Leeds United is a club with a proud history and most of it related to the years under Don Revie’s leadership. Revie left Leeds United 45 years ago, back in 1974, after lifting the League trophy and becoming the new England manager.
Since Revie’s retirement at Leeds United things have not really been the same, with shocking manager appointments and difficult days most of the time. The total shambles started just hours after Don Revie left his chair, appointing Brian Clough as manager.
Players didn’t want Brian Clough, they didn’t want anyone really, anyone else than Don Revie. They had grown up with him as a leader and everything died at Leeds that day Revie left Elland Road.
It’s been a few up’s with the league won again in 1991/92, and also reaching the Champions League Semi’s 10 years after, but again a really rollercoaster ride with no real momentum, no solid and concrete ground to build a foundation on.
The fact that they managed to get hold on Marcelo Bielsa, a mastermind of a football leader and at the same time a guy who is a genuine football lover and romantic, that just suits Leeds United.
But there has been shadows and there will be in the times coming up with a man who is obsessed with winning and doing almost everything, including spying on other teams, and knowing everything about their opponent, almost everything.
Bielsa’s way of analysing a football game, other players, systems and numbers makes you wonder if this is so complicated, if he is the best thing for football and so far other strategies has worked better. The once of Guardiola and Klopp, but all in all, they have used money Bielsa doesn’t have and that makes the perspective doesn’t it.
Leeds United, the iconing words, that great team in white and some times in yellow, that legacy of Bremner, Giles, Lorimer and Clarke. The club that we really miss in the top flight, but we want them to be like they were, like we knew them. not a team build up by former Liverpool players, and legends in red.
Robbie Fowler, Ian Rush and Dom Matteo all more known from Liverpool than Leeds, became players that few or no one looking at the club history would say was Leeds through and through, and that is not the way Leeds United should look.
The need to get back to their DNA and with Marcelo Bielsa they are building a new future a new Leeds United, the team under Bielsa is starting to get shaped and we surely can see a great pattern and a new and strong identity under the new and “mythical” leader.
Leeds are looking as they will be back in the Premier League next season, and we have missed them, more than any other team in football. They were last seen in the top flight back in 2003-04, and it’s time to get them back.
A number of players such as Bamford, Roofe, Phillips and Kliche will be known as Leeds United players, since they all are getting to their best in a Leeds shirt, and hopefully will be among the players Bielsa will build on next season, just as Don Revie did when he took Leeds United up.
It was no shopping bonanza back then, just slotting in the one or two needed to really get the team going. The backbone of the team was there to see, the foundation to build up on and hopefully Bielsa will do the same.
Recent games are very positive, with wins at home to Sheffield Wednesday and away against Preston North End. Playing with possession and in a good way carving out results needed to see that shining light at the end of the season.
On Friday Wigan will come to visit and hopefully three new points will be collected. Brentford, Aston Villa and Ipswich Town are the three games left after that and hopefully Leeds United and Marcelo Bielsa will reach the holy land and start preparing for a life at the top, exciting to follow, best of luck.
