Back to the Future
Prior to the Chelsea game I questioned whether last season’s 9th placed finish was a result of first season syndrome, suggesting this season may be the real level of Leeds United, so the response at Stamford Bridge was as typical as it was unlikely. It was a fantastic performance that left me feeling guilty about ever doubting Bielsa’s band of brothers, until El Loco’s post-match comments exonerated me. ‘The performance today allows us to think we can recover the version that allows us to compete with the best teams.’ The Great Man must have harboured the same thoughts, maybe he read my article, after all, he is a self-confessed fan of my work!
“There was lots to love about last Saturday – the yellow socks, the atmosphere from the Leeds end, the brilliant Gelhardt goal, the introduction of a teenager to nullify a £100m substitute, the final whistle brawl ”
There was lots to love about last Saturday – the yellow socks, the atmosphere from the Leeds end, the brilliant Gelhardt goal, the introduction of a teenager to nullify a £100m substitute, the final whistle brawl – it all helped console me after a gut-wrenching injury-time defeat. I’ve waited 20 years to see Leeds and Chelsea battling it out like that, and I was so proud of my team. It was the mental aspects of the performance that pleased me the most. Amid all the online panic about injuries, signings, the small squad, the lack of goals/wins/points etc, etc, the players backed-up Bielsa’s pre-match talk of optimism and fortitude, fighting to the end and beyond for the cause. They are just as motivated, just as determined, and still have 100% belief in the system that has transformed their careers.
“They are just as motivated, just as determined, and still have 100% belief in the system that has transformed their careers. ”
Three days after going toe-to-toe with the European champions, it was too big of an ask to ‘go again’ against the English champions (and Champions League runners up). This was my third trip to Manchester City, two victories during The O’Leary Years (coming soon to a bookshop near you!) had us 9-2 up on aggregate, but after 90 minutes of humiliation City had levelled at 9-9. There was no fight left in Bielsa’s boys, they were 2-0 down in 13 minutes and from then it was a case of how many they would lose by.
Our depleted team capitulated in the second half, my dad compared it to watching a frame of snooker as ball after ball were knocked in with ease. The last few goals were pitiful, and I was furious at full-time. There are a million excuses for losing to a team containing De Bryuyne, Foden, Rodri, Mahrez and Bernardo Silva, but there’s no excuse for allowing Jack Grealish a free header from 6 yards, or John Stones two bites of the cherry inside the box, or De Bruyne 20 yards of space on the edge of the box, or failing to mark at a corner, or failing to connect with a simple goal-line clearance, or failing to cover your near post adequately. That’s six soft goals, and the other was a wicked deflection, but Leeds received the pasting they deserved. The players embarrassed Bielsa, the worst performance of his tenure by a distance.
“So where do we go from here? Well, in today’s world such a result means you have to question everything that you’ve spent four years building, but the reality is the opposite. We double down. ”
So where do we go from here? Well, in today’s world such a result means you have to question everything that you’ve spent four years building, but the reality is the opposite. We double down. We believe in these players, this squad, this manager. We believe in the tactics that have taken us so far, the philosophy that we love. We go to Elland Road on Saturday and create a vociferous cauldron of passion and noise. We terrify Arsenal and pulverise them from minute one to 90, and afterwards the Man City result becomes irrelevant. An entry into the record books but a footnote at the bottom of another season of progress.
‘Progress?’ I hear you scoff. Yes, progress. As long as the unthinkable doesn’t happen then wherever we finish is a season of progress. This club needs to consolidate itself in the top division. The players will have another year of experience, Bielsa will be another year wiser, and we will be another year closer to developing Elland Road into a stadium that is befitting of one of the biggest clubs in the country. Leeds United spent 16 years stagnating in the lower leagues and we are on the journey back to the top. Accept it, embrace it, enjoy it.
Rocco Dean - Author of Marcelo Bielsa vs The Damned United (order on Amazon)