Lots of Leeds United fans have been reacting on social media, after the Yorkshire Post’s Leon Wobschall criticised Marcelo Bielsa’s decision not to include Jean-Kevin Augustin in the matchday squad against Wigan Athletic.
Augustin moved to West Yorkshire late in the January window after the Whites agreed to pay a €2million (£1.6m) loan fee, in a deal which will see the Frenchman become a permanent addition to our squad in the summer for €21m (£17.7m) should we secure promotion into the Premier League.
The funds already paid to Augustin’s parent side RB Leipzig by Director of Football Victor Orta are yet to have any impact on our Championship title bid, though, as Bielsa is yet to include him in a matchday squad.
Augustin was overlooked against Millwall as he was yet to train with the Leeds’ first-team, and the boss felt he was still not up to speed in order to face Wigan.
Should Augustin have been on the bench vs Wigan?
Yes
No
But Wobschall is seemingly not convinced by the Argentine’s call at the weekend, having taken to Twitter and compared how former Liverpool manager Joe Fagan interacted with Graeme Souness when he arrived at Anfield in 1978.
“On players needing time to ‘adapt’ regarding Bielsa on Augustin,” Wobschall noted. “When Liverpool bought Souness, he turned to Fagan before his debut & said: ‘How do you want me to play.’ Fagan replied: F*** off’. We’ve spent all this money on you & you ask me how to play football!’ Sums it up for me.”
Wobschall’s comments have sparked a vast array of reactions on social media, with swarms of supporters using his comparison with Fagan and Souness to discuss if Bielsa’s tactics are too complex for such to happen at Elland Road.
Here are some of the messages shared…
Agree to an extent but lack of quality and ability must be addressed, not even MB can get what’s required out of PB he just ain’t good enough, sad but true, end of.
— El Loco Pablo (@PJWallace11) February 4, 2020
The average football fan doesn’t have the brain capacity to understand standard tactics let alone Bielsa’s
— Fugazi Football (@FootballFugazi) February 4, 2020
Agree, but I worry about where we will be in the table and how many points will have been lost by the time JKA is ready for match action. I could see it being weeks before he makes the bench. Also one player alone isn’t the answer. Us making it to 90 points looks way off.
— Adam Tuncay (@tunks23) February 4, 2020
Absolutely- if one part of a complex machine breaks down, the machine either malfunctions or doesn’t work at all.
— Darren Driver (@DarrenDriver) February 4, 2020
It’s such a complex system. It’s hard to see with the naked eye when watching a game. It’s not a team a player can just walk into cold. That wouldn’t be good for the team or the player.
— CBM Primate (@CBMPrimate666) February 4, 2020
Totally agree.
Also, he SHOULD have been on the bench.
— Reginald Glovebox Ⓥ (@RGlovebox) February 4, 2020
People laud the way he has us playing, but then moan over his methods. It baffles me
— Gjanni AliHosty (@TestHostyrone) February 4, 2020
Sorry, but I still think it would have been worth throwing him on for five minutes at the end. He might not have had a good understanding of how we play, but at least he would have given us another option in the box
— Oliver White (@OliWhiteMOT93) February 4, 2020
What is ‘tactically’ complex? Football isn’t complex. I’ve watched at least a dozen of our matches this season and a couple of dozen last, plus many U23s and I keep asking; other than pace and possession, what is unique and ‘tactically complex’ in the Leeds system?
— 1963LUFC (@1963LUFC) February 4, 2020
In other Leeds United news, fans have been urging Bielsa to axe a one-time international when we face Nottingham Forest on Saturday.