Chris Sutton has claimed on BBC Radio Five Live that Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa ‘disrespected’ the FA Cup because he didn’t start Patrick Bamford yesterday.
Leeds crashed out of the competition on Sunday, as they lost 3-0 to Crawley Town in arguably the biggest upset of the round.
Leeds did name a number of their usual starters in their team to face Crawley yesterday.
But Sutton suggests that Bamford should have played, and by resting him, Bielsa was not paying enough respect to the FA Cup.
“Bottom line is if you want to go through you play Patrick Bamford. He didn’t do that and Bielsa disrespected the cup in that respect,” he said.
“I understand the argument that Leeds want to stay in the Premier League, I think they’ve been brilliant this season, but Bielsa made a big mistake today – too many changes.”
Bamford was sorely missed by Leeds yesterday, as his importance to the side was highlighted.
But Sutton’s comments surely have to be considered very harsh on Bielsa.
The Argentine boss put out a team which should have had the quality and experience to compete against Crawley, but they failed to deliver.
The fringe players that Leeds did offer chances to have put no pressure on Bielsa to play them on a more consistent basis, and it seems likely that they will return to the bench at the weekend, when the Whites take on Brighton & Hove Albion in the Premier League.
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