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da bet sport： 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…
At Leeds, Marcelo Bielsa can often be seen sitting on a bucket during matches. During his time in France, it would be a cool box.
Yet, after their 1-1 draw with Derby at the weekend, it’s unlikely that the Argentine would have felt cool at all, throwing his arms up in gesticulation as a late equaliser from Chris Martin had him wondering where things went wrong.
This was a typical Leeds performance this season. Dominate the entire game but somehow end up with fewer points than they would have wanted.
It’s now two home games in a row where the Whites have done exactly that. Against Swansea they had 21 attempts on goal and over 60% of the possession but somehow lost.
Against Derby, they should have been out of sight before drawing 1-1.
Patrick Bamford hit the post and Mateusz Klich lacked composure as he side-footed a penalty wide of the target.
In the first half, they had nine shots and registered 132 passes in the opposition half. The Rams, meanwhile, had just one and completed only 33 passes in Leeds’ third according to WhoScored.
That was a measure of just how good the hosts looked. Nothing went too wrong until the penalty incident. Bielsa’s men were cruising but failed to take their chances.
For that reason, the 64-year-old needs to wake up and change his policy, introducing players with more end product to the side.
This season he’s only made four changes to his Championship starting XIs, despite calls from supporters to play both Eddie Nketiah and Helder Costa.
But as Jack Harrison limped through a first 45 minutes where five of his crosses failed to create any chance of merit, they watched on from the bench.
The Manchester City loanee hasn’t scored since the opening weekend of the campaign while Bamford has now gone three games without scoring.
For the good of the team, Bielsa needs to start being less stubborn and field his best possible team.
If Leeds want to amend where they went wrong last term they simply have to wake up and that begins with the manager.
He hasn’t done a great deal wrong during his time in west Yorkshire but cracks have started to appear in Leeds’ armoury.
This performance should serve as a wake-up call. No matter how well you play, if the quality is ultimately lacking in the final third, you’re not going to win games of football.
Arguably, Costa, who has three assists this term and Nketiah, who has four goals, could have provided those key individual moments if they started.
Surely he cannot ignore them any longer.