Bielsa is a Cheat

ivoralljack

Grizzled Veteran
Staff member
Well strictly speaking, Bielsa isn't a cheat. There is NOTHING in the laws of the game that precludes him having another team watched in training. He maintains, probably truthfully, that this a practice he has always adhered to throughout his footballing life. It happens that we tend not to do this sort of thing over here (at least, no one ADMITS to it :rolleyes:) but it is something he has always done..... and presumably so have others abroad.

So, if what he's been doing is not illegal then the only charge that can be made against him is one involving morals and ethics. Morals and ethics in football? Really? The entire game is based on cheating. Every intentional foul of any description is cheating. (He took that card for the team, we hear). No he fucking didn't, he cheated!! Every single dive is cheating. Every time a ball goes out of play you have players from both sides screaming that it's their ball when one side knows damned well that it's not. But they appeal anyway in the hope that they get the decision even when they know it's wrong. Time wasting is cheating. Pretending to be hurt in a tackle to run down the clock is cheating (the full time of the stoppage is never added on). Oh, and of course, referees and linos cheat, imo. We all know it goes on.

So my point is that there are far more urgent things that need fixing in football than a manager having another team watched in training. Teams are openly scrutinised anyway by the opposition in competitive games, so the little extra information they might glean by watching a team in training shouldn't make all that much difference. That's my take anyway for what it's worth.

PS: @Yankee_Jack might well remember the old dressing rooms at Ponty before the team was allowed to use the modern facilities of an adjoining school. Well these changing rooms were made of wood and both teams were separated by a wooden partion wall. At the top there was a gap to allow a thick conduit pipe to run through. We discovered that when one of us climbed up there and listened through the gap, every word that was spoken in the adjoining visitor's changing room could be clearly heard. We first started doing this when Ivor came to us. Practically every team we played had a plan to rough him up and we wanted to know the what and the who of it so we could take care of it/them before they got to him. I can tell you it worked a treat. Thing is, was this cheating because we also got a sense of their game plan?

PPS: Yankee, you well know the person who first had the idea to do this and was the first to climb up there. Care to take a guess and post his initials here? I'll tell you if you're right. ;)
 
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ivoralljack

Grizzled Veteran
Staff member
And ... everything Ducks did was "illegal"
Never mind what he did and, as you know, that was plenty, Ducks himself should have been made illegal! :ROFLMAO: Loved the guy.

I'm guessing HP or DH.
And you guessed right with HP. Had to be him didn't it? :LOL: Great, great character and a terrific footballer as well. As Ivor told me, easily good enough to have been a Football League professional but the silly bugger just never bothered. What a waste! :(
 

Yankee_Jack

Key Player
HP would have had to climb on somebody's back to get up to the vent. When I was there, second only to Ivor in fitness was HP, then I guess there was BE and myself.
 

ivoralljack

Grizzled Veteran
Staff member
HP would have had to climb on somebody's back to get up to the vent. When I was there, second only to Ivor in fitness was HP, then I guess there was BE and myself.
BE? Bobby? When I was there he was superfit and a strong so and so as well. He wasn't very tall but hell he was strong. Worked out in the gym with him many times lifting weights and he was incredible. Had a great left foot as well did Bobby. Quiet guy and a terrific bloke.

HP would have had to climb on somebody's back to get up to the vent.
He did!! :ROFLMAO::ROFLMAO: Never on mine though. I wouldn't trust the little sod on my back. He was always pulling pranks and his favourite was to slap your nuts from behind with a wet towel when you were drying off after a shower....... usually when you had one foot up up on the locker bench leaving your jewels exposed to attack. o_O You quickly learned never to turn your back on the git! :LOL:
 

ivoralljack

Grizzled Veteran
Staff member
Graham Potter's take on Bielsagate as reported in the Sun today:

I have no problem with it. If someone wants to get in a car and come to watch us train, it's something I'm not too bothered about.
For me it's been blown up and I don't think it's necessarily as bad as it's been made out.
Bielsa is a hugely influential coach so rather than be critical, you should see if you can learn anything from him. WE TALK ABOUT FAIR PLAY BUT THERE'S A LOT OF HYPOCRITICAL BEHAVIOUR THERE AS WELL.
(My caps).

So in other words Potter is saying more or less what I did. Naturally I agree with him. :LOL:
 
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