Leeds (dirty thugs) discussion

InfiniteBoredom

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I think you are being ridiculous. He has utterly transformed that club for the better which will last long after he goes.
Neither Bilbao nor Marseilles were particularly ‘transformed’ by his stint despite the great playstyle and relatively great achievement for their stature.

Ultimately, they, as will Leeds, faced the inevitable outcome of being a smaller club, the good players who were improved by/played key roles under him get vultured on by big clubs, and the clubs fell back into chasing results as a matter of necessity instead of continued committing to his football vision.
 

Foxbatt

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I am amazed that people think he is not a top class manager. All top class managers fall out with prima Donnas. Sir Matt sold Johnny Giles for questioning him. SAF get rid of players who didn't accept his ways. So did Pep, Cruijff etc.
The team is more important than the individual player.
A bigger club will have a bigger and better squad so they won't get burnt out.
If he continues to get Leeds playing well he is going to get offers from bigger clubs than Leeds for sure.
 

Poborsky's hair

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I very much admire Bielsa's style, If Ole doesn't work out Bielsa might not be ready to come as he seems to like underdog, could be viewd as a unstable/hotheaded manager for the "longterm" job or simply still with Leeds. Then I'd consider moving for his (more balanced) understudy and big admirer Poch.
 

Poborsky's hair

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Credit where its due, Leeds have looked amazing this year (the cnuts) and no doubt Bielsa has done a great job with them. Have to keep in mind though that Sheffield U also looked unplayable at times last season, then ran out of steam and now they look like relegation fodder.

Leeds played some nice football yesterday, but Villa had a couple of massive chances at 0-0 and they were dire in defense at 1-0 and 3-0. That second goal is just a 1/100 worldie
Sheffield Utd. never looked unplayable last season. Their style was very pragmatic and they ran a lot. We managed to drop points against them because of sheer incompetence but once teams found out about their "newish" style and they ran out of steam they really started looking like one of the worst teams in the league. They are for me big candidates to go down even if luckily for them there is a few more poor candidates there.

You could say the same about style and fitness with Leeds too but their approach is way more sophisticated and aggressive to fail. Now it's all about their manager to keep his cool but They stand a great chance to finish Top8 and imho they will be higher than Wolves and possibly Arsenal, competing with Everton.
 
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MetoTTT

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He's a entertaining manager and his teams are enjoyable to watch...at least at the beginning. The main issue is balance, more the unbalance of his teams. He is an excellent theoretician. He knows how to make a player better without a doubt. He requires such physical commitment in daily practice, his style of play to be effective requires so much physical effort that players end up being exhausted and it works much less well.
 

Ekkie Thump

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He's a entertaining manager and his teams are enjoyable to watch...at least at the beginning. The main issue is balance, more the unbalance of his teams. He is an excellent theoretician. He knows how to make a player better without a doubt. He requires such physical commitment in daily practice, his style of play to be effective requires so much physical effort that players end up being exhausted and it works much less well.
I don't know that that's been the case with Leeds really. I actually think their main problem's been mental fragility rather than player burnout. In prior seasons when it really mattered they'd still be going hell for leather but panic at the back and go to pieces in front of goal.
 

Bigjimslade77

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Well until he didn't. He is a genius but his methods are not sustainable. He needs someone like Guardiola to take his brilliance and adapt to something that works practically.

Very lucky that they had a fluke break last season.
Leeds fan in peace here, just have to correct you on this common misconception. Leading up to the break we'd won 5 in a row without conceding a goal, if there was one side in England that didn't want or need that break it was Leeds.
 
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dannyrhinos89

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All those people saying his team will “burnout“ are in for a surprise, they’ll be fine and easily in the top 10.
 

Foxbatt

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Why will his team burn out if his squad is big enough? He is having players whom no one in the World has heard of playing very good football. That itself is amazing enough.
 

ray24

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Is that the fans he can’t talk to in English by any chance?
He manages to get fans far better than most managers imo. How many managers will ask their players to spend hours picking litter so they know how many hours a typical fan have to work in order to buy a ticket?
 

RooneyLegend

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Not sure why his team are going to burn out when Pool never seen to do so. Does that mean Bayern will as well? City don't look burned out, they look a team struggling to sort their squad right.
 

RooneyLegend

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All those people saying his team will “burnout“ are in for a surprise, they’ll be fine and easily in the top 10.
It seems a theory based on his first leeds season which is nice and cute until you realise how strongly they finished his second season.
 

Danny Roberts

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It seems a theory based on his first leeds season which is nice and cute until you realise how strongly they finished his second season.
And the fact that they dominated games and had great running stats at the end of the season when they allegedly "burned out". Bielsa is a great manager, a top man and a fecking breath of fresh air in a world of clones and copycats.
 

VeevaVee

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Is it bad that I quite like Leeds? I’m not old enough to have ever felt the rivalry, what with us rarely playing them, and despite having lots of mates from Leeds, haven’t seen anything like the obsession you get from some rivals, including Bolton and their one way rivalry.
 
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Is it bad that I quite like Leeds? I’m not old enough to have ever felt the rivalry, what with us rarely playing them, and despite having lots of mates from Leeds, haven’t seen anything like the obsession you get from some rivals, including Bolton and their one way rivalry.
It is bad. Very bad. Truth be told though. the rivalry is quite lopsided. You certainly should like them though. I think you are allowed to ‘appreciate’ them, that’s as far as it can go.
 

dannyrhinos89

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It seems a theory based on his first leeds season which is nice and cute until you realise how strongly they finished his second season.

Plus with them being out of the cup already and having far less games in the prem than championship they'll be fine.
 

Marching

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Leeds fan in peace here, just have to correct you on this common misconception. Leading up to the break we'd won 5 in a row without conceding a goal, if there was one side in England that didn't want or need that break it was Leeds.
Welcome to the dark side Jim. MOT :)
 

ray24

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It seems a theory based on his first leeds season which is nice and cute until you realise how strongly they finished his second season.
It's more mental burnout than physical burnout imo. You can do all the running and etc, but if you lose your mental focus, you can easily let slip a few goals here and there.
 

432JuanMata

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I follow Leeds a lot for the last few seasons since my dad is a big fan, what Bielsa was did is underrated he took over a mid table side in the Championship and barely making any signings turned them into challengers yes they bottled it 2 years but they weren’t the best side. I don’t think fitness was a problem in the championship for them they were just running on form even last season when Leeds put together a few wins they were hard to stop but when in poor form they looked like there real level.
See people see Leeds and go he’s a good player or that player is class but they were considered average til Bielsa came along. If he didn’t fancy a player he would pull one from the academy that suited him.


The problem for Bielsa he takes over teams that aren’t exactly top tier and the players will run through walls for him but I still have doubts whether top teams with top players will do that. Still he is a world class manager that all top managers look up too. I hate Most Leeds fans but I don’t think I could ever hate Bielsa
 

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Mauricio Pochettino on Marcelo Bielsa: What makes him a unique coach?
On his early memories of Bielsa…
"After five minutes, he told me to sit next to him. He said, 'Mauricio, you are going to be a Newell's Old Boys player. Now go to take a shower.' I said, 'Why do I need to take a shower, I have only been playing five minutes.' He said, 'No, go to the office and then go back to your town and tell your dad that you are going to play for Newell's Old Boys.'

"For a kid aged 13, that explains how he was and how he is. He had this unbelievable intuition, perception. So clever. He had a different brain to all of the people that I coach."
On Bielsa's teams being direct…
"I think Leeds are one of the teams that play out from their own box. They build from the back. But, of course, the way that Bielsa plays, he loves to be vertical. To go forward.

"You need to think in the moment that you recover the ball to go forward and to run. That is Marcelo's character. All or nothing. It is difficult to see Leeds draw games.

"He loves to be vertical, to play the first pass quickly. I think the middle of the pitch is just transition for him. He is interested in his own box and the opposition box. That is where you win or lose the games, of course."
On the detail behind Bielsa's preparations…
"When I was playing for the second team of Newell's Old Boys I remember we prepared in the week. There was not the internet back then. But he collected all the newspapers and in groups of three players, we went away with this information. We read the newspapers.

"If you read one journalist, maybe it is the wrong information, but if you read 10 newspapers, from Buenos Aires, from Rosario, from Cordoba, all over the country, then we could go inside the opponent and know every detail. We knew the formation, the players, who was taking the penalties, how many players go up for corners.

"[Compared to] this time, that information was basic. It is not only him who works in this way [now]. I think today all the coaches today are really well prepared. Today, we have the capacity to have all the information and it depends whether you want to use it. But at the time when he was my coach at Newell's Old Boys, he was maybe 20 years ahead of everybody."
 

cyberman

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Bielsa has been shortlisted in the top 5 for coach of the year which is madness imo.
 

Pagh Wraith

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Relatively speaking it's pretty amazing what he did with Leeds though. Comfortably the best team in the Championship for two seasons on a mid-table budget.
 

Footy van de Geek

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I wish Bielsa is manging Arsenal.
It's crazy that Arsenal, Chelsea and United all have inferior managers at the helm than Leeds who just got promoted!

Bear in mind that Bielsa is a bit of a lunatic, so it remains to be seen if he could make it work at an elite European club.

But is crazy to me that the likes of Ancelotti and Bielsa are where they are with the experience they have compared to novices like Arteta and Lampard.

That's football now. Everyone hopes they can find the next Pep or Zidane by appointing a rookie coach or ex player.
 

Foxbatt

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what do most `Leeds fans think of him? it surely must be a roller coaster ride? They are always attacking and if it clicks then can beat anyone. Now with his reputation growing bigger he may be able to get better players next season.
 

TheRedHearted

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It's crazy that Arsenal, Chelsea and United all have inferior managers at the helm than Leeds who just got promoted!

Bear in mind that Bielsa is a bit of a lunatic, so it remains to be seen if he could make it work at an elite European club.

But is crazy to me that the likes of Ancelotti and Bielsa are where they are with the experience they have compared to novices like Arteta and Lampard.

That's football now. Everyone hopes they can find the next Pep or Zidane by appointing a rookie coach or ex player.
I’ve heard he’s a lunatic or not stable but what is the evidence for that? I’m not disputing it I’d just like to hear the why.
 

stepic

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what do most `Leeds fans think of him? it surely must be a roller coaster ride? They are always attacking and if it clicks then can beat anyone. Now with his reputation growing bigger he may be able to get better players next season.
Safe to say they must love the hell out of him
 

Strelok

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I would love to have Bielsa to manage us. He seems a great coach and a great man. Who only think and breath football.

Problem is, that usually doesn't go well with our Ed the cnut and co. We're a corporation that value money the most not a football club where football is the top priority. Imo he'll blatantly refuse us or even if he agrees, wouldn't survive 3 months into the job. Big clubs seem to simply don't suit his managerial style and mentality. Plus managing multi millionaires superstars is definitely different with managing low name wanna prove themselves guys.
 

sugar_kane

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A unique and interesting manager, and seems like a decent (albeit highly eccentric) bloke - but in a very long career he hasn’t won much silverware.

I can see why fans might want him at their club but in a very long career he’s basically got the same amount of trophies as Ole.

He also seems to last about 2 years on average each place he goes.

Based on where he’s worked over the years I’d also question if he had any interest in working for big commercial beasts like United.
 

dannyrhinos89

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God it must be a huge rollercoaster of emotions being a Leeds fan, they were brilliant tonight. Proper 100 mph football but massively entertaining. Some great goals too particularly Harrisons.

Hard to predict the result on Sunday but Ive got a feeling maguire and lindaloff will be exposed, having 5 leeds players running at them in the 80th minute wont end well.
 
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ray24

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Leeds is a team that every neutral will enjoy watching. If you are frustrated with your own team's performance, watching Leeds can always lift your moods a little with just how crazy they are at attacking football.
 

UweBein

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A unique and interesting manager, and seems like a decent (albeit highly eccentric) bloke - but in a very long career he hasn’t won much silverware.

I can see why fans might want him at their club but in a very long career he’s basically got the same amount of trophies as Ole.

He also seems to last about 2 years on average each place he goes.

Based on where he’s worked over the years I’d also question if he had any interest in working for big commercial beasts like United.
Trophies are not everything - they are playing fantastic football at times. It's quite exciting to watch even for a neutral.
He has put Leeds on the map again - this is his achievement. Still, one also has to mention that it was a conscious decision by their board to go with him. They knew whom they were getting, I guess they adjusted to that. I can't see that happening at a big corporate like club like United, Arsenal or Liverpool. But he would also not be successful at clubs like Newcastle and Watford - their structure seems to be too rigid for his way of working.