Marching on together means nothing without Marcelo Bielsa leading the charge

The Peacocks won the last First Division league title and that meant that they were one of the first sides that had to be included when the First division broke apart and formed a Premier league. Then as if that wasn’t enough, Leeds United then proceeded to be entertainers and rather wonderful ones at that. The 4-3 game against Liverpool in the 2000/01 season, the 4-3 against Derby County in 97, the 1-0 against Liverpool in 95 and countless others. Move into Europe and the list grows because, for all the jokes, Leeds were actually a good side in European competitions.

Elland Road was sold, the club faced bankruptcy and forced into the League One via points deductions and simple mismanagement. But they defied all odds and somehow walked back into the Championship and have been stuck there for the last decade. Not anymore, or at least that is what it looks like. All it took was a manager - one man to walk in and change everything. He implemented changes across all levels including the U-18s, brought back a dying fanbase and injected them with hope. As if that wasn’t enough, he has given them hope that the Premier League is what they deserve once again.

But more importantly, he’s turned them into a side who can and are challenging for automatic promotion in the most entertaining way possible. That’s the way Marcelo Biesla works. He entertains, bemuses, and in his own idealistic way, he brings about change to the footballing world. He did it at Marseille, at Athletic Bilbao, with Argentina and Chile and even in that short short short spell with Lazio. Because somehow this perfectionist, obsessive and forever eccentric bucket sitting man turned out to be the perfect appointment for Leeds.

His first season at Elland Road ended in such a dramatic way that Amazon made a documentary on it. Spygate, that quadruple-header against Derby County and then that Aston Villa game. Just imagine, all it would have taken was a win on the final day against Aston Villa to ensure automatic promotion but then Leeds United scored a goal in an unsportsmanlike way. It’s the moment that encapsulated what Marcelo Bielsa is all about, he asked his side to let Villa score. And they did with only Pontus Jansson stopping that from happening and now he’s at Brentford.

But for the sake of their very own essence itself, for the spirt of Leeds United, the club need to find a way to keep Bielsa at the club. Because, there is an inkling that without the Argentine, Leeds may never play this well again. But more importantly, they may never have a better chance at promotion and becoming relevant again. Amidst all this chaos of a global pandemic, that is the one thing that Leeds have to figure out. A way to tie the free and the mystical Marcelo Bielsa at the club for a third season.

They’ll have to convince a man who has never spent three years at a club to do the impossible and spend the three years at the club. They’ll have to tell him, that in the hypothetical situation their season is voided, that he’ll have to do it all again with little to no changes to his squad. If the season isn’t voided that’s another question altogether, but that “if” is possibly the biggest of them all. If their work this season does mean something then they've got a promotion on their cards and the Premier League will welcome them with open arms.

More out of sheer interest about Marcelo Bielsa and Leeds but also to pit themselves against the “so-called” best boss in the world. A manager that has Pep Guardiola and Mauricio Pochettino signing praises and the football will be thrilling and very entertaining at their best. At their worst, is where the problem lies with Bielsa’s brand of football and his stubbornness to never change will force Leeds into a few thrashings by the upperclassmen of the top tier. Even then ask any Leeds fan and they’ll tell you, Bielsa is the one.

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