Gary Neville accuses Marcelo Bielsa of having ‘no respect’ after Leeds United exit
Leeds United were “really bad” under Marcelo Bielsa who showed “no respect for the opposition” according to Gary Neville.
The ex-Whites manager was sacked on Sunday (27 February) following a fourth straight loss, against Tottenham a day earlier, a run in which the team had conceded 17 goals.
The Elland Road club are in serious danger of relegation now, sitting two points above the drop zone having played twice more than Everton and Burnley below them.
Despite much sadness among fans at the departure, the pundit didn’t pull any punches, saying on Sky Sports: “The fact of the matter is, in the last few weeks, months, it’s become really desperate.
“You go from admiration to despair watching them, just thinking they’re not exciting anymore, they’re really bad. They’ve been really bad defensively, conceding so many goals.
“No respect for the opposition – we know Bielsa has his values and his principles which he’s never going to change, and that’s ultimately cost him.
“But there just didn’t seem to be a lot of respect on the pitch for the opposition players.”
Harsh
The former Manchester United player certainly knows how to kick a man when he’s down.
Clearly he is paid to give his opinion, and Leeds have been very bad lately, but disrespect for the opposition seems a bit much.
If anything the 66-year-old possibly could be accused of disrespect towards his own players, for ignoring the fact they were unable to cope with his demands in recent weeks.
The big complaint about the Argentine’s methods as things went downhill was his unwillingness to ever stray from the tactical principles that had brought the club back to the Premier League.
In that sense of his rigid ways he has never taken into account the opposition, so respect is virtually a moot point.
During the good times, with a fully fit squad last season, that outlook saw the newly-promoted side go toe-to-toe with some of the biggest teams.
It resulted in some famous wins, and some heavy defeats, and that was what made his team so popular at the time.
That turned to only heavy defeats, and he certainly would have benefited from changing his ways recently.
That has ultimately cost him his job, but respect for the opposition has never been the issue.
In other Leeds United news, Richard Keys was very pleased with himself following the sacking.