Leeds United legend Stuart Dallas has noticed the club adopting a tactic that he believes former boss Marcelo Bielsa would never have allowed during his time at the club.
Marcelo Bielsa was known for his uncompromising approach during his time at Leeds, as the Whites attempted to play with a swashbuckling attacking verve.
Although Bielsa’s style was thrilling, it also left Leeds vulnerable, and Bielsa eventually departed as Leeds battled against relegation from the Premier League in the 2021/22 season.
Daniel Farke has been forced to adopt a more direct style in the top flight, with Leeds using Dominic Calvert-Lewin as their main target man and captain Ethan Ampadu being used to launch long throws when the opportunity presents itself.
According to Stuart Dallas, who was a mainstay of the Bielsa side, the Argentinian would never have sanctioned the use of long throws during his time at the club.
Photo by Alex Dodd – CameraSport via Getty ImagesStuart Dallas says Marcelo Bielsa would not use long throws
Speaking to LUTV’s Matchday Live ahead of the game against Burnley, Dallas was asked about Leeds’ decision to use long throws as part of their attacking set-up.
According to Dallas, Leeds practised retaining possession from throw-ins several times a week under Bielsa as part of his desire to keep the ball at all costs.
Asked whether Bielsa would have considered using long throws, Dallas responded: “Definitely not, no. I think we’ve seen different managers with different approaches. I think we had Raphinha taking long throws at one point as well.
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“But under Marcelo, for sure, it was different. We worked very, very hard on throw-ins because, effectively, it is possession, isn’t it? If you can keep the ball, you have a better chance of scoring. I think the stats say that if you give it away from a throw-in, you’re more likely to concede because you’re open.
“We worked really hard on it then. As I was saying before, we’d done it maybe twice a week, different combinations, different movements, just to try and retain the ball and maybe get out the other side.
“Obviously, the long throw is coming back into it now for whatever reason. But yeah, I think it’s easy to get caught up in trying to play and you’ve got to realise what your strong points are and obviously long throws are part of that.”
Photo by Ed Sykes/Getty ImagesSet pieces remain crucial to Leeds United’s attack
Although Bielsa would not have encouraged Leeds to launch the ball into their opponents’ box, set pieces remain a significant weapon in Farke’s arsenal.
According to Opta, 42.86% of Leeds’ goals this season have come from free kicks, which is the fourth-highest percentage in the Premier League.
By scoring three goals from set pieces in their opening eight games, Leeds also rank joint-fourth overall for the most goals from set pieces in the competition.
Bielsa may not approve of the tactic, but sometimes pragmatism has to trump idealism. With Leeds struggling in front of goal and fighting for their lives in the top flight, Daniel Farke is willing to score by any means necessary.