Leeds United

Leeds United: Alex Crook launches attack on Marcelo Bielsa

|
Image for Leeds United: Alex Crook launches attack on Marcelo Bielsa

TalkSport reporter Alex Crook has given his thoughts on Leeds United and their manager Marcelo Bielsa.

The season hasn’t started off the best for the Argentinian at Elland Road, winning just three of their 17 games so far in the Premier League, suffering an injury crisis that is partly due to his desire to carry a small squad and suffering a historic 7-0 loss against Manchester City this midweek.

He has even had to deal with questions about his future, which led to him launching a scathing attack during his most recent press conference.

Having come to England with a great reputation, it’s certainly taken something of a hit this season with Leeds United’s struggles, which led to Crook giving his thoughts on the head coach and how Leeds United will do this season on the TalkSport Gameday podcast (32:57) following their defeat to Manchester City:

1 of 10

This was a low point in Leeds United's history, but how many points did they get in the 2003/04 campaign?

“Bielsa is supposed to be this super coach and Pep [Guardiola] lauds him, it’s easy to laud a manager you know you’re gonna roll over every time you play them. But they were passing out from the back from minute one, it clearly wasn’t working, they were three or four-nil down, they were still trying to pass it out from the back.

“Surely there comes a time when even the fabled Bielsa, even with their injuries has to say ‘look let’s damage limitation, here that’s not get humiliated’. That didn’t happen, they kept making the same mistakes, they did get humiliated. Yes, they had players out, they didn’t have too many players out when they let in five at Old Trafford. They didn’t have too many players out when they were battered by Liverpool earlier in the season.

“I think Bielsa has run his course at Elland Road and I think Leeds will be lucky because there will be three worst teams in them, but they’re going to be looking over their shoulders right until mid-May.”

TIF Thoughts on Alex Crook’s comments on Marcelo Bielsa and Leeds United

Will Bielsa be at Leeds next season?

Yes

Yes

No

No

It certainly isn’t the greatest show of support from Crook in regards to Bielsa, but he does have a point.

With Leeds United’s selection crisis going on right now with the squad looking set to be down to the bare bones, it’s hard to see how they will be able to get out of the current slump that has seen them win just one game since the start of November, which could plunge them further into a relegation battle.

Given that Leeds majority stakeholder Andrea Radrizzani has expressed his desire to see the club in Europe, and Bielsa’s football not exactly proving the most sustainable considering how far they’ve fallen off since last season, Crook may also be right that Bielsa has run his course at the club.

Whilst he has done a great job in getting them here, if he can keep them up, then it might be time to move on and let someone else take over who can take them that step forward towards the upper echelons of the table.

In other news: ‘Drop him’, ‘He is a liability’ – Many Leeds fans blast ‘garbage’ player after comments emerge

Share this article

Freelance sports journalist & broadcaster.