YEP
Identity, tactics, what still needs to be done - what we've learned from Leeds United's pre-season so far -...
Three down, three to go.
Leeds United are halfway through their hectic slate of pre-season friendlies, with fans now having seen 270 minutes of Marcelo Bielsa's side in action.
A 2-1 win over League Two side Forest Green Rovers last Tuesday was followed by a 1-1 draw at York City on Thursday, with Bielsa's team securing a 1-1 draw at Southend on Sunday.
The Forest Rovers and Southend XIs were almost identical, while the side that went to Bootham Crescent was a mixture of a few first-teamers, some fringe players and a host of under-23s.
Oxford are next up on Tuesday night, with Guiseley and Las Palmas still to follow.
Marcelo Bielsa during the press conference at Elland Road, Leeds on Monday June 25, 2018.(Image: Mike Egerton/PA Wire)
But what have these opening performances told us about what to expect this season?
Bielsa's methods taking hold....
One of the charge aimed at Paul Heckingbottom during his brief spell in charge of Leeds United last season was a lack of identity in his style of play.
Marcelo Bielsa has certainly put this right, as it is clear to see that his methods are getting through to his players. Their fitness levels look excellent, work rate has increased and players are looking to get forward, with pace, wherever they can. Kalvin Phillips and Ronaldo Vieira have both done shifts in the back-line, with the former looking like he is capable of making a significant impact in this role this season.
Phillips has impressed so far this pre-season
We have heard from the likes of Phillips, Vieira, Tom Pearce and Tyler Roberts this pre-season and they have all been on-point with the same message; this summer has been hard work, the players are absorbing the information thrown their way and they have full confidence in their manager's methods.
... but will these methods be enough on their own?
And now we come to the transfer issue. The Forest Green and Southend friendlies featured Bielsa's core group, with the majority of those players likely to feature against Stoke on August 5. And while Bielsa is clearly inspiring an upward tick in regard to their physical and tactical progress, there will be limits to what this group of players who struggled badly over the second half of the Championship season last year can achieve.
There are limits to what Bielsa will be able to do without new signings (Image: @LUFC / Twitter)
Simply put, the quality is still not there in key areas to mount a bone fide promotion charge.
The club are looking to add a striker, full-back and midfielder before the window shuts in two weeks, with the back-up of the loan market available until the end of August.
Where will the goals come from?
Although much of pre-season - and especially this one - is about getting fitness levels up and adapting to the coach's new ideas, four goals in three games against sides from teams in the third, fourth and sixth-tiers has hardly set the pulse racing.
Yes, the XI sent out against York City was nothing like full strength, but Kemar Roofe looked an isolated figure up front at times at Roots Hall, having to drop back in order to have an impact in the second half.
A new striker is therefore required, quickly. Leeds saw their hopes of landing Matej Vydra fade when his representatives upped their wage demands and Leeds have continued to struggle getting their targets over the line.
This is partly due to the quality of players they are courting, who are a distinct upgrade on the trolley dash we saw last summer, so with that comes greater competition to land them.
But Leeds need to do something fast - and are well aware of this fact.
New signings
And what about the two players that Leeds have brought in? Well, the jury's out.
Jamal Blackman is continuing to work on his fitness and is yet to make his debut, while Lewis Baker's only outing was the York City game.
Lewis Baker turned out against York(Image: Leeds United)
It was hard to get a real gauge of what the Chelsea midfielder will bring to Elland Road given the standard of the opposition, but he certainly looked comfortable on the ball and was very vocal, helping the younger members of the squad through the game.
We will learn more about what Baker has to offer when he is included in an XI with members of Bielsa's core group.
Bielsa-watch
So what have we seen from the man himself on the touchline?
His displays on the bench were fairly understated against Forest Green and York, only leaving his seat a couple of times as his staff delivered the head coaches' messages on his behalf. Under-23s coach Carlos Corberan has been present in this role.
But he appeared to find his voice more at Southend on Sunday, spending a good couple of minutes barking at Samu Saiz, dishing out instructions to the Spaniard once play stopped for a drinks break.
Bielsa has not spoken to the media - either the United press pack or Leeds' in-house team - since his introductory press conference on June 25, so fans are in the dark regarding his satisfaction with the start his side have made and what he makes of the make-up of his squad.
Ayling shows Leeds what they were missing - and then some
It's probably no coincidence Luke Ayling's five-month's absence coincided with Leeds' dreadful run of form last season.
The right-back worked his way back to fitness for the final game of last season and now with a full pre-season training regime under his belt is showing Leeds what they missed.
The 26-year-old has played prominently at right-back, but Bielsa's tactics mean he has been given plenty of scope to flood forward wherever possible and he has been in the thick of some of Leeds' best attacking play so far - and even netted twice.
Adam Forshaw has been the other driving force in the side, with the midfielder also taking Bielsa's tactics to heart. His link-up play with Ayling has been top notch, with Ayling's goal at Southend, following a neat one-two with Forshaw, a prime example of this.
Playing their way in?
Bielsa spoke about his desire to have a lean squad going into the season, which has been reflected by the number of players who have left the club this summer.
The starting XI at York City featured some of the players who have been on the fringe this summer, including Mateusz Klich and Yosuke Ideguchi who have returned from their loan spells.
The Japanese international is still adjusting to life in Europe following his disappointing loan spell in Spain and showed signs of promise at Bootham Crescent, but remains a more medium-term project.
Klich turned in an eye-catching performance when he played the first-half in the centre of a three-man defence, breaking forwards at will, showing exactly why Bielsa looks to include ball-playing midfielders in his back-line and suggesting that he can play a part in the team this season.
Another player who is making a dent this summer is Laurens de Bock, who put in a good shift as part of a back-three at York, before playing 60 minutes at Southend, where he again impressed, this time in the left-back role.
