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After an eye-catching first season in the Premier League under Marcelo Bielsa, second season syndrome hit hard for Leeds United. Having been confined to the lower tiers of the football pyramid since 2004, the Peacocks were promoted to the top flight in 2020, and went on to finish ninth on their return.
Bielsa signed a 12-month contract extension at the end of that campaign, as is his standard approach, and many were optimistic that he would build on a strong season. Sadly, for fans of the Whites, things didn’t turn out that way. Leeds had to wait till the seventh game of the season before they picked up their first win, a 1-0 victory at home to Watford. While they hoped that would have been a springboard, they failed to kick on, and inconsistency was a key feature of their campaign.
Bielsa left at the end of February, with Jesse Marsch coming in as a replacement. The American came through the Red Bull network of clubs, most recently having coached RB Leipzig, before a mutual termination of his contract in December. Marsch was brought to Leeds to oversee the final 12 games of the season. He had a tough task on his hands, as punters looking for a football bet struggled to pick between Leeds and Burnley. He kept Leeds up, but only on the final day of the season, with a win at Brentford seeing them finish outside the relegation zone.
While Leeds were rightfully delighted to avoid the drop, the club will now be focusing on how to make sure they aren’t in the same position next season.
Squad depth
The first priority for Leeds will be ensuring the squad is deep enough to last a full campaign. Bielsa infamously prefers working with a very small squad, and using players in multiple roles, rather than using backup players. While it’s brought him success in the past, it stung Leeds last season. Injuries meant that players who were regulars in their first Premier League season were unavailable for selection, and Leeds didn’t have the options in the squad to make up for their absences.
Patrick Bamford was one of three players who played every league game for Leeds in the 2020-21 season, the others being Stuart Dallas and Luke Ayling. In contrast, Illan Meslier was the only player to feature in every 2021-22 league game for the club. Bamford, who scored 17 goals in his 38 appearances in the previous campaign, only managed two goals in nine appearances, as he was plagued with injuries.
Raphinha
Owing to the absence of Bamford, Raphinha was left to shoulder most of the attacking burden for Leeds. With 11 goals and 3 assists in the league, Raphinha was either scoring or creating at a rate of almost one goal per game. Jack Harrison and Daniel James also provided attacking threat, but James was only on loan, while Harrison overperformed his underlying numbers.
Harrison’s xG and xA suggest he will be less productive next season, unless the system is changed to get more out of him. However, Raphinha looks very much the real deal. If Marsch can build an attack that plays to the strengths of both the Brazilian and Bamford, then Leeds are likely to power their way up to mid-table, simply through scoring more goals.
That being said, Raphinha’s impressive performances also mean, most likely, attention from other clubs. Leeds are likely to set a high price for the Brazilian, but they may find their resolve to keep him tested. If they do end up accepting an offer that’s too tempting to turn down, then the Yorkshire outfit will have to recruit well to replace his talents in attack.
