Marcelo Bielsa’s tenure at Leeds United was iconic. The legendary Argentine was so hell-bent on his tactics that one of his famous quotes ridiculed the idea of having a plan B.
His man-to-man, relentless style of play won the hearts of Leeds fans as it got The Whites promoted with mediocre Championship players turning into Premier League-proven stars, finishing ninth in the top tier.
It saw Leeds fans completely back the Argentine’s tactics. His incessant desire to improve plan A and that plan B was refining plan A, with no room for another alternative to the way he had his Leeds side playing.
“I try to learn from those who propose an alternative plan. What I cannot do is change because my job is to try and convince the players, transmit what produces good results,” Bielsa once said, as per The YEP.
Graham Smyth poses Bielsa quote to boss Farke, he disagrees
The 1-0 defeat to Burnley saw Leeds fail to break down Scott Parker’s side despite a number of changes and even going to a back three. Burnley’s stubborn rearguard stopped Leeds in their search of a goal.
The YEP’s Smyth posed Bielsa’s famous quote to Farke and while The German heaped praise on the icon who is currently in charge of Uruguay, he said he disagreed with not having a plan B as a manager.
“I really like Marcelo, I like his attitude. He had may, many great quotes. I wouldn’t necessarily agree with not having a plan B. I think it’s important to be flexible,” Farke said, during Thursday’s press conference.
“This is why we changed our base formation, due to the load during the international break. We should have created more when we were so dominant, but Burnley are a well-structured side,” Farke added.
Leeds could be without as many as seven players on Saturday
Dan James is sidelined for Saturday’s clash against Cardiff, but six others are doubts for the clash on Saturday. Manor Solomon is the biggest doubt after picking up a back problem ahead of the match.
Farke also says that Joe Rothwell, Max Wober, Patrick Bamford, Joe Rodon and Junior Firpo could be out of the match this weekend. However, Farke did say he is optimistic about all six players being fit to play.
It might be that Solomon is on the bench while Rothwell, Wober and Bamford were not starting anyway. Rodon and Firpo are concerns, but Rodon is training and Sam Byram or Isaac Schmidt can replace Firpo.
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