When the final whistle went at St Mary’s Stadium to bring to an end a dire 90 minutes of football for Leeds United, there was a strange murmur in the away end. At least, the usually buoyant traveling fans from West Yorkshire who normally sing in defiance regardless of the result instead exchanged anxious glances and puffed out their cheeks before exhaling deeply. The sun may have been shining on the south coast but there was very little to cheer about for those few thousand fans now facing a six-hour journey home.
Leeds, affected by injury and the need to rest key players after the international break, ended up giving Saints their first league win of the campaign. The Southampton game was followed by a 1-1 home draw against Wolves over the weekend, although that would’ve also ended in defeat for the hosts if not for a late stoppage time penalty by Rodrigo. They’re also out of the League Cup following a 2-0 defeat to Arsenal in midweek. Their next fixture, against fellow strugglers Norwich, now shapes up as a massive clash.
The game against Southampton perhaps the worst that their team had ever played under Marcelo Bielsa. If you wanted further proof of the fallout, then take a look at the most recent football odds from Paddy Power where Leeds’ odds of being relegated have been slashed to 13/2. Granted, the latest football predictions still don’t forecast a Leeds relegation as a certainty just yet but it’s worth keeping in mind that before Leeds flew down to Southampton, they had been priced at 8/1 to go down. In fact, we could go back even further to before the season got underway at Old Trafford for Leeds and recall that they were as far out as 12/1 to be relegated.
So with this alarming trend in mind and with the Whites struggling more than ever, has the time come to prepare for life after Bielsa?
It should be said that this is a question that is still greeted with unrepeatable vitriol when asked in Leeds Twitter circles with a large part of the fanbase only too happy to aggressively dismiss this notion. Perhaps there is an element of the social media site’s notoriety in this uncompromising view in the sense that it is a bit of an echo chamber where black and white views are the order of the day. But the truth is that the Leeds manager is 66 and won’t be in West Yorkshire forever, the time will eventually come when a new manager will be in the dugout at Elland Road.
This is where the fierce reaction comes from given that no one is ready to say goodbye to Bielsa’s all-or-nothing philosophy and see it replaced by something more moderate. It has of course been the cornerstone of Leeds’ revival and promotion from the Championship. Indeed, Bielsa’s pulsating football has been the bedrock of the good times at Elland Road after decades of underachieving.
Sadly though, Bielsa’s mesmerizing football is not exempt from being part of the proven concept that all good things come to an end and it feels like that time is approaching after Leeds’ dreadful performance against Southampton.
The good news is that life goes on and the Leeds faithful only need to look at how much fun West Ham fans are having under David Moyes and how much Brighton fans are loving life under Graham Potter. These are two managers whose philosophies are regularly scoffed at but then again, you seemingly don’t have to have an unyielding football philosophy to get results or put smiles on people’s faces. Perhaps the time for a bit more moderation at Elland Road has arrived, it may just ensure Leeds another season in the Premier League.