Bielsa Stay or Go

Leeds United news here, transfer rumours, club affairs, players, fans, etc.
Specific match discussions should go in the category below.

Will Marcelo be here at the start of next season

Poll ended at 23 May 2019, 15:26

Yes
66
87%
No
10
13%
 
Total votes: 76

Davycc
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Re: Bielsa Stay or Go

Post by Davycc »

Selby White wrote:
Davycc wrote:
Selby White wrote:
VALLEY BOY wrote:
Leonickroberts wrote:Wonderful news!!!

I'm immediately off to put a tenner on us winning the league this season. As a Leeds fan I feel it's important to put as much strain on your relationship as the club as possible, and always allow them the biggest opportunity to disappoint you at the final hurdle.
5/2 Favourites ???
Think 5/2 is for promotion not to win it.

Odds I've seen are 13/2 to win it.

Fulham 2nd Favs at 15/2 followed by Cardiff & West Brom at 10/1

Got 8/1 at William Hill to win it outright :thumbup:
Davy,
Given your recent record in the gamble games can i suggest you bet Derby ;) :D

Very droll SW, very droll.... sadly true however :lol: :thumbup:
All at Amazon Books

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ilkley62
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Re: Bielsa Stay or Go

Post by ilkley62 »

Great news, onwards & upwards :)
whitedancer
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Re: Bielsa Stay or Go

Post by whitedancer »

false price, I would like to see some transfer activity before I deep in.
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mapperleywhite
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Re: Bielsa Stay or Go

Post by mapperleywhite »

rigger wrote:
SCOTTISH LEEDS wrote:remote controlled filming of training
Anyone know the range of those drones ??

Also, anyone know how far it is to Derby from Leeds ??

8-)
Yes! Drove it several times from Breadsall, north of Derby, to the Blooming Rose off Dewsbury Road. It's 65.6 miles and I could do it in under an hour :) (sometimes) back in the 80's and 90's

Does this help your enquiry?
Might have to take an interest in the Premier League now....
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kk white
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Re: Bielsa Stay or Go

Post by kk white »

I'm in Portugal with **** wifi.
Spent the week reading this forum, not replying, but this is brillllliiiiiiaaaaaaannnnnnttttt news.
"An astonishing number of people despise Leeds United or what Leeds United stand for. But this club was never made for them." - Phil Hay
LAsouthcoast
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Re: Bielsa Stay or Go

Post by LAsouthcoast »

kk_white wrote:I'm in Portugal with **** wifi.
Spent the week reading this forum, not replying, but this is brillllliiiiiiaaaaaaannnnnnttttt news.
You and the wifi not getting on so well KK :)
Nic
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Re: Bielsa Stay or Go

Post by Nic »

whitedancer wrote:false price, I would like to see some transfer activity before I deep in.
We just have to keep any promises. If Bielsa feels we've not kept up with our side in regards to new signings, then he could go.

New prayers can be loan or transfer, so get 2-3 high quality loan players, even if for a year on Ross McCormack level wages for a 20+ goal striker should work. Bielsa has admirers in the PL, loaning of some of their potential would be a win-win, helps us this year and they get a player on return who will be greatly improved.
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kk white
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Re: Bielsa Stay or Go

Post by kk white »

LAsouthcoast wrote:
kk_white wrote:I'm in Portugal with **** wifi.
Spent the week reading this forum, not replying, but this is brillllliiiiiiaaaaaaannnnnnttttt news.
You and the wifi not getting on so well KK :)
:lol:
"An astonishing number of people despise Leeds United or what Leeds United stand for. But this club was never made for them." - Phil Hay
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SCOTTISH LEEDS
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Re: Bielsa Stay or Go

Post by SCOTTISH LEEDS »

From Leedslive:-

It was the news every Leeds United fan had been waiting on since the bitter Championship play-off semi-final defeat to Derby County.

The 20 minutes of chaos either side of half-time at Elland Road brought about one of the most crushing defeats in recent years, as the past ten months of highs, lows and hard graft had accounted to nothing. Leeds United would be spending their centenary season outside the top flight, the 16th consecutive campaign, left to plan for trips to Luton and Charlton, rather than Liverpool and Chelsea.

Even for a fanbase conditioned to deal with the fact that a crushing disappointment was always around the corner, this one was hard to take and adding to the general malaise was the uncertainty that surrounded the future of Marcelo Bielsa.

Over the past 11 months Leeds fans had fallen head-over-heels for the former Argentina boss who had transformed last season's mid-table also-rans into the most exciting side in the Championship.

Despite Bielsa spending the season making his mark on every aspect of the club from the training ground facilities to the under-23s set-up, there was the fear that another campaign in the second tier would not be for him and Leeds would require yet another reboot this summer.

Aside from the impassioned press conference before the trip to Ipswich where Bielsa went off script answering a question about Patrick Bamford's suspension to assert that 'this team and this club are important whether they play in the Premier League, the Championship or League One', the 63-year-old had not been willing to elaborate on what the future would hold past the end of the season.

This seed of doubt remained lodged in the collective consciousness of the Leeds fanbase right up until 11.40am on Tuesday morning, when the club tweeted out the same video of white smoke that they had used to announce Biesa's arrival 11-and-a-half months earlier. A collective sigh of relief broke out across West Yorkshire.

Within minutes of the official announcement, video advertisement boards across Leeds were emblazoned a picture of a determined-looking Bielsa alongside the slogan 'We go again', as Andrea Radrizzani spoke of 'unfinished business' on the club's website.

Leeds had their man. Again. But how justified were fan fears that Leeds would be starting the new season with a new man in the dugout for the ninth year in a row? And how much work had to go into securing Bielsa's future for the next 12 months?

While the contract that was drawn up with the assistance of Bielsa's brother Rafael last summer was straightforward in the terms set out - Leeds United had the ball in their court regarding the option to tie Bielsa down for another year - the club were required to do plenty of work getting it over the line and having Bielsa on board with their plan for next season.

Bielsa's Stakhanovite work rate during the season left little room for distraction, but amid the tears in the Leeds United dressing room on May 15 - and there were tears - a steely determination was stirring amid the players and staff.

"You just have to accept the pain," Bielsa said in his post-match press conference. "I feel very sad first of all, for the players.

"I don't think that there’s someone who feels more pain than our players."

Rather than mope, Bielsa and his staff soon chose to look ahead. The phrase 'what if' was banned at the club as fans dreamed of an alternative reality where Kiko Casilla was not as inclined to rush off his line.

Firstly, a post-mortem would be required. This would not just be a glossing over of the odd problem position or quick tallying up of how many chances were squandered in front of goal, but a Bielsa deep dive. Data would be poured over, video would be analysed and statistics would dissected within an inch of their lives. No stone left unturned, exactly as we've come to expect from Bielsa.

Some issues were obvious - the goals-to-chances ratio which Bielsa focused on regularly in press conferences during the run-in would be analysed, as would the club's work in the loan market, where only Jack Harrison could be considered a successful signing.

Bielsa quickly brought in Victor Orta and Angus Kinnear for lengthy sit-down meetings and it soon became clear that the head coach had developed a strong affinity for both the club and the city, giving the Leeds board the confidence that they would not have to start exploring contingency plans away from Bielsa next season.

Bielsa was quick to relay his confidence in his squad during the season and this was again shown in his dialogue with the club, with the feeling that last summer's steep learning curve in pre-season will not need to be as dramatic next summer, as his core group now know Bielsa's system and what is expected of them. Continuity will be key.

And this would shape Bielsa's transfer demands, with Leeds head coach well aware of the how the Championship market has evolved, even during his short time in English football.

The EFL's decision to show their teeth and dock Birmingham City points for their breach of FFP rules this year has put the rest of the division's high spenders on notice, meaning that the era of second tier sides splashing out on eight-figure transfer fees is coming to a close.

Monday's play-off final was a preview of what will become the new norm in the transfer market, with Premier League loanees such as Tyrone Mings, Tammy Abraham, Mason Mount, Harry Wilson and Fikayo Tomori the key figures in their team's road to Wembley.

Bielsa did therefore not go into talks demanding a transfer warchest, but instead with a pragmatic and restrained approach that will focus on loan signings. Wide players will be looked following the failure to land Dan James in January, while the under-23 side will again be there to fill out the squad. Expect players such as Jordan Stevens, Robbie Gotts and Mateusz Bogusz who all won places on the bench last season to feature more, while the likes of Clarke Odour will also see more involvement.

The training ground is another area that Bielsa has locked his razor-sharp focus onto, with further additions to the changes he made last season being agreed.

A one kilometer running track is to be installed around the woodland perimeter of Thorp Arch, while the swimming pool which has sat empty since Massimo Cellino's austerity drive will be back in use. A new remote-controlled camera system will be installed that will allow training footage to be edited in almost-real time is on the way. The Thorp Arch dressing rooms will also be refit to match those at Elland Road.

The Leeds United board are only too aware of the calibre of man they have in charge at Elland Road, with last summer's epic meetings in Buenos Aires during the recruitment processes matched with ten-hour sitdowns in the aftermath of the Derby defeat as Bielsa's modest, realistic demands were quickly met.

Leeds will now start the season with the same man in charge as the previous campaign for the first time since Simon Grayson's time at the club as the biggest signing of the summer was completed quickly and without the fuss and drama that has so often enveloped the club in the modern era. With a year of Championship experience under his belt and a genuine sense of unity at the club, few would back against Bielsa delivering another year to remember in Leeds' centenary season.

As the marketing material that was quickly rolled out said, 'we go again'.
Deleted User 728

Re: Bielsa Stay or Go

Post by Deleted User 728 »

mapperleywhite wrote:
rigger wrote:
SCOTTISH LEEDS wrote:remote controlled filming of training
Anyone know the range of those drones ??

Also, anyone know how far it is to Derby from Leeds ??

8-)
Yes! Drove it several times from Breadsall, north of Derby, to the Blooming Rose off Dewsbury Road. It's 65.6 miles and I could do it in under an hour :) (sometimes) back in the 80's and 90's

Does this help your enquiry?

Thank you, Agent B - you know what to do next :ugeek:
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