Until The World Stops Going Round

Another bore-draw, Keith Andrews is a hypocrite, Bielsa is back (kind of), International break.

Leeds goalless again

March hasn't exactly been a vintage month for Leeds United; 2 losses and 2 draws have seen the gap between us and the final relegation place reduced to 4 points. The latest result against Brentford, a 2nd consecutive 0-0 draw, now means that Leeds have failed to score for a 4th game in a row. The last time Leeds hit the back of the net was Anton Stach's goal against Villa. Seems like a lifetime ago.

Last Sunday's bore draw with Brentford was exactly that: boring. There was very little to get excited about. A few pot-shots from outside the box vaguely tested Kelleher, and slightly quickened the pulse of the Elland Road crowd. Some half-hearted 'ooohs' and 'aaaahs' followed these hopeful endeavours, but in reality there wasn't much on offer to get the fans out of their seats. I'd say the only thing that kept fans from drifting off completely was the terrifying notion that Brentford could steal a goal and exit Leeds with all 3 points. In the end, though, the result was befitting of the quality on show.

A lot has been made about the quality of the Premier League's "product" this season. That game will have done nothing to allay the mounting suspicion that England's top flight isn't actually as good as everyone seems to think. Fans might not care much about quality when their teams are on the right side of a result, but there's surely only so much drudgery people can endure while they're being charged a small fortune for the pleasure.

Keith Andrews: do as I say, not as I do

During the moral hand-wringing and faux outrage in the aftermath of Leeds' "spy-gate" (only known as such because standing-on-public-land-looking-over-a fence-gate isn't quite as snappy) molehill, there were plenty of D-list 'pundits' ready to jump at the chance to act holier than thou. One of those salivating at such a prospect was, of course, Brentford's set-piece coach done OK, Keith Andrews.

While appearing as a 'pundit' when the 'story' broke, Andrews, in a desperate attempt to gain some relevance after an uninspiring playing career, claimed that what Marcelo Bielsa had done was 'disgusting', 'immoral', and not in the 'spirit of the game'. He may have been embarrassingly over-dramatic, but at least we were all made well aware of what a great, honourable, and virtuous man Keith Andrews is. Certainly not the type of man who would go on to become a 'manager' himself, and instruct his goalkeeper to fake an injury in order to quell the opposition's momentum. No, surely not the saintly Keith Andrews. Such deplorable actions would probably be described as disgusting, immoral, and not in the spirit of the game, and that's just not Keith. Ah, hang on a minute........oops.

Instructing his players to cheat is not something I ever saw Bielsa do - on the contrary, he was irritatingly rigid when it came to fair play (I'm sure we all remember that Villa goal). Holding a simpleton like Andrews to the same standards as one of the games greatest thinkers is possibly unfair, though.

Although, at least Andrews did confirm what we already knew: he's a sanctimonious, hypocritical prick.

Bielsa returns

We've just had the poison, now here's the antidote:

Marcelo Bielsa returned to our shores. It may have only been a fleeting visit as his Uruguay team arrived to take on England at Wembley, but it's always a pleasure whenever he is brought back to the forefront of our consciousness (not that he's ever far from it).

He was very candid about his time at Leeds and said that it gave him some of his 'most beautiful memories in football'; I'm sure I can speak for every Leeds fan when I say that his sentiment is reciprocated tenfold. For me personally, Bielsa made me believe again. He gave me hope. After years of utter dross, apathy had well and truly kicked in. Bielsa changed everything, and I'll be forever grateful for that. And based on the amount of Leeds fans who travelled to Wembley just to get a glimpse of him, I'm not alone.

On the evening of the game, social media was awash with photos of Leeds fans in and around Wembley, proudly showing their banners and signs of gratitude. Few others could command such an outpouring of genuine heartfelt goodwill. Truly one of a kind, and we were lucky to have him.

Of course, as with anything good and pure in this world, there are going to be naysayers. Those who just don't get it. Fans of nothing clubs from nothing towns (you know who you are), who try and deride the affection between ourselves and Bielsa, but deep down long for something similar at their own clubs. Achieving glory at an important club like Leeds can bring about that sort of deep bond with us fans.

That might sound arrogant; it's not that I think we're better than those 'nothing clubs' - we just are.

International break and FA Cup duty

With half of the International break gone, we just need to hope that our players arrive back at Thorp Arch unscathed and raring to go. However, before we resume our stressful fight for survival, we have the small matter of an FA Cup quarter-final to contend with, and the potential of our own trip to Wembley up for grabs.