WILKO vs BIELSA

Let's end this

WILKO ERA
Second Div was very close to First Div then, teams well matched with very little foreign stars ... Wilko took over a Leeds that could still compete financially at the top end of English football because there was no TV money, and most clubs paid similar wages ... to gain promotion Wilko didn't coach the team he inherited, instead he got solid financial backing from the board to buy players to make Leeds the best team in the Second Div ... Chapman, Strachan, Vinnie Jones, Sterland, Fairclough for example ... added to this he had Batty and Speed come through, ready for the First Team ... the fact that Leeds had to go to a final day win to get up shows that Wilko almost messed up even with that potent team, but we're forever grateful that he got promotion

In the First Div it was clear that most of his promotion winning team would easily be top ten, and again the board backed him ... in came Lukic, Whyte and McAllister to bolster an already competent team ... again, remember there was no TV money, clubs weren't paying silly wages and everyone still played 4-4-2 ... Wilko didn't do anything revolutionary other than buy a bunch of very good players and building his foundation on fitness

To push the club on, Wilko once again got solid backing from the board, going big and in came Dorigo, Wetherall, Newsome, Hodge, Wallace brothers, Cantona ... Wilko had put in place the final pieces of his jigsaw thanks to the board deciding to spend ... and so, playing a solid 4-4-2 with Strachan and Speed out wide, McAllister and Batty controlling midfield, Zico and Dorigo overlapping for fun and Chapman providing a big target in the box, Leeds outlasted the Scum to win the title ... it was a glorious season, and that Leeds team fully deserved their medals

Wilko did pretty much what the likes of Mourinho do to win, he went and bought a team to compete ... the cards fell his way, he got lucky with injuries and towards the end Cantona proved the key to getting the team over the line ... it was in an era when club could still compete at the sharp end if they focused and worked hard, when players were getting pretty much the same wages across the First and Second Divs, and where, if you did good transfer business, you could assemble a winning team

BIELSA ERA
When Bielsa came in he walked into a club that had been through 16 years of hell with no real end in sight ... Radz was unproven as an owner, but it was clear he wanted to lift Leeds to another level ... Bilesa was the catalyst for Radz's strategy, the right man at the right time

Bielsa found Leeds in a sorry state, the team low on confidence and struggling in the bottom half of the Championship ... this league is a very different beast to the old Second Div, because there is no real parity anymore ... wealthy owners are now found in the Championship, fools willing to chuck cash around to try and secure promotion ... a good example of this is at Derby, where MM basically played FIFA with his club, financing ridiculous transfers, loans and wages to build a team that, in all honesty, Lampard should have won the league with

Added to these reckless owners, Bielsa also had to compete with those clubs receiving £40m in parachute payments ... the likes of Fulham, Norwich, Stoke, West Brom etc. were all capable of paying players £45k a week to play in the Championship, while Leeds couldn't get anywhere near those numbers ... Bielsa couldn't go and sign 5 proven players to bolster his squad, he had to work with what he inherited

In just six weeks with the squad, the transformation was incredible ... on the opening day Leeds faced just-relegated Stoke, favourites for promotion and with the majority of their Prem squad still on their books ... they arrived with Afobe, McClean and Ince up front, and players like Joe Allen, Ndiaye, Shawcross, Pieters, Butland and Martins-Indi giving them a solid look ... Stoke were expected to stroll to a win, with Leeds playing Berardi at centre-back, BPF in goal, Phillips in an unfamiliar holding mid position and Roofe alone up front ... how the hell were Leeds going to create and score anything?

The rest is history ... Leeds swarmed all over a startled Stoke, players running at them from all angles non-stop, pressing them to death and ending up comfortable 3-1 winners ... Elland Road had never seen this kind of total football before, and so the Bielsa blueprint was unveiled to the English game in all its glory, and the sleeping giant started to stretch and flex its muscles

What Bielsa did for Leeds was nothing short of remarkable ... Berardi, a cult hero but a genuine liability in a team that craved promotion, was transformed into a ball-playing centre back, calm and assured and now capable of playing anywhere across the back line ... Cooper became the rock in defence, his leadership qualities bursting out and driving the team on ... Phillips, a player fans were calling for to be sold for £250k suddenly looked world class, protecting the defence and spraying passes everywhere ... Ayling turned into Wild Bill, marauding up and down the right flank and linking play superbly ... Pablo was reborn, sprinting around like a teenager with magic in his feet, Bielsa Ball just perfect for his talent ... Klich, the forgotten man, playing like a demon and running forever ... Alioski now a genuine threat down the left, the right, the middle, our Duracell bunny who seemed to appear like magic in the most unusual places, driving opponents crazy ... Roofe now working all across the line, dragging defenders all over the place and causing panic

A turd had been well and truly polished, bang average players had been transformed into a team capable of challenging for the title, and all of this in just six weeks ... Bielsa changed the club and the city, bringing everyone together in a manner only Revie had achieved before

When Leeds made it back to the Prem, Bielsa attacked the league with his uncompromising brand of football, sticking to what he knew worked ... his team were up against the piles of TV money now, and not given much of a chance for survival, yet they stormed to a fantastic 9th place with pretty much the majority of the Championship squad ... Bielsa remained faithful to the players who did the hard yards, trusting them to go and compete with the best, and they did

Bielsa didn't build this success on just his legendary Murder Ball fitness regime, but ensured everyone in the club, top to bottom, also lived the values of dignity, respect, humility and honesty ... everyone had to live up to these standards, it was the only way the club could move forward ... Radz brought his business acumen, Orta his exceptional DoF skills, and Bilesa his incredible coaching ability ... it was a combination that gelled superbly, lifting Leeds to a very high standard of professionalism as well as inclusivity ... everyone had a part to play, regardless ... the Academy received the investment needed to reignite the talent production line, TA was transformed into a world class training centre and everyone worked hard for the club

The Bielsa blueprint was in place, the foundations for the future laid and a superb environment was left there, ready for Jesse Marsch to step into where he could thrive and continue to build on the Bielsa blueprint

To try and denigrate Bielsa's incredible work is foolish and puerile, and to try and use Wilko as a reason why Bielsa shouldn't have legendary status at Leeds is just plain ignorant ... Bielsa achieved the impossible at Leeds, doing something that I still believe no other manager could have done ... to take over such a poor squad of players at a club devoid of confidence, plodding miserably to February every year knowing their season was over by then, and transforming it into a thing of beauty was genuinely remarkable

Bielsa and Wilko both deserve their places in Leeds United folkore, no doubt, but Bielsa's reign was a magical time, an uplifting time when, against all odss, the club and the city came together like never before ... the murals we see all over Leeds today says it all, a city united, a city that makes it clear that "WE ARE LEEDS" ... for a manager to have that kind of effect, well, it's just incredible

People need to stop trying to poke holes in Bielsa's legacy, because there aren't any ... he was robbed of his best players through an injury-hit second season in the Prem ... no, he wasn't "found out" as the Scum loving media like to suggest, he just lost his best players for a large part of the season ... here's a comparison to show the impact of the injuries on a fixture, let;s take Citeh

AWAY - Lost 7-0: Meslier; Shackleton, Ayling, Llorente, Firpo; Dallas, Forshaw; Raphinha, Roberts, Harrison; James - Subs: Klaesson, Gelhardt, Jenkins, Klich, Cresswell, Drameh, Summerville, Greenwood, McCarron - this was 14th December 21, players like Forshaw, Shack, Firpo were coming back from injuries but had to be pressed into service ... the bench was very young and inexperienced at that time and were not going to influence a game dominated by De Bruyne, Grealish, Foden, Rodri, Mahrez etc. ... missing for Leeds were players like Cooper, Bamford, Phillips, Koch, Struijk etc.

HOME - Lost 4-0: Meslier; Dallas, Ayling (unlucky Bill), Koch, Struijk, Firpo; Raphinha, Klich, Phillips, Harrison; Rodrigo - Subs: Klaesson, Llorente, James, Bate, Gelhardt, Greenwood, Cresswell, Shackleton ... so even though Jesse went 5-4-1 to try and contain Citeh (who rested De Bruyne, Mahrez, Fernadinho, Zinchenko and Bernardo Silva) Leeds still got tonked ... an ultra-defensive system couldn't stop Citeh from running riot

There you have it, the "Bielsa was found out" nonsense is just that, nonsense ... so, if you want to use the second season struggles as a stick to beat Bielsa with because you think he failed, please don't ... it's not accurate, and it's unfair to the great man ... Bielsa saved us from ourselves, he embraced the pressure so many managers before him buckled under, he gave average players the belief that they could play like prime Brazil, and he put Leeds back on the world football map

This lifelong Leeds fan will forever be grateful for what Bielsa and Wilko did for our club, but both did it in different eras and under different circumstances, and to try and make one out to be better than the other is just foolish

 

Howya Billy how's things with you. Firstly I'm one of those who have had nothing but admiration for Bielsa and will forever be grateful for what he did for the club and I was gutted when he was sacked. You've put a great argument forward Billy. But I will always put Revie, Wilko and then Bielsa as the best managers that I've seen in my lifetime. Others may disagree and that's fine. The one thing about Wilko was he wasn't as likable or as charismatic as Bielsa.

 

What great read. I started supported Leeds from the 1970 FA Cup final so for me The Don says it all really. Totally agree with your final paragraph although for me Marcello shades it mainly due to his charisma.

 

Sorry but you failed to take into account there being no fans in our first season in the prem.When the fans were back and grounds packed it made a huge difference.

 

You won’t hear me disagree. It’s a no brainier for those of us who have witnessed all eras

 

Great post Billy and fully agree

 

I have to go with Wilko (not that I'm taking anything away from Bielsa). I grew up watching the late 80's / early 90's Leeds Utd. That midfield quartet of Macca, Speed, Batty and Strachan was legendary. I know we're talking about money back then but 300k for Strachan, similar for Chapman ( and 1m for Macca still looks awfully cheap.

I also love the 5/3/2 Wilko implemented, one of the first Managers to use wing backs.

Bielsa's passion, knowledge and likeability factor is off the scale, though I can't help thinking by not changing tactics when needed he was sometimes sending the players out like lambs to the slaughter.

 

Wilko never played 5-3-2 Matt Click, he was a strict 4-4-2 man ... what he did do was encourage his full backs to bomb forward like wing backs, knowing Batty would always sit and protect ... I'm not picking either manger as better than the other, all I'm saying is it's dumb to use Wilko as a stick to try and beat Bielsa with ... makes no sense to try and denigrate Bielsa's legacy, or Wilko's for that matter

 

give over already Karen ... if that's all you've got then it's time to give mommy her phone back unless you get to use it under supervision

 

You sound like some kiddy on social media. Resorting to insults and name calling because someone does not agree with you.
The reason Leeds were going down was due to Bielsas tactics.
Calling me names

 

if you think that's name calling.......

 

We are Wilkos barmy army..........

 

For someone who concludes you shouldn’t use one manager as a stick to beat the other… you haven’t half slapped wilko round the chops with bielsa.

Bielsa worked wonders with what he was given.

Wilko bought largely unfashionable/unwanted players and worked wonders with them. You talk like any manager would/could have done what Wilko did.

Now you can argue that these players were too good for div 2 but whyte was an Arsenal reject, fairclough’s career was floundering, strachan was unwanted, chapman a journeyman. These weren’t anyone’s idea of first division winning players, but they did win the league.

What both bielsa and Wilko did was remarkable with the hands they were dealt.

 

That was a great, eloquent and enjoyable read. The most important point you made for me is why make one out to be better than the other. They both provided great time for Leeds fans in completely different eras of football, the best times since the Revie team arguably. I am thankful to both because it’s so difficult for me to tell you what was best for me personally. Wilko’s achievement of reaching the pinnacle in winning the top division or Bielsa ending 16 years of mediocrity where we could have disappeared into obscurity as the premier league got ever richer.

 

This,
They both did great jobs, for which I am thanfull.

 

Beat me to it, I paused at Ells post ready to question 5-3-2

 

You forget Wil

You forget wilkos season after we had won the title. We finished 17th and didn't win an away game. Arguably we were found out based on the previous season and didn't adapt tactics

 

Sounds familiar .....