Former Leeds United ace John Giles has been left frustrated by comments made by Jesse Marsch on Marcelo Bielsa’s training methods at the West Yorkshire club.
The pundit’s comments come just days after the new Leeds boss connected the Whites’ injury issues to the rigorous regime implemented by the Argentinian manager.
Was Marsch right in what he said about Bielsa?
Yes
No
“These players were over-trained and it led to them being physically, mentally, emotionally and psychologically in a difficult place to recover from week to week, game to game,” Marsch told TalkSport.
Leeds have struggled massively through injuries this season, with Kalvin Phillips and Patrick Bamford two of the players who have suffered most from fitness issues this campaign.
The Whites have been able to open up a nine-point gap on the bottom three with just six games remaining of their 2021/22 campaign.
However, Giles believes Marsch should concentrate on his own job given Bielsa enjoyed his own success during his time at Elland Road:
“I think they’re outrageous and unfair,” Giles said on OTB Sports.
“He’s showing off. What he’s saying is that Bielsa was all wrong in what he did, but I’ve seen the players and I’m putting it right. Good luck to him.
“You can’t run Bielsa down for what he’s done. Any manager taking over from another, shouldn’t make derogatory remarks about the other manager. If he’s sacked, he’s sacked.
“You get on with the job. He’s being very unfair on Bielsa. He’s got a long job ahead of him, there might come a day when he’s sacked himself. It’s very unprofessional and wrong.”
TIF Thoughts on Giles’ comments…
We can see where Giles is coming from, as Marsch’s comments could certainly be viewed as a potential dig at the former Leeds manager.
However, we do question whether Marsch intended for his comments to be interpreted in this way, as he has previously shown a lot of awareness of the fans’ relationship with Bielsa.
And we do think there could well be some truth in what Marsch had to say. Bielsa was known for his tough training sessions and this season, in particular, the Whites have been riddled with injury issues.
In other news: Shocking: £1.8m-rated star should be embarrassed over Leeds v Watford footage – opinion