Whites fans don’t want to see their side sitting on the back foot and relying on counter-attacking football once the new season rolls around – but beyond that, they seem pretty happy for success to come through pragmatic means.
We asked a series of questions about how you feel about Leeds United’s future prospects as part of our Big Forum, providing an insight into your hopes, desires and fears as the club look to bounce back from their relegation out of the Premier League.
One of the issues we asked you about was the matter of a playing philosophy – and entirely unsurprisingly, the influence of Marcelo Bielsa still looms large in the minds of the Elland Road faithful.
The least popular answer was to play with a low block and look to play on the counter, with just six percent of you feeling that would be the right way for the new head coach to go. A stinging blow to Rafael Benitez and Jose Mourinho’s hopes of getting the job, we’re sure.
Meanwhile, 48% of fans want the new gaffer to go the complete opposite direction: a high line and a high press, looking to force opposition errors in an attempt to win the ball as high up the pitch as possible and ruthlessly exploit them while they’re still scrambling to recover. Sounds familiar, doesn’t it?
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The rest of you went for something pragmatic in the middle, going to neither one extreme nor the other, perhaps mindful of the difficulty Leeds had in replicating that high-pressing style after dispensing with Bielsa’s services.
What philosophy do you want the next head coach to follow? – full results (adds up to less than 100% due to rounding)
- High line and a high press: 48%
- Something pragmatic in the middle: 45%
- Low block and counter: 6%
