‘Ultimately’ – Leon Osman says Leeds sacking Marcelo Bielsa was right decision
Leeds United had to make a decision based on staying in the Premier League when they decided to sack Marcelo Bielsa, according to Leon Osman.
The Whites sacked Bielsa on Sunday after a run of nine losses in 12 games, following a 4-0 defeat to Tottenham which left them just two points above the relegation zone.
After the decision was made, former Everton midfielder Osman appeared on Match of the Day 2 as a pundit and said that the club were ‘dropping like a stone’ so the club needed to act, claiming relegation would be ‘detrimental’.
“There’s been a real connection between Leeds United and Marcelo Bielsa,” he said. “The journey that they’ve been on together, the love they have for each other, the entertainment that he’s brought to the club.
“But ultimately, they have to do what they can to try and stay in the Premier League.
“They’ve conceded far too many goals, it’s 20 this month, a Premier League record. They’ve conceded three or more in five consecutive games. They just look like they’re dropping like a stone.
“I think it would be really detrimental for Leeds if they were to drop back out of the Premier League so they need to do everything they can to stay.”
Huge
Make no mistake about it, whatever the club chose to do in this situation would’ve been a tough call.
If the owners and board didn’t remove Bielsa from his post and the club got relegated, then all eyes would’ve been on them for not doing anything when it was clear that they were in trouble.
If they had opted to wait longer and then sacked him, if they’d gone down then they would have been criticised for not making the decision earlier in the season.
Now that they’ve made the decision, they’re facing criticism for not standing by the man who got them back into the Premier League to begin with. Something had to change though.
The system was no longer working and while injuries were certainly a factor, Bielsa was too stubborn for his own good and it was costing the team valuable points. Time will tell if the decision was worthwhile though.
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