Phil Hay, who covers Leeds United for The Athletic, caught the attention of some Whites fans on Twitter recently after he posted a tweet that included some team news that Marcelo Bielsa shared during his latest pre-match press conference ahead of Thursday’s Championship clash with Stoke City.
The journalist has revealed that the Argentinian coach ‘thinks [Helder] Costa and [Stuart] Dallas will “probably play” against Stoke.’
Both Costa and Dallas sat out Leeds’ 3-1 win over Blackburn Rovers last Saturday and after this team news from the Whites manager’s latest pre-match press conference was shared by Hay, plenty of Leeds United fans replied to the journalist’s post to share that they would disagree with this decision from Bielsa.
Bielsa press conference this afternoon – he thinks Costa and Dallas will “probably play” against Stoke. Both trained today. #lufc
— Phil Hay (@PhilHay_) July 7, 2020
Some Whites fans replied to Hay’s tweet to share that they don’t think that the team that started their 3-1 win over Blackburn last weekend should be changed for Thursday’s fixture.
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Hope that means just be involved. We shouldn’t change the team imo.
— Tom Huffinley (@THuff1994) July 7, 2020
Do not change the starting line up
— Ben Chambers (@_BCLUFC) July 7, 2020
Meanwhile, some Leeds fans shared that they believe this decision would be harsh on Barry Douglas and Ezgjan Alioski. Both Douglas and Alioski played a full 90 minutes in Leeds’ most recent league win and these Whites fans seem to believe that Costa and Dallas returning to the squad would come at the expense of these two players’ places in the side.
Alioski and Douglas deserve to start again. So much balance down that left hand side. Also Dallas and Costa can give us some running power off the bench.
— Lee Thompson (@lufcThommo) July 7, 2020
Would starting Costa and Dallas be the right decision?YES
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Really unfair on Douglas and Alioski, its like there is no competition for places in the 11, when you get a chance to start a game and play really well, you get taken out
— Marching On Together (@MarchingOnToge3) July 7, 2020
why change the team they played brilliant against Blackburn…
Douglas definitely doesn’t deserve to get dropped
— Olly (@OllyHubbard17) July 7, 2020
Extremely harsh on Baz Dog IMO https://t.co/HXRnOoiHYG
— Josh Hobbs (@JoshAHobbs) July 7, 2020
I was hoping Douglas would keep his place
— Andy Firth (@AndrewFirth21) July 7, 2020
NOOOOOOOOOOO
— Chris Gray (@CWG1201) July 7, 2020
You gotta be kidding barry played out of his sjin
— Andy Tunstall (@TunnyMOT) July 7, 2020
Leeds United are currently sitting at the top of the Championship table with just five games left to play this term. With that in mind, it may be fair to say that the Whites are on the verge of securing what would be their first promotion to England’s top-flight since they suffered relegation from the Premier League in 2004.
Considering how close they are to earning promotion to England’s top-flight, it may be understandable why some Leeds fans might be anxious about the idea of changing a side that earned them three points last time out.
However, considering that Bielsa’s judgement has got them into the position that they currently occupy, trusting him may be wise.