A defeat to Sheffield United in Saturday’s tense Yorkshire derby has jeopardized Leeds United’s hopes of clinching an automatic Premier League promotion despite leading the tally for the majority of the campaign. They have now dropped to third and the stress of playoffs is looming large with eight gameweeks remaining.
Although Marcelo Bielsa is not worried yet with 24 points to play for, Leeds have been quite vulnerable and inconsistent of late which might see their season end in anguish while competing against the likes of West Brom, Middlesbrough and Aston Villa for the final promotion spot.
Their playoff counterparts have a squad full of experience and quality, therefore, would make it extremely difficult for the Whites to overcome the ultimate hurdle of qualifying for the Premier League via the playoffs.
Bielsa is an iconic figure in modern-day football for his philosophy, vision and an exciting brand of football. He has not revamped the Leeds squad that was below-par the previous term but rather banked on the same set of players and transformed their game to challenge for the silverware.
Yet the gaffer has often been seen losing the plot and the fate of this famous West Yorkshire outfit is predicted to be the same if they fail to claim promotion. This has been foretold by Danny Mills, the former Leeds defender who was a key figure during their eventful top-flight days prior to 2004’s relegation.
“The issue is he works them incredibly hard, and a lot of his teams in the past have had a burnout factor. Whatever happens this season, if they don’t get up, I fear either he’ll be poached or he’ll go – ‘okay, I tried and it didn’t quite work’.”
Mills told Jim White on talkSPORT and is somewhat correct considering the Argentine’s past history. He is too good to stay in the second tier for successive years and there must be several Premier League sides who would love to have a man of his calibre as their manager.
The speculations, however, are based on Leeds’ current status who are still pretty much favourites to turn things around. They are enjoying their best days in 15 years after undergoing a torrid phase of turmoil, mismanagement and financial breakdown. Therefore, the fans must stay optimistic and throw everything in these conclusive weeks to regain a place among the elites of English football. But a late heartbreak can’t be ruled out completely which might put the Whites back to square one.
