It was time to go, but what memories he’s left us Leeds fans.
I’m talking, of course, about Marcelo Bielsa who left his post as Leeds manager last week after three and a half years in charge.
After recent results, you can’t blame the club. They had to take action or Leeds were facing a relegation scrap - so good luck to incoming manager Jesse Marsch. He looks and sounds like a smart cookie, so I’m more than hopeful he can turn things round.
However, for Bielsa, injuries took their toll. The spine of the team had crumbled - Patrick Bamford, Kalvin Phillips and Liam Cooper were big misses - and Leeds were running on empty it seemed.
Even so, Bielsa just didn’t want to change things.
You have to admire his stubbornness in many ways. He had his way of playing, free-flowing and high-energy, but they punish you in the Premier League if you leave space - and his teams were leaving acres of space.
Getting Leeds out of the Championship was amazing, though, and that first year in the Premier League was incredible.
But I’ll take you back to the season before - to January 6, 2020, and an FA Cup third round clash.
Leeds lined up against Arsenal. Leeds were a Championship side, Arsenal a Premier League powerhouse - but Leeds ran rings round them in the first half.
That night they showed Arsenal - and other teams no doubt - a brand new way of playing football called Bielsaball. They might have lost on the night to the strength in depth of the Gunners, but had made a huge impression.
They became, in the space of the 45 minutes of that first half, everyone’s favourite second team. Their football was fresh and fast, direct and breathtaking.
They had teams staring like a rabbits in headlights with high-pressing tactics, forcing them into making passes they weren’t used to doing, causing mistakes and then breaking loose.
But in time the best managers sussed how to play against this - and Bielsa had no answers it seemed. Or maybe, this season, he just didn’t have the players.
I’m not going to criticise him. He’s gone now and Leeds can re-build and consolidate their position in the Premier League. That means not shipping goals and playing in a less cavalier-style.
They need to shore things up and protect the goal. Their recent results have been horrendous, conceding far too many goals. They need some steel in front of the defence, need to scrap for everything - they need to find the missing link.
Leeds fans, I’ve got my boots ready. Jesse, just give me a call.
It’s the FA Cup fifth round this week across Tuesday, Wednesday and Thursday and those lovely people at Easyodds have all the best advice - but make sure to check out MY weekend predictions below.
The headline-maker is the Manchester Derby on Sunday - and surely City will be too good. But they got lucky against Everton with the handball incident - which was as clear-cut as any I’ve seen.
What are these guys doing? What do they see that we don’t?
With all the technology and angles at their disposal it makes no sense - unless they’re sitting at Stockley Park in virtual reality headsets or playing Subbuteo on the side. What else could they be doing?
You can see why Everton have written to the Premier League asking for an explanation. They are close to the relegation zone so you’d hate to think one point could make the difference because they should be alright - but you never know.
Anyway, hope Lamps can get something out of their game at Spurs on Monday, but it’ll not be easy.
Check out my fancies below.
We went close with Daniel Berger in the Honda Classic - very close! He was five shots clear heading into the final round but blew it - so well done Austria’s Sepp Straka who edged out Shane Lowry.
This week the PGA Tour moves on to the Arnold Palmer Invitational at Bay Hill where Bryson DeChambeau is the defending champ after a great battle with Lee Westwood last year. It’d be great to see Lee go one better, it really would.
However, Vinnie’s Three Off The Tee this week are Tyrrell Hatton, Max Homa and Corey Connors, while in the DP Tour return for the Kenya Open my picks are defending champ Justin Harding, Marcus Armitage and Shubhankar Sharma.
All the best, folks, and see you next week.
Vinnie.
Vinnie Jones Predictions
Premier League
3pm unless stated
Saturday
Leicester v Leeds 12.30 DRAW
Aston Villa v Southampton VILLA WIN
Burnley v Chelsea CHELSEA WIN
Newcastle United v Brighton & Hove Albion NEWCASTLE WIN
Norwich City v Brentford DRAW
Wolverhampton Wanderers v Crystal Palace PALACE WIN
Liverpool v West Ham United 5.30 LIVERPOOL WIN
Sunday
Watford v Arsenal 2pm WATFORD WIN
Manchester City v Manchester United 4.30 CITY WIN
Monday
Tottenham Hotspur v Everton 8pm DRAW
Golf
Arnold Palmer Invitational
Tyrrell Hatton
Max Homa
Corey Connors
Kenya Open
Justin Harding
Marcus Armitage
Shubhankar Sharma
