Quote Originally Posted by Dalek_Sec View Post
(Following on from what LeedsFTW & spaldy posted above as well as many others who posted on the Relegation - What Next thread and my previous post way back when Jesse Marsch was appointed when I said that we would discover if he was a coach to develop players or just someone who assembled a team...)

On consideration for his entire tenure, Orta was not all bad - please hear me out before throwing things at me!

What he was good at was sourcing affordable players who had the potential to be developed by Bielsa to play a better level of football and who would fit in with Bielsa's uncompromising demands. This supply of players was a major factor in our promotion to the PL.

However, when Marsch was appointed, Orta's modus operandi did not change and he still continued to find players for the future - but this was not suitable for the Marsch management style. Some of the young players sourced will undoubtedly develop into excellent players if they get the required quality of coaching and inspiration.

Whilst I still think that Marsch (with his insistence to believe in "The Process") was never going to turn Leeds into a European competition quality side, for Leeds to even consolidate as a PL outfit under his supervision required PL quality finished article players to be bought to operate in the areas of the team where we were obviously below standard. This was the opportunity squandered by Orta, as the factor that made his choices good had been removed. Most of those players who did arrive would have improved given the MB coaching treatment.

Our worst result of the season? - the 2-1 away win at Liverpool. A false dawn which tempted the board to over-persist with Marsch. Changing to an experienced manager then would have given them the World Cup break to coach, tighten the unit and a transfer window in which to augment the squad for survival.

Players who left us last year went to places where they thought their game would continue to be developed - as it had done under Bielsa. They did not want to stagnate under the Marsch process.

But it will do no good looking back apart from to learn the hard lessons.
Now, we need an established strong manager who thoroughly knows the game and can develop the "future investments" alongside an experienced solid core so that in 2/3 seasons Leeds are a stable PL team which can then be passed on to a transformational manager.
For this to happen, it needs the intelligent people who currently own and will own the club to get their heads together to set out a strategic plan and not wait for ownership details to be resolved.
Sorry I'm a bit late to reply but i smashed the computer when i started reading now I have a new one I can't be bothered replying