Pundit Paul Robinson has identified the risk that the Leeds United board have made by making wholesale background staff changes midway through the season.
Marcelo Bielsa was sacked by Leeds on Sunday and it has recently been added that assistants Diego Reyes, Pablo Quiroga and Luis Ouvina, as well as fitness coach Benoit Delaval, have also left Elland Road, according to Training Ground Guru.
Leeds were in a bad state and needed changes after they leaked 10 goals in their previous two Premier League outings, which now means that the Whites have the worst defensive record in the league as they have conceded 60 goals.
Robinson gave his view whilst speaking with MOT Leeds News,
He said: “It’s a massive roll of the dice, it’s a massive gamble that they’ve taken – but it’s a decision they felt they had to take.
“Bielsa’s staff worked in a completely different way to any other manager’s and got things out of the players that other managers might not.
“Whether it was the end of this season or next year, whoever comes in to replace Bielsa was always going to be a big change.
“They’ve got a training ground that’s different to everybody else, it’s got a weird running track around the outside, there are bedrooms in the training ground, the manager’s got living quarters in there.
“Things that Bielsa does have his own little quirks and it’s why he’s made so many friends. He does things differently, he does things his way.
“If he’s leaving and four or five of his backroom staff are also leaving, it’s going to be one massive change.
“It’s a big, big gamble to do it at this stage of the season.”
TIF Thoughts on Paul Robinson’s comments…
Robinson is right, it certainly is a roll of the dice, but it is one that Leeds almost had to make. After conceding 10 goals in two games, something had to change at Elland Road.
Bielsa had certainly transformed Leeds after he helped them achieve top-flight status for the first time in 16 years. But it was time for a change, and with Leeds failing to improve the playing squad in January, it may be the right decision for both parties to go in a different direction given recent results.
Part-owners of Leeds, 49ers Enterprises, had reportedly wanted Jesse Marsch in the door at Elland Road in the summer, and they wanted him to bring in players that he had previously worked with such as Brenden Aaronson and Takumi Minamino. So it made sense to bring the American in the door now, as things can’t get much worse for Leeds in terms of performances on the pitch, and he can plan for next season.