da bet nacional： This article is part of Football FanCast’s Pundit View series, which provides opinion and analysis on recent quotes from journalists, pundits, players and managers…
da betsson： Marcelo Bielsa refused to accept that his substitutions ended up costing his side three points against Cardiff, instead blaming himself for another aspect that he got wrong.
What did he say?
The Argentine has had a lot of success because of the way he thinks about the game, but his alternative look at why Leeds dropped a three-goal lead is rather surprising.
He made a bold call to take off two important players in Gaetano Berardi and Patrick Bamford, after which his side conceded two goals, yet he believes that was just down to coincidence.
Speaking in his post-match press conference, as reported by LeedsLive, he said:
“I don’t think the subs had impact in a good or bad sense. The resolution of the match wasn’t related with the players. It was the characteristics of the players.
“The substitution of Nketiah was about refreshing the attack. I think Bamford did a big effort. Even if he didn’t show he was weaker, he was having less impact on the match.”
Instead, he points to a lack of preparation in order to deal with the opponent’s threat, and suggested that was one of the reason’s why youngster Pascal Struijk was brought on.
Bielsa highlighted Cardiff’s physicality and height in the box as a big threat of the visitors, and believed that the centre-back would help to counter that danger, but he couldn’t prevent the comeback.
“What we have to do is know what’s going to happen and we couldn’t resolve it.
“I clearly feel the preparation for this match wasn’t enough.”
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Stubborn view
Bielsa has a steadfast approach to management and his refusal to give up on certain players, most notably Patrick Bamford and Kiko Casilla, has been repaid in recent weeks by improved performances.
However, on this occasion his failure to realise and understand his mistakes is a worry, and hints at a bit of delusion on the part of the Leeds boss.
While hindsight is a wonderful thing, taking off Bamford and Berardi clearly led to a drop in defensive work rate and intensity, and the Whites were punished as a result.
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Eddie Nketiah simply doesn’t offer the same line of defence that his striking counterpart does, and the inexperience of Struijk was found out when Robert Glatzel took advantage of his poor positioning to smash home the equaliser.
Since Bielsa believes he did little wrong it is possible that he will continue to make such spontaneous decisions with his subs, and that means more young players could take to the pitch when it isn’t really the right occasion for them – and Leeds could drop points once again as a result.
His willingness to hand minutes to young players should be admired but not if it comes as a detriment to the team like it did against Cardiff, so it is a concern that he didn’t see a lot wrong with his late decisions.
Elsewhere, the improved performances of Patrick Bamford will at least please the Argentine, as fans are certainly enjoying the improvement he has made recently.