International breaks in football are, should we say, very unpopular among supporters of Premier League clubs.
They are either seen as an unnecessary stoppage at a time when a team is flying or a painful delay after suffering a defeat. Indeed, the thought of stewing over a loss for two weeks is enough to make you actively fear your team’s result before the players head off on international duty.
For Leeds United, well, they endured the worst possible week before the two-week delay after suffering back-to-back defeats by the same unflattering scoreline, 4-1. The second of those defeats came in London – a city the Whites haven’t recorded a victory in for over three years – against a Crystal Palace side not famed for their attacking intent. Normally, going down 4-1 against a Roy Hodgson team would send a wave of anxiety through a fan base, but there was a feeling instead, as the Leeds players walked off a quiet Selhurst Park after the final whistle, that the international break, on this occasion, had never been more welcome.
It has always been quality over quantity in the Premier League
By the time the two-week break comes to an end, the Whites will probably be back to full strength again with Marcelo Bielsa able to pick the players that Leeds shelled out a king’s ransom for during the summer. Players like Rodrigo Moreno who signed from Valencia for a club-record fee, highly thought of Spanish international Diego Llorente who arrived from Real Sociedad, and England international Kalvin Phillips have all been missing from the starting line up for the last couple of games, and the subsequent results do tell a story.
It is worth saying that supporters of the Elland Road club expected their absence to be negligible. In part, that is because Leeds fans have grown used to Bielsa producing miracles. The Leeds side that he won the Championship with last season had by and large been finishing mid-table during the seasons before he arrived. The success that Bielsa was able to achieve with a group of players with obvious limitations led many a Leeds supporter to believe in the process rather than the individuals. But that was the Championship and this is the Premier League, you can only get so far without having players of genuine quality.
This is why Leeds’ recent drop off in form before the international break should not be seen as anything other than being down to not having their best team available, as well as being on the end of some bad luck. Had Patrick Bamford, for instance, not headed straight at Kasper Schmeichel in the opening minute of their game against Leicester, they may not have lost 4-1, after the Foxes then scampered up the other side of the pitch to open the scoring and take a controlling foothold in the game.
Leeds haven’t regressed they only exceeded early expectations
Irrespective of Leeds having one of the game’s greatest visionaries managing them, this doesn’t make them exempt from learning tough lessons in the Premier League. Bielsa may well be a famed manager behind some legendary myths, but the Premier League bows to no one.
The truth is, it will be a season of sustaining the odd bloody nose but that was always going to be the case. Perhaps impressive displays against Manchester City which ended 1-1 and a thrilling 3-0 demolition of Aston Villa, had given Leeds an image that was always going to be impossible to maintain as they navigated their first season back in the top flight for 16 years.
In all likelihood, it may not be a season that sees the Whites gatecrash any of the European qualification positions but neither should it be a campaign that sees them relegated. That is backed up when you look at the odds Leeds are at to go down. Indeed, as of the 10th November, Betway have priced Leeds at odds of 9/1 to make an immediate return to the Championship which suggests that Bielsa’s team won’t ever flirt too seriously with the prospect of relegation.
Now, before the season started, had you offered Leeds fans any position higher than 18th they would have bitten your hand off for it. If we think back to the exciting Adidas kit launch just before their campaign started and the excitement of just being back in the big time, the only hope then was that this would be a season of consolidation as they established an identity once more in the Premier League.
Well, with Leeds safely away from relegation with the clocks having gone back and Remembrance Sunday past already, you would have to say that this season is giving Leeds fans everything they wanted from the start. If anything, the future is looking reassuring, if not promising.
Indeed, Marcelo Bielsa’s expensively assembled cavalry will ride in once the international break ends to join the fight. Supporters will be confident that they can give Leeds safe passage through the gruelling winter months ahead.
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