the bizarre decision to greenlight the chance for the mainstay to play for the under-23 side, and it is a decision that has left BBC pundit Noel Whelan astonished.
“I was stunned,” Whelan told Football Insider.
“As soon as I saw that, I thought, ‘what are you doing?’ I don’t care if it was an important cup game for the Under-23s. The only goal this season is to get promotion.
“We have to keep everybody fit. To name someone so integral to our promotion hopes in the Under-23s after all the games he has played this season, I did not get the meaning of that. There is the risk of Kalvin getting injured. Leeds already have a small squad and can’t do without him. That made no sense from Bielsa at all.”
Whelan is absolutely spot on here, isn’t he? Bielsa made a big mistake in letting Phillips star for their youth side, as there was always the risk that he would get injured.
Just imagine the backlash from the supporters if he ended up being sidelined for the remaining games of the season? When promotion is at stake, such decisions cannot be made, especially as Leeds do not have the biggest squad in the Championship.
We will never know the reason behind Bielsa’s thinking – especially when it is do to with a pivotal player like Phillips.
All we know is that the fans will surely be counting their lucky stars that Phillips did not get injured.