da betsson： It’s been almost impossible to criticise anything Marcelo Bielsa has done during his time as Leeds United manager.
da apostebet： The Argentine has been a real revelation since taking the job at Elland Road, and while he’s pretty much not put a foot wrong since taking the job, guiding his team to the playoffs last term, there’s one thing that is constantly costing him.
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Of course, we’re talking about the injury crisis that has plagued the Whites ever since Bielsa’s appointment.
United were hampered on their promotion hunt last term by injuries, and this season there’s been a similar pattern emerging.
Leeds have lost Pablo Hernandez and Liam Cooper for extended periods this term, and even this weekend they’re affected by knocks to Patrick Bamford, Barry Douglas and Ezgjan Alioski.
Bielsa’s system of helping players return from injury has come under fire in recent times as he allows his hurt players to spend time with the U23s before rejoining the first team.
This way of working has caused further problems for some players. Hernandez picked up another injury in his latest outing with the U23s and Cooper limped off earlier this week.
Our team of writers have attempted to analyse the Argentine’s way of thinking, and they’ve given their views on whether or not he’s right to use the U23s in this way.
Matt Dawson “Marcelo Bielsa’s decision to play senior figures in his U23 side is rather nonsensical. It benefited the academy hugely in the opening weeks of their campaign as they went five matches unbeaten when the likes of Helder Costa and Eddie Nketiah were playing for them. However, since the younger members started to play a more prominent role, their form dropped off. “This could have been down to many factors, one of which might have been due to their limited minutes when surrounded by first-team regulars in Carlos Corberan’s side. It’s all well and good building their fitness but that seems to have been completely counterproductive this term.“Pablo Hernandez returned to action the day before a Championship clash and subsequently got another injury for the U23s. Liam Cooper then picked up a knock earlier this week. On that evidence, it’s a bad idea and has to be stopped. Playing them at a lower level seems foolish. At the end of the day, U23 action is for the younger players to develop their games, not for the elder statesmen.” Billy Meyers
“This is something that Bielsa must stop doing.
“It’s all well and good giving your players a few minutes here and there to get back up to speed with things, but if key players such as Pablo Hernandez are going to miss first-team matches due to injuries picked up in U23 games, then what’s the point?
“The former Marseille boss would be much better off simply allowing them to make a full recovery and then easing them back with some first-team minutes off the bench. This is rather than needlessly risking them in U23 games where youth players may want to up their game against seasoned professionals, which could potentially lead to them going in harder on the experienced duo and other players of the same ilk.
“Bielsa must find a different way to ease his stars back into action.”
Vijievan Jeevathayalan
“Injuries are so incredibly difficult to predict, and so Marcelo Bielsa’s sentiment behind slowly easing his returning players into action through a less demanding environment like the U23s is perfectly understandable.
“The Leeds boss has been in and around the game long enough to know the scientific intricacies behind getting a footballer into peak match fitness, and instead of throwing them to the lions in an intense and physical Championship fixture, he has quite smartly brought them back through a different way.
“The setbacks suffered by Pablo Hernandez and Liam Cooper are just sheer bad luck, and placing the blame on Bielsa’s shoulders would be a major oversight.
“Not everything works out to perfection, and so there can be no question the Leeds manager has got his priorities straight with his use of the U23s and returning players.”
Charles Jones
“I think that Bielsa has to put a stop to this once and for all.
“The Argentine knows how destructive injuries can be to a season as he suffered plenty of them in his first term at Elland Road, so why on earth would he continue with a strategy that simply puts his players at risk even more?
“I understand it when it’s a young player such as Jamie Shackleton as he doesn’t have too much experience at the top level, and match sharpness may be an issue, but when it’s someone like Pablo Hernandez or Liam Cooper it simply makes no sense as these are seasoned professionals who won’t miss a beat due to a couple of weeks on the sidelines.”