Good Morning. It's Wednesday 25th May, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road Bielsa blocked incoming players in January Leeds legend Eddie Gray has confirmed what most of us already knew - Bielsa blocked all incoming transfers in January!!!! The 74yo former Scottish winger was bought on to talkSPORT to talk about Leeds Utd escaping relegation, but didn't hold back in pointing the finger at the Argentine. Gray confirmed that the Elland Road board were keen to bring new faces in, during the Winter transfer window, but Bielsa who had been given precedence over all transfer decisions refused to yield. Finger pointing is easy, especially when the persecuted party is not there to defend himself I'm sure we appreciate the club wanting to set the record straight, though many will see it as airing their dirty linen in public. “I know Marcelo didn’t want to sign any players, “I know that from the owner and the chief exec because they wanted to sign players.” please log in to view this image Orta frustrated with Bielsa over Lang deal Elland Road journalist Phil Hay has revealed the frustrations felt by Victor Orta, and the rest of the Elland Road board, when Marcelo Bielsa blocked the signing of exciting Dutch Winger Noa Lang. The 22yo has hit the ground running since joining Club Brugge in the Summer of 2020 (initially on loan), then joining on a permanent basis twelve months later for €6m. In two seasons with the Belgium Champions, he has scored 22 times, and has been credited with 26 assists. Although there was already an agreement in place between Club Brugge and his former club Ajax, Leeds were waiting in the wing to hijack the deal by offering the Belgium outfit a quick and considerable return on their money, only for Bielsa to block the deal as he had concerns about Lang's defensive capabilities. Lang has been widely tipped to bring Lang to Elland Road this Summer as a replacement for Raphinha. The fee however, is likely to be in the region of €33m. "There was a touch of frustration behind the scenes that the Argentine was not keen on Noa Lang, the Dutch winger at Club Brugge. Leeds scouted Lang closely and saw clear attacking quality in him, along with serious resale value. Bielsa was unconvinced by Lang’s defensive qualities, something he needed in a winger, and Leeds let their interest go, but a difference of opinions like that was not unusual." "Bielsa had always been singular and specific about targets. That was shown at the end of August when Leeds received a tip-off that Burnley believed Manchester United were ready to listen to bids for Dan James. James ticked all of Bielsa’s boxes and Bielsa had been tracking him for over two years. He sanctioned an offer immediately." please log in to view this image Rewarded for failure The Leeds Utd first team players and the Senior coaching staff will receive a whopping £48m bonus for avoiding relegation at the weekend. This compares to the £8.8m gifted to the club for finishing 17th in the top flight. Premier League prize money 1 Manchester City £44m 2 Liverpool £41.8m 3 Chelsea £39.6m 4 Tottenham £37.4m 5 Arsenal £35.2m 6 Manchester United £33m 7 West Ham £30.8m 8 Leicester City £28.6m 9 Brighton £26.4m 10 Wolves £24.2m 11 Newcastle £22m 12 Crystal Palace £19.8m 13 Brentford £17.6m 14 Aston Villa £15.4m 15 Southampton £13.2m 16 Everton £11m 17 Leeds United £8.8m 18 Burnley £6.6m 19 Watford £4.4m 20 Norwich City £2.2m 29 players enjoyed first team game time last season, and it is believed the majority of the prize money will go to them, depending on their contributions. Many fans have been critical of the bonus, due to the team's poor performance last season which almost cost them their top flight status. please log in to view this image
Morning all. Saw that Gray interview and wasn't impressed. He simply stated what Orta and Radz told him as fact. Simon Jordan pointed out club execs don't always tell the truth. I agreed with Bielsa being dismissed, maybe should have been a little earlier but I do not agree with these soundbites coming from the club chipping away at his reputation and legacy. Do the dignified thing LUFC and move on, Bielsa will always be a legend with the fans for what he achieved before this season. A further point, Im already fed up with the laughable figures being thrown around by the premier A teams for transfers. 150m Spuds, 200m Chelsea. How are teams in premier b or c ever going to make up any ground. FFP my arse
Makes my blood boil, to get that obscene amount of money in a bonus, for doing a job they are ridiculously overpaid to do, should have given them a voucher for a hotel break or something. That 48m would be far better spent on a couple of top class players. Good morning all.
Morning all And Eddie becomes the latest in a long list that has pointed out Bielsa didn't want to sign players. Somehow I imagine the usual suspects will pin it on the board again.
100% this. Exactly what I thought when I heard it. You only have to look at statements made by Bielsa in December to know he did want players, he just wanted better players. Rumour has it he refused Winks, Alli and Van De Beek. Let’s be honest all are not improvements and can’t get into starting 11s at current clubs. Alli and Van De Beek could barely get into a poor Everton side, no thanks. Who can blame Bielsa when the squad improvements have been the likes of Rodrigo and Firpo…. (I know Bielsa would’ve also signed these players off but the point still stands). He also signed off Aaronson on Jan but we didn’t want to pay the asking price so what’s been said is a load of bollocks.
I am disappointed with Eddie for throwing Marcelo under the bus even if it was the case there is no need to do this. As Eire says just move on. MB achieved so much for the club and the Board can back this up by providing sufficent quality players that will allow us to compete better in the Prem next season.
Morning everyone I too am disappointed about Eddies comments regarding Marcelo however I don’t believe any of it. People would do better to keep their mouths shut in case their comments come back and bite em on the bum. Marcelo’s gone so There’s no hiding place in the coming season
Agree it doesn't need to be said. Signing lang or cornet for example would make it clear who didn't sign off on them without the need for explanation. I do understand it though. If you've been slagged off for half a season for not investing in January and it was your manager refusing to sanction deals... you can understand the frustration. I do have empathy, Bielsa can do no wrong in the eyes of many Leeds fans... quite understandable after what he did for us. He was a genius but a mad professor and nuttier than squirrel ****... I suspect we don't know the half of it!
Agree with Eire, Norman and foolee that just repeating what you get told by the owner and CEO. Eddie is a club employee and remember when Lorimer was spouting the Bates dictat. Bielsa has kept a respectful silence yet Marsch and the club have gradually tried to pass the blame for a dire season on the shoulders of Bielsa. i have heard Bielsa say countless times that yes he would like players but they must be better than what he has. That means a player who would be first choice when all the players are available. He also said those players cost a lot of money the club dont have. Where Bielsa was wrong was by not realising the season was imploding around him due to injuries and he should have just accepted he needed bodies. We do need to know the truth, not a version of it
Ive tweeted Hay with this. Not expecting a reply but you never know. If enough fans asked maybe we might get closer to the truth
UK Government has approved the sale of Chelsea to Todd Boehly. Another ****ing yank billionaire bleeding a club dry.
Simon Jordan was pointing out that the long list saying this has been told this by the board. It also doesn’t quite fit into Kinnears comments about using the summer funds to make signings in January or his comments about new transfers blocking the development of our U23s.
The truth is a 3 edged sword, my friend. There's clearly a middle ground that nobody is telling us but I do believe Bielsa didn't want to sign anyone. Now that could be cos Orta provided **** or Bielsa was stubborn. We'll probably never know
I'll openly admit I hate the idea of American owners. We may hate the clubs but these owners don't give a **** about the club's heritage. They're soulless ****ers who only give a **** about the bottom line.
I agree but also agree with Eire that there appears to be little digs coming from the board aimed at Bielsa, which I think is to absolve themselves from any responsibility for the crap season, which I also think is unnecessary and ungrateful considering what he did for them. We and they should all get behind JM but there’s no need to try to tarnish Bielsa’s legacy in doing so.
TBH Foreign owners do my head in. I liked the days when clubs were owned by the likes of Freddy Sheppard and Jack Walker. To be totally fair I would like fans to get part ownership
When the ER crowd are singing "sack the board" and "sell the club and f*ck off home" it's only natural that those responsible will try to shift the blame. The fact that Eddie Gray was sitting directly behind those who were the subject of said chants was purely coincidental. If things don't go well next season the board/owners will now hopefully know what's coming their way.
