da betway： This article is part of Football FanCast’s Opinion series, which provides analysis, insight and opinion on any issue within the beautiful game, from Paul Pogba’s haircuts to League Two relegation battles…
da bet7： Marcelo Bielsa is rarely criticised for anything, but one thing that he has regularly been called in recent times is stubborn.
It’s a fair summary to say that the Argentine doesn’t like straying away from what he knows.
Indeed, seven players have started every single league game for Leeds this season, but the Argentine’s recent admission may show that his unwillingness to rotate could be dangerous in terms of squad depth.
Watch Leeds United Videos With StreamFootball.tv Below
On Thursday, the Argentine made some comments about a former player that were rather eye-opening.
“Izzy Brown suffered when he was here with us. He lost his self-esteem here in Leeds, and the process we made with him was worrying. We believed the opposite, that we were working with him with all our attention and trying to improve him.” Bielsa said.
“That made us think about our methods and ability because one player like him is a success in Luton and not a success with us, then we have to learn Luton’s staff has achieved something we couldn’t.
“Brown, when he was with us, he had some feeling we ignored in these times and we couldn’t make him better.”
Bielsa says that he has to learn what the Luton staff have achieved with Brown that he couldn’t, but the answer is seemingly higher-up in his response.
[ad_pod ]
The midfielder lost his self-esteem, and that’s surely down to the lack of game time he got at Leeds.
He made just two appearances for the Whites, and while having an unwanted player on the books isn’t too big of a problem, the end of Brown’s career shows exactly why Bielsa needs to manage his players’ happiness better.
Brown’s second appearance for Leeds was in arguably their most important game of the last decade as he came on as a late sub against Derby in the Whites’ 4-2 loss in the playoff semi-final second leg.
Understandably, Brown did very little as we now know his confidence was shot from his treatment throughout the season.
A happy and motivated midfielder could have been a huge help in that game as his good form this season has shown he’s unplayable on his day with six assists to his name already.
However, Bielsa’s reluctance to play him throughout the season came back to bite him, and perhaps that’s a lesson the Argentine needs to learn.
Leeds could very well end up in a similar position this season if they need to call on the likes of Eddie Nketiah or Jack Clarke after months of being overlooked, but if they come into the team with no confidence they won’t be able to make the desired impact.
Bielsa should consider rotating more often, not just to keep his players happy, but also to keep his own options open.
Meanwhile, Phil Hay has backed Leeds to sign one loanee permanently.