‘Didn’t quite work’: Pundit suggests Leeds boss Bielsa made a bad call

Add as preferred source on Google

EFL pundit Keith Andrews has spoken about Leeds United stars Kalvin Phillips and Ben White, hailing the former’s return to the Whites line-up, in conversation with the EFL podcast.

The retired defensive midfielder also suggested that Marcelo Bielsa’s decision to deploy the Elland Road loanee as a midfielder was not particularly fruitful.

Phillips was slapped with a three-match ban after being shown a red card against Queens Park Rangers last month.

During the 24-year-old’s absence, Leeds lost two of those three games, while after his return, the Whites picked up four points from six.

White, a centre-back, was given a spot in midfield by Bielsa in the Championship away game against Nottingham Forest, a poor 2-0 defeat for the Elland Road side.

“They played Ben White there against Nottingham Forest and as much of an admirer as I am of Ben White, it just didn’t quite work,” Andrews told the EFL podcast. “It’s not his natural position.

“I’m sure Kalvin Phillips had a little bit of downtime and he cranked himself up. He played in the Under-23s game last week to get some minutes and match sharpness and there’s no coincidence that performances have taken an upturn since his arrival back into the team.”

TBR View

With Phillips having developed into one of the best midfielders in the league, it would have been a mammoth task for anyone else to replace him during his enforced absence.

Bielsa said back in December that deploying players in somewhat unfamiliar positions helps their development (Yorkshire Evening Post).

Indeed, White has shown certain traits akin to a defensive mid, namely running the ball out from the back and showing superb passing.

However, as Andrews claimed, it simply didn’t quite work against Forest, a side in contention for promotion, and perhaps it may have been too much of an ask at the time.