Leeds United appoint Sam Allardyce: Marcelo Bielsa days are distant memory as club make desperate bid to stay up | Football News

Leeds United will want to believe that the appointment of Sam Allardyce can save their season, preserving their place in the Premier League. But after the adventures enjoyed under Marcelo Bielsa, these are desperate times for this famous club.

It has been a fraught few days. A 4-1 defeat to Bournemouth. A social media storm. An apology from the players. The director of football and head coach leaving. The arrival of Allardyce. Gradually and then suddenly, everything has come to a head.

The sight of the Leeds players ignoring a waving youngster as they left their hotel resonated with a restless public. It was just a snapshot but it struck a chord. This was seen as proof that a team that had once connected with the community had lost its way.

There are good people at Leeds and they will seek to make amends for that incident. But with fans wondering what has become of their club, the overarching shift in ethos is harder to explain away. From Bielsa to Allardyce. For some, it is just too on the nose.

Bielsa recalibrated the club and supporters revelled in the exciting football that came with it. Leeds were better to watch, better to support. Heads were high. Pride as well as Premier League status was restored. Leeds were united. A city was reignited.

It feels a long time ago now. After last season’s escape, erosion has led to collapse. Leeds fans have been brought to their knees and the fear will be that this represents the killing stroke. The prospect of relegation under Allardyce looms. It was not supposed to be like this.

They say the seventh stage of grief is acceptance and the mere act of turning to Allardyce, 68, will be viewed by some supporters as an ideological defeat. Long seen as Bielsa’s polar opposite, the truth is more nuanced than that but turning to him is still symbolic.

Leeds had embraced what Bielsa was selling, but this move – this reverse Burnley – sees them trade that idea for another one entirely. When many had bought into what came before, it is easy to see why they might feel they are losing more than just matches.

So much for the legacy of Bielsa.

It must feel more like a fever dream now.

Allardyce has earned his reputation for guiding teams to safety. Pep Guardiola once described him as a genius because of it. Throughout his career, he has consistently left teams higher up the table than where he found them. People pay good money for that.

Nevertheless, the concern will be that it is some time since his best work. Allardyce’s only job in five years ended two years ago. West Brom were two points from safety when he was appointed in December. They were relegated in May, finishing 13 points adrift.

It has taken a desperate series of decisions for Leeds to reach the point where this could be considered a viable solution. Bielsa himself cannot be excused his own part in the disintegration. Things unravelled late in his reign. What has followed has been worse.

The arrival of Jesse Marsch was hailed as continuity but that soon seemed to mean keeping the worst bits and discarding the best. The underwhelming Javi Gracia, a coach with a reputation for organising teams in LaLiga, has been unable to impose any kind of order.

There has been a vacuum of ideas where once there was clarity.

Asked recently by Sky Sports to explain his ideas, Gracia said: “I do not know. I cannot tell you in words the style of play.” His meaning was that Leeds would be tactically flexibly, the sort of pragmatism that had been missing. It now feels like a lack of conviction.

Presiding over it all has been director of football Victor Orta, a man who can point to bringing in Bielsa and Raphinha, as well as assorted young talents, just do not mention his misses. The farcical waste of funds on Jean-Kevin Augustin alone would have sunk some.

He constructed an imbalanced squad and, Bielsa aside, the managerial appointments were missteps. His departure will be seen by supporters as overdue. What they make of the man who will now decide their fate in these remaining four fixtures is another matter.

Allardyce still has his admirers. There is a nostalgic appeal for the neutral. They can highlight how Roy Hodgson, seven years his senior, has rejuvenated Crystal Palace. With four games to go, perhaps it is worth a try. Organisation is desperately needed.

There will be talk too of how it would be typical for ‘Big Sam’ to provide the twist in the title race when Leeds visit Manchester City on Saturday. A record against Guardiola that reads played four and lost four, scored one and conceded 16, suggests otherwise.

The most recent meeting was a 5-0 reverse when at West Brom. Leeds fans might remember their own games against Allardyce’s side that season, a comfortable win on the final day and a five-goal thrashing at the Hawthorns masterminded by Bielsa.

That had been billed as a meeting of minds, a clash of ideas. Even inside an empty stadium during the pandemic, you could almost hear the Leeds fans crowing. They could not have imagined it would lead to this. An ending even an enemy dared not write?

The script is with Allardyce now. Leeds will hope that he can come up with something, an unlikely final chapter to justify this move. The fear, of course, is that it marks the culmination of their decline. From hope under Bielsa to Allardyce and a desperation move.

Watch Man City vs Leeds live on Sky Sports Premier League from 2pm on Saturday; kick-off 3pm