A group of Leeds United supporters have been discussing a recent post from The Athletic’s Phil Hay. From his Twitter account, he shared a recent piece examining what is now known as ‘murderball’ – a training drill associated with Marcelo Bielsa which originates from the Argentinian city of Rosario during the 1990s.
Hay describes the session as a ‘riot of physical effort’, in which the Argentine is more concerned by the distance his players cover and the ‘ferocity of their sprints’ than the tactical side. Staff and balls are placed around the pitch in order to ensure the tempo of the game never drops and the drill is designed to prepare the squad for Bielsa’s ‘hyperactive tactics’.
Here is what a sample of the Elland Road faithful have had to say having learned more about the infamous ‘murderball’ drill.
Superb read, worth the subscription investment alone ?
— Richard Lang (@richardlang05) June 10, 2020
I’ll never get tired of reading about Bielsa
— Jairstone (@Jairstone) June 10, 2020
Do you think there is a danger Bielsa could be working his players too hard?
Yes
No
It’s clear from the above responses that these supporters loved the insight provided by Hay’s piece and were fascinated to learn of the drill’s details and origins.
However, others are concerned that the physical demands of murderball during what is going to be a hectic period could have a negative impact on the team, with fans expressing their concerns here.
If they do murderball Wednesday if there’s no midweek game, how is this gonna work now with 5 weeks of consecutive Saturday/Tuesday games? Don’t tell me they’ll play Saturday/Tuesday and do murderball Thursdays ??
— Ben Kingsnorth (@benkingsnorth) June 10, 2020
STOP GIVING AWAY OUR TOP SECRETS, PHIL!
— ????????? (@2Saturn23) June 10, 2020
@PhilHay_ Will we not be able to do any murderball when the games start back, if they are midweek?,do you think it would it effect the team?
— leeds Utd Fan (@LUFCfanForever) June 10, 2020
Another fan shared their concerns regarding the players being overconfident ahead of the league’s restart, which is scheduled for 20 June.
Just hope the boys aren’t over confident. They thrive on the atmosphere and if none there could be a level playing field. We’ve seen that in Germany.
— wanderlust (@Wanderlust8119) June 10, 2020
Bielsa’s Whites are currently top of the Championship and will be hoping to pick up where they left off before the pause in the season and seal promotion to the Premier League for the first time since their relegation at the end of the 2003/04 season.