Simon Jordan sticks up for Marcelo Bielsa after Leeds United thrashed, rubbishes calls to replace him
Marcelo Bielsa is an “excellent coach” who is right to stick to his principles after Leeds United lost 6-0 at Liverpool, says Simon Jordan.
The Argentine manager has faced strong criticism for not adapting his tactics after the Whites were demolished at Anfield to leave them just three points from the relegation zone having conceded 16 times in four games.
But the former Crystal Palace chairman has stood up for the embattled boss, pointing to the injury situation in saying live on talkSPORT this morning (24 February, 11:15am): “There is an element of, these key components that are out of their side affect[ing] the whole axis of how this team plays.
“[It’s] laughable to suggest that Leeds United need to be replacing [Bielsa] right now.
“He is an excellent coach, they’re having a difficult time.”
Host Jim White suggested: “If you’re doing something that’s not working, change it. He doesn’t change it.”
But Jordan was unmoved: “No, you stick to your principles. What a ridiculous thing to do, if you suddenly change because of outside influences.”
“This is what this team has been set up to do. This is how he’s built this team. He doesn’t have the players in that group that know how to change so he’s gonna have to make them be more effective.”
In response to the league-high goals conceded stat of 56 he said “so what?”.
Stubborn
There is a fine line between genius and madness and such is the way Bielsa operates, when his plans work he is hailed for belief.
But in steadfastly refusing to change despite game after game dragging the club closer to the relegation zone it starts to come off as stubborn.
It may be that he could not change his set up even if he wanted to, so wedded is the 66-year-old to how he wants his football played.
Jordan’s absolute support ignores the reality of a situation that is fast becoming critical.
A penalty for Dan James early could have changed things, but the effect on the players of routinely being scored on so heavily cannot be positive when belief is so crucial to getting out of a tough spot like this one.
Knee-jerk calls for the manager to be sacked make little sense at this point, as the club has hitched itself to the former Argentina manager for good or for ill up until this point.
But it is fair to criticise an outlook that appears to be setting his side up to fail currently.
Compromise in the face of injuries and bad form seems crucial in order to preserve Premier League football for next season and regroup in the summer.
In other Leeds United news, former Whites man Harry Kewell was shocked by what he saw as surrender at Anfield.