[ad_pod ]
Playoff football often comes down to who wants it more. Talent and form can go out the window, and in the end the winners are usually the side who are more motivated to get the result.
Marcelo Bielsa has been presented with the ultimate opportunity to drive his team to victory by calling upon the club’s history of adversity.
Leeds’ history
The Whites are arguably a club with a bit of a chip on their shoulder. They believe everyone is against them and that is often evident on the terraces at Elland Road.
When their team falls behind it isn’t long before the crowd begins chanting “The football league’s corrupt”, and after a while, you will hear cries of “We are champions, champions of Europe.”
This dates back to the 1975 European Cup final where Bayern Munich beat them in controversial circumstances.
Leeds love to feel hated as if the world is against them, and that has been the attitude there for over 40 years.
Around the club, there is a train of thought that the Football League and Sky want to keep them in the Championship forever due to the fact they are the biggest team outside the Premier League.
That paranoia fuels the sdie and makes them desperate to get out of this division, and Bielsa has been presented with a golden opportunity to rile up his squad.
Bielsa’s chance.
Time after time this season the narrative that the Football League are against Leeds has grown.
Heading into the playoffs, there are several factors that play into this conspiracy. Patrick Bamford’s ban, Tom Lawrence not being banned, Conor Hourihane escaping punishment, and to top it all off they’re coming up against Derby County, the victims of spygate.
The Whites were fined £200,000 for that despite not breaking any rules, adding fuel to the fire for fans who feel that their club are victims of a plot designed by the EFL.
Bielsa can point towards all these factors in his team talk and get his players motivated to overcome the adversity they have faced this season.
The players have a chance to steer the club back into the Premier League after 15 years in the dark and change the status quo around Elland Road.
Bielsa needs to sell this as the one time nobody can hold Leeds United back, because they are just too good on the pitch.