Joey Barton is not the sort of guy to hand out compliments all too regularly yet he cannot speak fondly enough of the Leeds United side who took the Premier League by storm under Marcelo Bielsa.
It is usually the testament of a extraordinary manager when they attract a reputation for turning pretty average players into largely great ones.
In the same season Scott Parker suffered relegation at Fulham despite boasting such talents as Aleksandr Mitrovic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Joachim Andersen and Ademola Lookman, Marcelo Bielsa guided a ragtag bunch of journeymen and EFL regulars to a top-half Premier League finish.
Of that 2020/21 squad, only one of Bielsa’s starters – now-Barcelona talisman Raphinha – has gone on to bigger and better things.
The spell Bielsa held over the likes of Luke Ayling, Liam Cooper and Patrick Bamford – once a 17-goal-a-season Premier League marksman – soon withered away once the enigmatic Argentine was replaced by the unpopular Jesse Marsch.
Kalvin Phillips, in the space of only three years, has gone from England’s Player of the Year to a loanee at Ipswich Town.
And while Jack Harrison may still be playing top-flight football at Everton these days, the winger’s returns are in stark contrast to his numbers at Elland Road.
Jack Harrison ‘dreadful at Everton’ as Joey Barton reminisces about Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United
In two Premier League seasons at Leeds United, Harrison notched 21 goals or assists combined. In a year-and-a-half at Goodison Park, he has just three apiece.
Harrison is yet to get off the mark in 2024/25 either, Everton’s long-suffering fanbase quickly running out of patience with a footballer who, lest we forget, has a first division hat-trick to show for his time at Leeds.
Even Joey Barton, football’s Morrissey-obsessed Mr Miserable, cannot speak highly enough of the remarkable job Bielsa did with a largely limited group.
“I thought Leeds, when Bielsa had them, they were a bit open to watch but you’d like watching Leeds even though they struggled and Bielsa ended up losing his job,” the former Newcastle, Manchester City and Burnley midfielder recalls.
“I remember the early part and they were a breath of fresh air, you know, the way they played. They took the game to everybody and they had some really good young players in the team like Kalvin Phillips.
“[Philips] has struggled really at Ipswich. He struggled at Man City. But he became an England international at Leeds.
“Even Jack Harrison, he’s been dreadful at Everton but at Leeds he looked a handful. They had the boy Luke Ayling who played for Yeovil before playing for Leeds, and he was a nuisance. Patrick Bamford…
“They weren’t these incredible players. But, as a team and as a unit, I thought they were a breath of fresh air when Bielsa got them back to the top-flight.”
Harrison future uncertain as Everton open Aston Villa talks
Harrison, of course, technically remains a Leeds United player.
The Stoke-born 28-year-old is back at Everton for a second loan spell, albeit without a purchase clause in his contract. Without a goal or an assist all season, and having recently lost his starting spot to Jesper Lindstrom, it feels far from likely that The Toffees would look to trigger any ‘option-to-buy’ clause if it existed in the first place.
Harrison could slip further down Sean Dyche’s pecking order soon too. Everton are in talks to sign Aston Villa’s Jaden Philogene this month.
Yet, with Dyche a manager who tends to value perspiration over inspiration, Harrison could still have an important role to play at Everton. What he lacks in end product, the Toffees boss feels he makes up for with sheer work ethic.
“I’ve been trying to instil that [work ethic],” Dyche said in December. “What about the work that fans don’t see? What about the work that we see and that your teammates see?
“That’s a really powerful thing in-house. It’s good to see them guys coming up and going; ‘right. I’m ready to do the shift’.
“Jack Harrison has his question marks [but] he does an enormous shift. His tactical understanding is excellent. He’s up with the best. Put him in the number ten and he knows the role. Put him out wide and he knows the role, without shadow of a doubt.”
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