Leeds United’s deeply unpopular decision to sack legendary manager Marcelo Bielsa midway through last season set in motion a chain of events that eventually led to the club’s relegation back to the Championship, Clinton Morrison believes.
The Sky Sports pundit pointed out that the Argentine ‘took that club to a different level’ – as demonstrated by Bielsa having taken over an under-achieving Championship club, ending a 16-year wait for Premier League football, and then claiming a top-half finish in their first season back in the top flight.
Leeds United sacked Bielsa in February last year to bring in Jesse Marsch as his replacement, but the American was himself dismissed after less than a year in the job. Michael Skubala then had a three-game run as caretaker boss before Javi Gracia came in for a short-lived stint, with Sam Allardyce seeing out the season with a winless four-game spell that confirmed the dreaded drop.
Read more: How Leeds United house Bielsa built crumbled leaving Radrizzani to deliver final act club deserves
Morrison believes that not only was dismissing Bielsa the wrong move to begin with, but that then getting rid of Marsch without having a clear succession plan in place effectively doomed them tot he drop.
Speaking on Sky Sports News, Morrison said: “The one thing I would say…when they were looking for a new manager, Gracia coming in, that was a big struggle and they proved it wasn’t the right appointment. They lost 5-1 to Crystal Palace who were in a bad place at the time and [conceded] six to Liverpool, so it has been a big struggle for Leeds.
“They didn’t have a plan – and if they do have a plan, make sure you’ve got the right manager to come and if not, stick with Jesse Marsch until you get the right person. But I’ve said all along I would never have got rid of Bielsa. I think Bielsa took that club to a different level.
“You’ve always be compared to Bielsa but Jesse Marsch went in there and last season kept them up last game of the season against Brentford, but they had different players there – the likes of Raphinha and [Kalvin] Phillips, and I do believe they missed Tyler Adams massively in midfield. I think he was a huge blow for them because they do get over-run a lot in midfield.
“It’s been a struggle for them but they’ll bounce back, Leeds. It’s a big football club. The fans are disappointed – but it’s going to be hard in the Championship next season because there’s a lot of good sides in the Championship [and] a lot of sides will want to beat them.”
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