West Bromwich Albion battered Championship title rivals Leeds United 4-1 at the Hawthorns before the international break.
Leeds United had only been beaten twice all season in the Championship before they travelled to West Bromwich Albion before the international break. And with The Baggies bang out of form, few expected Marcelo Bielsa’s side to be on the wrong end of a 4-1 scoreline.
West Brom, the most prolific team anywhere in the Football League, turned on the style in the second half at The Hawthorns with Hal Robson-Kanu, Matt Phillips, Harvey Barnes and Dwight Gayle all on the scoresheet.
And, speaking to Jim White on talkSPORT (20 November, 12.30pm), assistant coach Graeme Jones has admitted that West Brom switched up their tactics after watching Leeds dominate Wigan Athletic at the DW Stadium just a week earlier.
“I’d been to watch them against Wigan (a 2-1 win) and came away thinking this is the best side in the Championship, tactically they were superb,” Jones said.
“We decided to go for a different tactic and it paid off.”
Like so many coaches across the world of football, Jones is a proud member of the Church of Bielsa.
The legendary Leeds manager is one of the most influential tacticians of the last 20 years and Jones, who coached Belgium alongside Roberto Martinez at the World Cup, admits that he is keen to learn off the Argentine at every opportunity.
“I went to Old Trafford and watched (Bielsa’s) Bilbao against Man United in the Europa League,” Jones said, referencing that stunning 3-2 victory in 2011.
“It was the same traits, Javi Martinez would go in with Rooney off the ball and then they’d attack with seven players.
“Bielsa has been hugely successful, he’s a bit of a trailblazer. I really like how (Leeds) go about the business. I went to a seminar before he took the Lille job and I picked up on some of his ideas, some of his drills.”
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