Leeds United fans were left in a state of shock in recent weeks when it was reported by The Athletic that Bournemouth were considering appointing Marcelo Bielsa as their new manager.
The Cherries had been without a permanent boss since August after Scott Parker left the club. Gary O’Neil had taken the role on an interim basis. And he had done extremely well.
Nevertheless, it seemed that there was a good chance that the Argentinian may end up taking over at the Vitality Stadium. Sky Sports reported in mid-November that Bielsa had held positive talks with the club.
Bournemouth announcement a relief after Marcelo Bielsa links
It was a worrying thought. But ultimately, the club decided to stick with O’Neil.
The Cherries confirmed on Sunday that the retired midfielder will continue in the role. And with that, Bielsa continues to look for his next post following his departure from Elland Road earlier this year.
Now of course, there is a real sense of intrigue to see where Bielsa goes next. Certainly, many Leeds fans will follow whichever team he takes charge of.
But it must be said that it is a real relief that he is not going to Bournemouth.
Seeing him work with another Premier League side would have been extremely difficult – particularly when that side is languishing in the bottom-half with us.
It was special that Leeds were the club in England who managed to persuade Bielsa to these shores. And it seemed impossible to imagine him managing anyone else in the country once it became clear that Leeds and Bielsa were going to enjoy success together.
Jesse Marsch probably did not need Bielsa returning to the Premier League either.
The jury is still out on the American somewhat. But what you cannot question is how well he handled such a difficult situation upon his arrival.
Not only was he taking over a team which looked destined for relegation, but he was taking over from a manager whose departure was mourned by many like they had lost a family member.
It says everything about Bielsa’s connection with the fans that there was no great discontent from the stands as we were getting beaten 6-0 by Liverpool and 4-0 by Tottenham in what would prove to be his final two games.
So for Marsch to galvanise the club in the way he did was extraordinary. But the pressure on him would have surely increased had Bielsa taken over the team one place above us in the table.
Certainly, it would have been harder for Marsch to keep the fans on side if Leeds started the second-half of the season poorly while Bielsa showed signs of transforming the Cherries.
Selfishly, it is a relief that Bielsa is not taking over at another Premier League club – for now.
For some reason, much of English football never made the effort to understand why we loved Bielsa so much – even though so many of the reasons why were blindingly obvious.
That, in many ways, made him absolutely perfect for Leeds. So seeing him take change of another English side would have been tough to take.
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