https://twitter.com/apopey/status/1126499151863115776

It’s not often I do anything particularly serious on here – I leave that to the proper journos and the “real” voice of the fans – oh unless I have something to moan about of course…

But I was pondering this today after the press are all over themselves about how the English clubs have taken over Europe. It’s great for Bielsa to say this, but will this make him Public Enemy #1 for the Premier League and the EFL?

The fact is that Bielsa has endeared himself to just about every Leeds fan and probably every other football fan who isn’t (still) insanely jealous of Leeds United. What do I mean by that? I’ll expand.

For every football fan who is sick of the diving and cheating and time wasting etc. “clever game management” SkyTVisf**kings**t like to call it apparently – the guy is standing out. Standing up for the beautiful game, the way it should be played.

For every fan who is sick of the joke that the rules and regulations of football has become since the Shaun Harveys / Greg Dyke / Greg Clarkes of this world came into being – Bielsa is a breath of fresh air. The first thing you are taught when you start playing is PLAY TO THE WHISTLE.

For the fans who are interested in what goes on for 90 minutes on the pitch (or more if you are losing and you are Norwich/Scum etc .etc) – Bielsa is Vorsprung Durch Technik in a hoodie. (Incidentally it is great that Audi are making these cars – just a shame that they can’t make their indicators work!!!)

For fans who aren’t afraid to acknowledge what has gone on in the past and what still goes on in behind closed doors in the boardrooms – Bielsa is the Argentinian Honest Abe (look it up if you never did it in history).

For the fans who actually want to go and watch a game live, to experience it and be part of it – Bielsa is the Dave Grohl of arena atmospherics.

For the loyal Leeds fans who have spent the last decade wondering how many loan players we are going to end up with whilst the Youth team are being cast to all four corners of the country – Bielsa is the Moses of Yorkshire

However, since how long has football NOT been about this?

Bielsa publically acknowledging that origins of football are basically that anyone can play it, regardless of wealth,  education and status, and stressing that poor people watch football as well, doesn’t really endear him to the REAL people who are in charge of football.

Given that we are told that the pinnacle of footballing glory is playing in the Chumpions League / Europa League, where ticket prices are upwards of £100, £500 in the posh seats, fessing up that poor people watch football, isn’t really going to sit well with the FIFA footballing gods, is it?

The ticket allocations for the finals are 16,000 each for the Chumpions League (Athletico Madrid) and 6,000 for the Europa League (Baku in deepest darkest Azerbaijan). You’d think that if this is the pinnacle of football – you’d probably be better playing it in a really big ground which was easily accessible to all fans, and give more than half of the (affordable??)  tickets to travelling fans???

No??

Yes???

Ah – but DO the common or garden fans actually matter? Or is it more about the TV rights, sponsorship deals, corporate tickets for friends and family of UEFA / FIFA / foreign governments etc. etc. You only have to look at the farce that the World Cup bids were these last two tournaments with all the dodgy dealings going on to see what’s happening. And still, the competition is going to go ahead, completely inconveniencing just about every other league in the world, ruining the “traditional” football – for what? Oh because they “won” the bid.

So much for the World Cup actually being about the football then.

The fact is that football in England started as something to do on a Saturday afternoon between finishing work at the factory and the pub opening. That’s it. Working class roots. Yes, this is the Harrogate branch of LUSC, and some people think that Harrogate is posh. But like most towns and cities in the UK, not everyone in Harrogate is loaded. Away from the inhabitants of the luxury apartments overlooking The Stray, there are just ordinary working class people here. Not forgetting of course that some people have worked very hard for a living, and if they have made their money grafting all the way, they are entitled to splashing the cash to live somewhere nice, even if it means the streets are clogged up by Cyclopaths every summer.

It is great that Bielsa has acknowledged that fans work hard to earn enough money to watch Leeds United. For me personally, it’s great that the manager and the players respect me and the ones who come week in and week out. It’s great to be recognised and rewarded for my loyalty for once. The Ridsdales and O Learys were only about their own fame and fortune, and don’t even get me started with Warnock and GFH. Finally it seems that Leeds United is getting back to the fans.

Great for us, but not for the people ultimately in charge.

So, Bielsa has already pissed of the EFL. He’s already pissed of the football royalty of the Lampards etc. By playing some of the most technical football this league has seen, he stuck his foot in it. By integrating the U23s / U18s and getting involved with the U11s, he is ruining the ideas of football agents (the other ones with all the power in 21st Century football). He is basically single handedly undermining the principles (or rather lack of principles) in English football.

He is public enemy #1  and he is ours.