It might not be Gorky Park, it might not be The Scorpions but there’s definitely a wind of change blowing at Leeds United – and a welcome one at that.
After last season puttered into something of a slight breeze for the Whites, it was refreshing that the experiment of going with ‘nearly men’ was discarded. Instead the hierarchy at Elland Road have dispensed with this tactic, instead signing on Marcelo Bielsa.
Going from David Hockaday, Massimo Cellino’s first stab at obscure management, to Bielsa is like ringing up God and asking him to send an angel. Biesla brought with him a whole new footballing philosophy that blew the wind of change so much it rocks you like a hurricane.
It is a hurricane that is laying waste to the less hardy opponents and it has buffeted the Whites to the top of the table. It is a style of football that has finally convinced Leeds United fans to re-accept that we were born to fly. That flight is one that has seen them soar; it is also a philosophy that has seen a trickle-down effect to the Under-23s.
It was less of a trickle today against their Bristol City counterparts and more of a deluge in a game where the young Whites, albeit augmented with some of the first-team squad, set about their visitors at Elland Road. If it had been a boxing match, it would have been stopped at the half-way point with Leeds’ U23s so far ahead at 3-0 that the game wasn’t really a contest.
The following three goals were what Leeds United took into the half-time break with them, but it wasn’t even a measure of their superiority over a battered and bruised Bristol City side.
Leeds United U-23 1 (Bamford 9′)- 0 Bristol City U-23
Patrick Bamford v Bristol City #U23s #LUFC pic.twitter.com/J42xtpn6oH
— #WALMOT (@WALM0T33) September 7, 2018
Leeds United U-23 2 (Nicell 13′) – 0 Bristol City U-23
Callum Nicell v Bristol City #U23s #LUFC pic.twitter.com/NJ5F0J0oyY
— #WALMOT (@WALM0T33) September 7, 2018
Leeds United U-23 3 (Clarke 23′) – 0 Bristol City U-23
Jack Clarke v Bristol City #U23s #LUFC pic.twitter.com/ohsgTkxYzZ
— #WALMOT (@WALM0T33) September 7, 2018
The fluidity that has come to be a signpost of Leeds United’s emerging style was there for all to see, the Under-23s playing with much pomposity. That defence-to-attack speed was frightening at times as the young Whites looked to push their opponents back. When the smoke is gone from the first half battering, there were still the smouldering embers left.
There was little respite for Bristol City in the second half as the Leeds United youngsters continued to press. Jack Clarke looked dangerous every time he was anywhere near the ball, his trickery helping to force the young Robins into a backwards retreat style of football.
The goals continued to come with Jordan Stevens (69′) the next to net, making the scoreline more lopsided at 4-0. At times the young Bristol team were swept aside with such ease that you would be excused for asking is there anybody there? Like bad boys running wild, four goal was not enough to satisfy a rampant Leeds United side, who continued to hungrily search for goals.
After a number of chances for the likes of Clarke and Jack Harrison, it was youngster Robbie Gotts who rounded off the scoring (85′) with a well-taken goal to round off a resounding 5-0 win.
With Leeds United doing well in the Sky Bet Championship, it is reassuring to see the younger players under the senior side proving that the future never dies as if to shout we were born to fly. The effect that Marcelo Bielsa is having throughout Elland Road, especially with the way the Whites are playing at all levels is proof positive that passion rules the game.
