This was a response I wrote to an "article" in The Athletic written by Mark Carey under the headline "Why Bielsa's refusal to adapt has allowed big teams to dominate depleted Leeds" His article is filled with stats and xG and all that other rubbish that these hacks reach for to try and justify their bias ... if they actually went to watch Leeds every week they may have a better understanding of the club, it's supporters and Bielsa's team Anyway, here's my unedited response to Mr Carey in the week prior to the Burnley game, and yes, he did P ME OFF with the same old cliched narrative being rolled out by the plethora of idiot pundits and journos who are constantly looking for ways to denigrate Bielsa's work at Leeds =============================================================== xG, stats this, stats that .. the simple fact is that injuries & Covid have truly decimated Leeds .. I go with what I see on the pitch every game, stats mean nothing .. I see players fighting their hearts out for the shirt, I see fans 100% behind the club .. I don't sense any panic, or any desire from the players to change tactics Bielsa's Plan B has always been to simply do Plan A better .. when you throw eleven players together as a starting lineup for the first time against a Citeh team hitting peak form with De Bruyne pulling the strings, well, you're bound to come unstuck The key thing is the players kept trying to stick to the philosophy, even though the team was completely unbalanced and outgunned .. they stuck to the plan, the same plan that caused Chelsea nightmares and could have been a win but for robbery from VAR (don't even bother trying to convince me otherwise, Rudiger cheated) As long as the players keep believing in the system, everything will be fine, and Bielsa knows this .. the Citeh bashing came on the back of a decimated team putting in a Herculean shift at Chelsea, and it was obvious they were going to struggle .. add to that the mental drain they suffered after being cheated right at the death and you can understand why they were sitting ducks at Mai-erm, that place Once Leeds have at least six back from the treatment table, you will see a leap in performances .. once the desired starting eleven finally gets on the pitch, watch out .. one thing we know is that Bielsa will remain relentless on the training pitch, he won't change a thing, focusing on fitness and fixing the errors Expect to see Leeds flying again in March/April/May when other teams start flagging and heading for the beach mentally .. Leeds will be outrunning teams in the 95th minute, just as they did last season For now, Bielsa and his players simply need to keep showing their incredible fighting spirit, running to the bitter end in every game .. this is a very tight group of players who have immense respect for their manager and who understand the huge role the fans play in lifting them and keeping them running when their lungs are burning and their muscles are aching .. this is the difference between a team that will survive and those that will fade away After all, this is Leeds you're writing about, the club that understands pain and adversity, that's experienced incredible lows yet still Marches On Together, arm in arm with the players and carrying Bielsa on their shoulders .. this is Leeds, where "side before self" actually means something, where every player is equal and nobody shirks their workload You underestimate Leeds United's resilience at your peril, you try and sow doubt through "stats" with futility and you think Leeds are in peril erroneously If you are at Leeds games home and away, you will be filled with a completely different sense as to where the club is in it's development .. there's still a lot of excitement, a genuine belief in Bielsa and his players .. there's a desire to drive the team on, to be that feared 12th man, to make a positive contribution .. this is our club, and we won't lay down or turn on our own just because Agbonlahor, Collymore, Redknapp or some other cliche-ridden pundit thinks Bielsa is useless and he's "lost the dressing room" .. nope, you can't divide us and you can't break us WE ARE LEEDS!! Understand this first, and maybe then you'll understand why Leeds undoubtedly have the best supporters in England ========================================================== Adios Athletic, I for one won't be back
