da pinnacle： 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： When you watch Leeds United this season it doesn’t look as if much has changed.
For better or worse, United seem to be playing a similar style of football to last season as they press hard and dominate possession on a weekly basis, but it’s now been revealed that there has been quite a change on the training ground.
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Indeed, Adam Pope live-tweeted from Marcelo Bielsa’s pre-Reading press conference, and the Argentine admitted that he’s less involved this season.
It’s quite a strange thing for a manager to admit, but Bielsa is Bielsa and you can never really predict what’s going to come out of his mouth at any given moment.
When you look at it, it kind of makes sense. The 64-year-old’s group of players are no longer learning his tactics as they are now instead trying to perfect them, and that isn’t as demanding a task for the squad.
However, that isn’t the greatest news for any new additions.
Of course, some new signings will have been brought in with the knowledge that their playstyles will ultimately suit what Bielsa’s system requires from them as Ben White is arguably Leeds’ Player of the Season so far as fans and journalists have both shared that sentiment.
But, others aren’t so lucky. The manager has previously admitted that his tactics aren’t suited to Helder Costa’s playstyle, the Argentine’s reduced involvement won’t have helped him get off to a good start at the club.
Indeed, the Wolves loanee has started poorly as he’s contributed to just one league goal this season.
In contrast, look at last season’s team, they got off to an electric start – losing just two of their opening 16 matches, after just a few months of training under the Argentine.
But if Costa hasn’t been given the same training regime as his teammates were last term he’s unlikely to get up to speed in terms of learning how to play in the way Bielsa wants him to.
In other news, Leeds fans have been discussing a signing they missed out on earlier this year.