Leeds United are hovering just above the relegation places, but who’s to blame? The smart money is on just about everybody.
It was a crucial moment for Leeds United, but just how crucial remains to be seen. They were in the 92nd minute against Brighton & Hove Albion on Sunday afternoon when, following a fruitless and frustrating match, Pascal Struijk headed down and in to salvage a precious point in their ongoing scrap against relegation. Elland Road erupted. Every single person inside that stadium knew exactly how important this goal was.
Earlier in the afternoon, Burnley had come the width of a post and a contentious penalty kick (a whole other conversation) from taking an unexpected point from a trip to Tottenham Hotspur, but the end result was that they’d come away with nothing. Struijk’s late header lifted Leeds above Burnley by that single precious point. Later in the afternoon, Everton went Full Everton against Brentford.
It wasn’t meant to be like this. Leeds went into this season having had a successful first year back in the Premier League following a long absence. That success led some to believe that further improvement was possible, that Leeds had the potential to challenge for European football or perhaps even barge their way towards the top six.
But things couldn’t have worked out much more different. Leeds lost 5-1 on the opening day of the season at Manchester United, a grim result which perhaps should have been seen as a portent for the rest of their season. Bielsa lasted until the end of February, eventually undone by a leaky defence that couldn’t be plugged and horrendous injuries, possibly exacerbated by the manager’s punishing training schedule.
Jesse Marsch was his replacement. American and with no experience in the Premier League, unkind comparisons with Ted Lasso were inevitable, but Marsch is a manager bred in the laboratory of a very well-known energy drinks company, with more than 400 MLS games under his belt, two…
Click Here to Read the Full Original Article at Football365…