Joey Barton labels £11m Leeds United player ‘dreadful’ as his decline goes on

When a manager has a reputation for transforming mediocre players into mostly exceptional ones, it is typically a sign of exceptional management. Despite having players like Aleksandr Mitrovic, Ruben Loftus-Cheek, Joachim Andersen, and Ademola Lookman, Scott Parker was relegated to Fulham that season. In the same season, Marcelo Bielsa led a motley crew of EFL regulars and journeymen to a top-half Premier League finish. Only Raphinha, the now-Barcelona talisman, was a starter for Bielsa’s 2020–21 team and has since achieved greater success.

After the mysterious Argentine was replaced by the unpopular Jesse Marsch, Bielsa’s influence over players like Luke Ayling, Liam Cooper, and Patrick Bamford—once a 17-goal Premier League striker—quickly waned. In just three years, Kalvin Phillips has gone from being named England’s Player of the Year to being on loan at Ipswich Town.Additionally, Jack Harrison’s returns are a sharp contrast to his stats at Elland Road, even though he may still be playing top-flight games at Everton.

As Joey Barton recalls Marcelo Bielsa’s Leeds United, Jack Harrison is described as “dreadful at Everton.”

Harrison scored 21 goals or provided 21 assists in two Premier League seasons while playing for Leeds United. He has only three apiece in a year and a half at Goodison Park.Harrison hasn’t performed well in 2024–25 either, and Everton’s devoted supporters are rapidly growing impatient with a player who, let’s not forget, has a first division hat-trick to show for his Leeds tenure. Not even football’s Morrissey-obsessed Mr. Miserable, Joey Barton, can adequately praise Bielsa’s outstanding performance with a rather small squad.

The former Newcastle, Manchester City, and Burnley midfielder remembers, “I thought Leeds, when Bielsa had them, were a bit open to watch, but you’d like watching Leeds even though they struggled and Bielsa ended up losing his job.” “You know, their playing was a breath of fresh air in the early part,” I recall. They brought the game to everyone, and Kalvin Phillips and other talented young players were on the team.

“[Philips] has had a lot of trouble at Ipswich. At Man City, he had trouble. However, he joined Leeds as an England international.Even Jack Harrison seemed like a handful at Leeds, but he was awful at Everton. Luke Ayling, a troublemaker who played for Leeds after previously playing for Yeovil, was one of their players. Bamford, Patrick “They weren’t these amazing athletes. However, when Bielsa returned them to the top division, I felt they were a welcome change as a team and as a unit.

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