Leeds United rejected Marcelo Bielsa request for Thorp Arch training ground
Leeds United turned down Marcelo Bielsa’s request to install a putting green at the Thorp Arch training ground, according to The Athletic’s Phil Hay.
The 66-year-old was removed following the 4-0 defeat against Tottenham which left the club two points from the relegation zone and on a four-game losing streak that had seen them concede 17 times.
The club was so heavily wedded to the Argentine that they implemented the vast majority of the improvements that he wanted for the club, but apparently drew the line at golfing facilities.
Writing in The Athletic following Bielsa’s removal, Hay said: “The irony for Bielsa is that he was convinced last summer that he and the squad were in ideal shape for his fourth season at Leeds.
“Very few of his proposals for improving facilities were resisted.
“The suggestion that Leeds create a small putting green for the players at Thorp Arch was one of the few things the club declined to do.”
End of an era
The rejection of a putting green at the training ground is in some ways similar to the eventual decision to get rid of the former boss.
United put their trust in the man who reinvented the club over the past four years to a much greater extent than most teams do.
But there came a limit with both the infrastructure plans and the recent performances on the pitch.
Such was the disastrous nature of the form since the win over West Ham in January that the previously distant idea of relegation has become real in a shockingly short period of time.
Heavy defeat followed heavy defeat, with the manager whose tactics transformed a number of Whites players from Championship performers into stars unable to arrest the decline.
With the Premier League status that he had achieved in serious danger the ownership finally cut the chord.
And despite the terrible results and the boos from some inside Elland Road on Saturday, many fans are still devastated by the decision.
In other Leeds United news, star man Kalvin Phillips posted an emotional tribute to the outgoing manager.