Speaking in an interview with Football League World, former Leeds United star Ian Harte has revealed that fine-grained reason that sometimes means players are ruthlessly dropped by Marcelo Bielsa from the side.
The Whites under the Argentine have been a joy to watch. With intense levels of fitness and possession, they have often blown away opponents in the last year or so with him at the helm.
Indeed, it’s taken the club close to the Premier League this season and whilst we wait for the campaign to resume, Harte has revealed why that is the case, and why it sometimes means players are cut from the team.
He revealed:
“I think that they get weighed every day and if they don’t meet the weight then they have to go on the bike and then they’re not picked for selection.
“I think that’s what happens so that’s why the lads are all so lean, mobile and getting around the pitch and that’s why they’re going like that for 90-odd minutes every game.”
Is Bielsa right to do this?
Yes
No
It should be no surprise that such an occurrence goes on at the club with Bielsa and his coaching staff meticulous in everything they do.
Indeed, it perhaps also explains why players are suddenly taken out of the side or why some find it so hard to force their way in.
Bielsa clearly has an ideal that every player must be at to be in the side and if they’re not meeting that, they are culled.
It’s almost brutal, really, but that is the cost of success and you can see why the players are so fit and athletic when they are playing for the Whites over the season.