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Leeds: Why Marcelo Bielsa may have been sacked too soon
The revolution will be televised!
After the despondent departure of Marcelo Bielsa, or 'God', Leeds will again fill the 12.30pm broadcast slot when they face Leicester under new management in March — Jesse Marsch.
February was fateful for both Bielsa and Leeds, though, setting an unwanted record after shipping four goals in the defeat to Tottenham.
Leeds are the first team in Premier League history to allow 20 goals against in a calendar month, which were conceded from chances equating to 13.8 expected goals against (xGA).
Should Leeds have sacked Bielsa?
Undoubtedly, the issues at the back are the motivation behind the decision to part ways with Bielsa, with Leeds just two points above the relegation zone in 16th place as a result.
Still, relieving Bielsa of his duties feels like a hasty move.
These decisions are often quite easy to justify, especially if the team in trouble is so poor in one particular area, but the recent struggles against good opposition were somewhat foreseeable; the televised element of the past week perhaps advertising a greater defensive devolution than reality.
Much has been made about Bielsa's refusal to deviate from his on-pitch principles, the constant drone of pundits calling for change on the back of certain scorelines, annoying.
A consistent process leads to consistent results, remember.
Of course, Leeds are bound to find it difficult against the 'Big Six', three of which have dealt the Yorkshire club devastating defeats last week, ultimately costing Bielsa his job.
The space afforded by Leeds' style and the disparity in personnel quality always likely to make the difference. Indeed, 38 of the 60 goals conceded this season (63%) have come against Manchester City, Liverpool, Chelsea, Manchester United, Arsenal and Tottenham.
With that in mind, is it wise to part ways with Bielsa on the back of such a tough run of fixtures?
In the 17 games against the rest of the Premier League this term, Leeds have gained 23 points — more than enough to stave off relegation.
Leeds have also averaged 1.40 expected goals for (xGF) and 1.52 expected goals against (xGA) in those matches, their chaotic manner working to the requisite level against the other 13 teams.
Injury issues have cost Leeds dearly
It would be remiss for me not to mention the absentee list that Leeds have suffered this season, too.
Liam Cooper, Kalvin Phillips and Patrick Bamford, who were pictured sat together in the crowd on Saturday, have all missed substantial time during this complicated campaign.
Missing the spine of a team for a prolonged period would seriously damage any team's chances of reaching the level they've previously performed at.
Links have been made to the 'Bielsa burnout', but that is just another disputable diatribe that has been thrown at the Leeds camp during the Argentine's tenure.
As the rolling xG average chart over Bielsa's time in charge shows, Leeds performed well despite a disappointing conclusion to his first season, ended their 46-game promotion campaign from the Sky Bet Championship with a flourish and rounded off an excellent 2020/21 Premier League term with a string of good results — rarely looking short of energy.
Is Bielsa 'stubbornness' overblown?
It also conveys the improvement to a declining defensive process in the middle of last season, proof that Bielsa can fix such problems in the midst of trouble.
Granted, the level of incompetence at the back is higher this term, but it is skewed by the heavy defeats to top opponents, allowing an average of 3.07 xGA in the nine matches against the 'Big Six'.
Hindsight will be 20/20 at the end of the season, but the feeling that Bielsa's removal is a little too soon is hard to shake considering the schedule Leeds have faced in recent weeks. After all, they took six points from a possible nine in January.
A February to forget is now over, however, and Leeds are minus the man that knitted a long-suffering football community together to march in support of their team.
Is another revolution really required? One thing's for certain, it will be televised.
