Welcome to Elland Road, abandon hope of a quiet afternoon all ye who enter. Sam Allardyce had called on his Leeds players to channel the spirit of Marcelo Bielsa on Saturday lunchtime and, in terms of the chaotic and nerve‑shredding brand of football for which the Argentinian’s reign was often notable, he got the response he wanted.
It was unlike an afternoon anyone would have anticipated with Allardyce in the dugout. The polar opposite of Bielsa in so many ways, Allardyce’s first home game in the dugout had all the hallmarks of the manager who guided the club back to the Premier League. Allardyce was supposed to make Leeds more resolute and tougher to break down. In a nutshell: make them boring enough to get over the line and get the job done. Boring, though, was the last word you would use to describe his home debut.
