Speaking recently on the Football Writers Podcast, Miguel Delaney discussed Leeds United’s squad, as well as their manager, Marcelo Bielsa.
Since being appointed Leeds manager in the summer of 2018, taking over a side that had finished in 13th place in the Championship during the 2017/18 season, Bielsa narrowly missed out on guiding the club to automatic promotion in his first season in charge, with the club eventually finishing in third place.
However, the following season, Bielsa’s side romped home to secure not only a return to the Premier League, but also the Championship title, finishing 10 points ahead of second-placed West Bromwich Albion.
His team have once again impressed this term, narrowly losing out to Premier League champions Liverpool 4-3 in their opening game of the season, before beating Fulham 4-3, Sheffield United 1-0 and securing a 1-1 draw with Manchester City in their most recent fixture, leaving them in eighth place in the top-flight table.
Bielsa and his side were one topic of conversation on a recent episode of the Football Writers Podcast, in which Delaney claimed that the Leeds squad, without their new summer signings, are still a Championship side, which, in the journalist’s opinion, proves what a good job the Argentine manager has done with his team.
He said: “This is also one of the things that’s almost been forgotten about with Bielsa, and became overlooked in the argument about whether his seasons burn out too quickly – even in that first season, when they failed to get promotion, that was a team that, when he took over, were bang mid-table in the Championship.
“If this was all a level playing field, without the effect of managers, this squad, bar a few of the new recruits, is potentially still, at best, [a] top-half/mid-table Championship squad, which points to the effect of his management, and also the effect of clear coaching, or clarity of message, [and] clarity of approach.”
Do you agree with Delaney's point?
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TIF Thoughts…
From Delaney’s comments, it is clear that the journalist is of the belief that Bielsa significantly improves the Leeds side, and that, with the exception of some of their summer signings, the team are still a top half or mid-table Championship side, as they were when he took over.
However, it could be argued that this take may be harsh on some of the Leeds players, particularly Kalvin Phillips, who is now a full England international.
In addition to this, although Delaney excludes some of the club’s summer signings from his point, it is impossible to ignore that the additions of Germany international Robin Koch, as well as two Spain internationals in Diego Llorente and Rodrigo, in our opinion, all go a long way to improving their so-called Championship side.