From yesterday:
12.31pm: Here we go
Marcelo takes his seat.
On the manager of the month nomination - and Harrison up for the player award
It's no coincidence at comes of the moment of the competition when Leeds have a high impact, it's a link with a production of the players of course and on the team there are a lot of people who go with the players. To recognise the manager is one way to recognise everybody who is helping the team and more than help, having some impact and influence on the team but of course what's more important is the input of the players but we know that every team has different periods in the competition when you are better and worse,
On beating Hull when not playing that well
First of all we see if we deserve the victory, the second thing we have to see is the level of the opponent. And the third thing is the way we mark the difference. When we have played against Hull we knew that they were the best team making counter attacks and we had a lot of possession and we just suffered one counter attack and the other way the opponent counter attacks when you have one mistake in possession and after they recover the ball and counter attack fast, we controlled that well and we suffered just one situation of this kind. When you play a team like that that counter attacks you have one way to protect yourself, don't play in the opponent half or put the ball at risk, we played in the opponent's half, we had the ball and in this context we suffered two chances and after they had three situations with set pieces where we still suffer a little bit and we had them down to resolve it. But the general context in the match was a first half where we controlled the match without chances, we didn't have a lot of chances and after in the second half both teams attacked but we scored twice and we had more chances. In this context I think that it;s true that the performance was not one of the best ones but it was a good performance and a deserved victory but sometimes you can analyse the match in just one minute. Casilla made a great save and ten seconds later we scored a second time and that made the difference closer because we could have drawn the match there but ten seconds later we make more difference. This is making an opinion on one moment of the match. To analyse the play and the game you need to analyse the full match. We could have drawn but we won, we were lucky but after when you analyse the full match the conclusions are different
On the 11 point gap...
The difference that you are talking about is just one information about the reality. A team in the bottom of the table can beat the first in the table and the top of the table can lose points with the bottom of the table. The objective is not to talk about the past past or the future but just consider what is next and to try to resolve every match according to the characteristics that we face. It's not about them scoring and we have to score. This is just a phrase about the other team. Everybody wants to score. But after you play against different teams and different characteristics and our reality also changes every week.
Team news
Cooper is much better. And the rest of the injured players are not available - Shackleton and Tyler Roberts. (and Forshaw).
If there is any risk that he (Cooper) is not going to be 100 per cent we are not going to consider him.
[...]
https://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/sport/football/leeds-united/latest-leeds-united-news/leeds-united-v-cardiff-city-press-conference-recap-marcelo-bielsa-provides-positive-liam-cooper-injury-update-robbie-gotts-situation-explained-1339128
Bielsa Press Conference: Pre-Cardiff
posted on 13/12/19
On Struijk and young players at the club
There are different steps - being in the group of 24 players, the next step is being in the 18, the next step is have some minutes and after that get some minutes, take advantage of those minutes and the last objective and the most important play with regularity or become one of the 11 starters. So all this process is not a short process and that demands to work a lot, it's about opportunities, but what is really important is when I decide to put one young player on the pitch that he helps out. It;s not the same Phillips with Shackleton but every time Shackleton played he did well so the objective is we need to go step by step and have more players in the group of the 24 and 18 and 11 time by time.
An example, Davis is a great player he is full of future and full of resources and skills and so far it is Alioski, Douglas and Dallas who are playing. And maybe for this reality he is not inside the group of 11 but all the tendencies are good. In our first year in Leeds, in my opinion he was a player who was far from the first team and after he has worked with the team and been willing with a lot of effort and dedication, he gives everything, he never demands for nothing. After he start to become a better player and he strengthens some of the play that he didn't have before.
posted on 13/12/19
On players like Gotts, Davis
They must be patient because they don't have another chance. The other choice is decide not to be involved in the team or the other choice is show that they are better then the players playing. In Gotts' position. You have Dallas, Forshaw, Shackleton, Klich. In Gotts; situation I feel guilty about what is happening because he does everything to try to achieve his goal, even though he didn't have minutes on the pitch but the only way I have, I have to be convinced he is better than the options mentioned before and something that is true is how is he going to prove this if he doesn't have minutes and this situation is unfair for Gotts and is very very difficult for me to resolve. It is difficult but the reality is they are young players and they are forced to say nothing and accept what the manager is saying and this increases this feeling I have that I am worried about this. Gotts is in a special situation because he has got a lot less than what he deserved. But at the moment I am not finding one fair solution to resolve this. In another moment I said to Robbie that I really wish he stays with us but I will understand if he thought at this moment if he thought it was better to leave, I would understand that as well. But on other other hand I kept Gotts in the group because I believe that he has options but the situation that Gotts has options in the team doesn't mean I am going toi give him these minutes. This is more difficult when you have to manage the wishes of being human. Another thing it is difficult to leave Leeds, its not convenient to leave this club without thinking very well but I also understand that in some situations the timing is key. I admire Gotts for his skill and his human qualities but I can say the same of Forshaw, Dallas, Shackleton, Klich, all of them. But if in at any moment I think that Gotts has no chance to overcome these players I will comment to him. And if Gotts understands that he doesn't want to stay here in Leeds I will support him. I express myself a lot now in this situation because it is something that a lot off players are in the situation - i could say the same about McCalmont and other players too and I realise you ask for those players about the future of the young players, this model of thinking is for all the young players.
posted on 13/12/19
On Cardiff
No big difference, they change the results, it's a very British team in its way of playing and they really know how to play the model of play they have so it's not easy to face them. But is what is for them is for us as well. Leeds in a bad moment or a good moment or Cardiff in a good moment or a bad moment. To give an example, Brentford now are tenth in the table but a team who defend very well, very good offensive play, they create a lot of chances, they play well so if they are not in a better position in the table it's because they suffer the lack of regularity that every team has.
On promotion chances
The best team are the best team because always they understand that they can improve. When one team is top and are growing and developing the consequence is they can make things worse. There are teams that play with regularity. If you watch Liverpool they are no better, they are no worse, they always play well, that happens to the great teams but in our level we didn't get this stability, play similar in every match and build in every match the same desire or what we are able to do. This is part of the developing, playing according to what you are able to, with regularity that we haven't shown so far. In the last season we had good moments where we have done well in a lot of matches similar to now. What we have to show now is to keep this all the time where we play at the same level for a long period, more than a couple of matches.
On counter attacks
A counter attack is a characteristic in the game that is easy to do but it demands for the opponent to be in your half. To make this one style of play you need an opponent who is attacking and they have to attack in your half, that happens few times to us. It is not a characteristic of our team, it normally happens after set pieces when opponents are forced to be in our half, I would like to have empty spaces i their half to attack but it's not a real match this. That forces us in to a real match. We don't attack the opponent team so they can attack us and you don't attack us so we don't attack you. This is a real match and who resolves this - the team who wants to control the team and attack more, we are not players and a team who wait in our half but we are a team who are always trying to attack and be in the offensive half because it's better if we wait if we have the opponent in our half but to do that we need an opponent to attack in our half and if none or both teams try not to attack, there is no football so it is important when people demand. This team that always attacks has to change their style of play to force the opponent to do something that doesn't depend on us and offer the supporters one match without good football.
posted on 13/12/19
The team now compared to last December
You don't have to name the opponent, you have to show it on the pitch. I always believe that it is better trying to anticipate what is going to happen next rather than what has happened. Name what is going to happen, try to do what you wish will happen. We wish to be one more regular team, and the month of December is a good month to try and show and prove this to show more consistency.
What have you found most interesting in England?
First of all the love of the supporters for the play. When I used to watch the English football in Argentina and other countries I used to admire how the people who manage the English football, the authorities, they stimulate the supporters love for football. I think we are losing the stimulus and everybody sees what is happening in one competition because everybody sees what it is about. In my humble opinion the most important thing is to try to make the supporter value the play, not just the result - why the result happened. The supporters have to be patient and you can strengthen this patience. The patience that you need to wait for the result is stronger if the supporter loves the play more than the result. When you teach the supporter that the result is more important, afterwards he starts to lose the love for the play and he falls in love with the result.
That's it!
A 45-minute epic!
posted on 13/12/19
I love how MB has created a culture at the club which gives youngsters who are good enough a clear path to the first team.
posted on 13/12/19
Note the comments about Gotts. It sounds like he is unhappy and Bielsa is saying, 'there's not a lot I can do.'
Will he be leaving us in January?