In the eyes of many Leeds United supporters, Marcelo Bielsa would still be the Leeds United manager were it not for this season’s crippling injury problems.
That is belief echoed by Ian Wright who feels the Whites would be far more secure in the Premier League if their key players had been more readily available.
In particular, the long-term absences of Liam Cooper, Kalvin Phillips and Patrick Bamford have significantly halted progress at Elland Road.
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They were three of the stand-out players for Bielsa last season and their inability to have an impact on proceedings through injury this term may have, in part, cost the Argentine his job.
Wright was discussing Leeds’ decision to remove the 66-year-old from his post on the most recent episode of the Wrighty’s House podcast with Ringer FC and attributed Bielsa’s stubbornness to his downfall.
“I remember the time when Man United beat them 6-2 and I thought ‘wow, that was horrible to watch’,” said the former England striker.
“But he’s not relented he’s played exactly the same way so I’m thinking that, if they hadn’t get rid of him, he probably would have carried on thinking he could get it right.”
It wasn’t just Bielsa’s lack of willingness to adapt that Wright put his departure down to as the injury problems that he has had to contend with were also a key factor.
“We can still go back to the fact that they’re missing Kalvin Phillips, Patrick Bamford and Liam Cooper, his spine sitting in the stands,” he added.
“That must have something to do with something because when Kalvin Phillips isn’t playing, they’re just a different team. When Patrick Bamford isn’t playing, different team.
“With what he does up top for them, closing down and scoring the goals he had started to score then with Phillips in the middle dictating play, plugging gaps, he’s missing those players so he’s thinking ‘when these guys come back, it’ll be fine we’ll get going again’.
“Unfortunately, with injuries and stuff like that, he ran out of time but I don’t think he would’ve changed or he would’ve left because he would’ve wanted to continue to try to get Leeds out of the freefall they’re in.”
The front-foot, high-intensity style of play that Bielsa has always sworn by was the catalyst behind each of the needlessly heavy recent defeats. However, those matches would have undoubtedly been much closer had the spine of the team been available for selection.
That has been the case for much of the season while the Leeds trio have been on the sidelines but Bielsa’s lack of flexibility was ultimately the reason he is no longer the manager at Elland Road.
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