“What is the point”- Noel Whelan slams Bielsa for his decision against Wigan Athletic

I don’t think he’s the only one that thinks this way.

If you take a look at the responses to Phil Hay’s tweet from after the game, where said talked about why Marcelo Bielsa decided not to play new signing Jean-Kevin Augustin against Wigan Athletic, you’ll see that it’s quite a touchy subject.

And former Leeds United player Noel Whelan has slammed Bielsa for his decision to leave him completely out of the match day squad that lost to Wigan on Saturday. Speaking to Football Insider, Whelan said that the club are desperate for bodies right now, so to leave him out after bringing him to the club was just farcical:

“Bruno Fernandes has just come straight into Manchester United’s side. You buy players because you need players. We have gone three weeks without a striker. We have now got a striker and he is sitting in the stand watching. At the very minimum, he should have been on the bench on Saturday to give us that strength in depth. What is the point in buying players and getting a deal done if you are not going to put them on the bench?”

The decision has since taken an even bizarre twist after footage emerged from yesterday’s U23 match showing Augustin hobbling off with a slight knock. He was playing in that game to ‘get him used to’ the English style of play, but in hindsight, it looks as if he’d have been better served by coming on against Wigan.

However, Whelan’s words should really act as a severe warning for Bielsa and the Leeds United staff. The club needs goals, the statistics from over the weekend show just how bad it can be sometimes, and you can’t get goals if you leave someone who has shown in the past that he can find the back of the net on the bench.

Even if he had been on the pitch for ten minutes at the end in a last gasp act of desperation, it still would have been better than not having him there at all. Assuming his injury from the Sheffield Wednesday game is OK, then he needs to get in the team as soon as possible.

Or we could be forced to go another few weeks with the wasteful Patrick Bamford up front.