"Longing for a return" - Leeds United's Marcelo Bielsa regret lingers | OneFootball

The Argentine was sacked after Leeds failed to back him during their time in the Premier League

This article is part of Football League World's 'Terrace Talk' series, which provides personal opinions from our FLW Fan Pundits regarding the latest breaking news, teams, players, managers, potential signings and more…

Leeds Untied fans have been through more than most in recent years, with the club having its fair share of ups and downs since the turn of the century.

From Champions League semi-finals to financial ruin, and getting the club back from the brink of extinction, there has been plenty of turmoil for those at Elland Road to overcome to get to where they are today.

Whites fans will look back on plenty of sliding doors moments throughout their history with varying degrees of regret, but it is perhaps a more recent decision by the club’s hierarchy that has had the most telling of impacts.

As we take a short walk down memory lane, we got the opinion of Football League World’s United fan pundit Kris Smith to ruminate on his side’s decision to part ways with El Loco.

Leeds United will still regret Marcelo Bielsa decision

Marcelo Bielsa was the man to make Leeds United fans dream again, with the Argentinian transforming the fortunes of a club who were still licking their wounds after more than a decade outside of the top flight.

After the club had almost driven itself into the ground in search of Premier League and European success, this was a side looking to get back to the top flight, but eight successive seasons in the Championship was evidence of that feat being much easier said than done.

That was until Bielsa took control of things at Elland Road, with his enigmatic yet loveable demeanour bringing back an identity to Leeds that had been oft-missed for the better part of 15 years.

Once again, players were playing with a smile on their face, with an initial play-off setback to Derby County eventually overcome with a Championship-winning season in the 2019/20 campaign.

From then on, Leeds were flying, and took the Premier League by force in the season that followed, with the likes of Raphinha, Patrick Bamford and co. a breath of fresh air as they achieved a top half finish in the Premier League.

But with reinvestment in playing staff unbecoming, Bielsa’s [pictured] one-time infallible folk were struggling, with the Argentinian being hung out to dry by the powers that be, before being given the axe.

In terms of mistakes the club has made, it still stands out above plenty that has gone on at Elland Road in the past, with Smith still seeing it as a regretful decision to this day.

The Whites fan said: “If you look at things the club might regret, if you want to go as far back as the early 2000s, the overspending that eventually put us on the brink of liquidation has to be considered.

“But more recently, the sacking of Marcelo Bielsa has to be the standout, especially given that the 49ers - who are currently our majority owners - were on the board when that decision was made.

“He also told the board in 2021 - after we had just finished ninth in the Premier League - that his squad was in dire need of serious investment, with several signings needed to maintain their level, and he was given two: Dan James and Junior Firpo.

“That was just not nearly good enough, and then to get no one in January just before his exit summed up just how badly Bielsa was treated really.

“We obviously then replaced him with Jesse Marsch, who kept the side up by the skin of his teeth, but then failed once huge money was put behind him for a rebuild in the following summer.”

Leeds United are still feeling the effect of Marcelo Bielsa dismissal

It may be over two years since he said goodbye to Elland Road for the final time, but United have never fully recovered from the debacle that saw Bielsa leave the club.

With Jesse Marsch, Javi Gracia, Sam Allardyce and now Daniel Farke all sitting in the dugout at one time or another since February 2022, the club still find themselves in the second tier, having missed out on a return to the Premier League last season.

With question marks still surrounding Farke after play-off final defeat last season, Smith believes the club will never live down the fact they let one of their finest managers of a generation depart as soon as the waters started to get choppy.

He continued: “Now we are in the Championship after being relegated, and we are looking at another manager in Daniel Farke who has his successes, but he is dividing opinion in terms of the longevity that he will have in the job.

“Most fans are constantly longing for a return to the standards of football that Bielsa brought to us, and the joy in terms of watching Leeds United that Bielsa brought.

“We might have been relegated in 2022 if we didn’t sack Bielsa and he stayed, but the manner in which we went down in sacking Marsch, then sacking Gracia, and then appointing Sam Allardyce, it really meant nothing that we sacked Bielsa, because we went down anyway with a whimper.”