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He'd love murderball: Why Leeds star was born to play in the Bielsa era

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Published Sep 18, 2026, 7:10 AM GMT+1

Matt specialises in football analysis, transfer insight and original feature writing across the Premier League, EFL and Scottish football.

A sports writer for 15 years, Matt graduated with a BA in Sports Journalism in 2018 and has developed particular expertise in Arsenal and the wider Premier League while also reporting on clubs including Tottenham Hotspur, Leeds United, Celtic, Rangers and teams across the EFL. He joined Football FanCast as part of its writing team in 2019 before progressing to Assistant Editor and then becoming a Senior Editor in 2021.

His work combines authoritative reporting with data-led analysis, tactical insight and informed transfer assessment. Matt regularly examines how players fit into different systems, what their underlying numbers reveal about their performances and whether transfer targets represent realistic solutions for clubs. His analysis aims to go beyond the headline, explaining not just what has happened but what it means for a team, manager or player.

Matt's journalism has also appeared through the Press Association, with his work featured by Sky Sports and the Daily Mail. He previously served as Arsenal and Premier League Editor at VAVEL and gained first-hand club-media experience with Chesterfield FC. Over his career, he has interviewed figures including Arsène Wenger, Ray Parlour, Alan Smith, Lucy Bronze and Steph Houghton. Matt's voice has been heard across Arsenal Fan TV and Love Sport Radio.

Through his reporting, analysis and features, Matt brings readers credible football insight grounded in research, statistics, tactical understanding and years of experience covering the professional game.

Today, Matt leads Football FanCast's features team as Senior Editor, overseeing the publication's opinion coverage while helping shape its overall editorial standards and content strategy.

Has Daniel Farke already surpassed Marcelo Bielsa's legacy at Leeds?

It's an interesting debate. While the great Bielsa brought the West Yorkshire club back to the Premier League for the first time in nearly two decades, he eventually received his marching orders.

Farke, however, has been able to establish the Elland Road club as not just Premier League regulars, but a force to be reckoned with. They sit third in the top-flight and are on course for European football.

Long gone are the Bielsa days, the Murderball training sessions. That said, Leeds still have a number of players who look as though they are from that era.

What was Murderball?

Speaking in October 2020, Pep Guardiola was full of praise for the legendary Bielsa. "He is probably the person I admire the most in world football - as a manager and as a person," the Spaniard said.

"He is the most authentic manager in terms of how he conducts his teams. He is unique. Nobody can imitate him, it's impossible," Pep concluded.

Marcelo Bielsa's record at Leeds (timeless)

Well, quite. Some of Bielsa's practises are rather odd. In charge of Uruguay at the 2026 World Cup, he did not see the benefit of playing pre-tournament friendly matches. It perhaps cost them any chance of competing.

Yet, there are methods that are worth their weight in gold. Murderball was one of them. What was it? Well, it was a training exercise designed to improve fitness levels and intensity. We'll let Luke Ayling do the explaining here.

"Training is hard to explain," the right-back once said in an interview. "There's a lot of mannequin stuff but it's all short, sharp sprints and then on the Wednesday, there's a thing called ‘Murderball’."

Ayling continued: "You go out and it's a full-sided game and we just play football. Just play a game, but it's five minutes and people are kicking lumps out of each other. You fall down and don't get a foul. They're counter-attacking, the ball goes out so the staff chuck in another ball. Five minutes, you rest for a minute and then go again. That’s where we get our fitness from. Hell for leather, run into each other, no fouls, no offsides. The most annoying thing for a defender, you scream for offside but you’ve got the manager and four members of staff just going, ‘run, run!’"

With that in mind, it was hardly a surprise Leeds played at breakneck speed during matches. It worked a treat in the Championship and it worked for a period of time in the Premier League. Alas, it all ended in tears. Bielsa had to go.

Five managers later and Leeds have struck gold again, this time with Farke.

Farke signing would be perfect in the Bielsa era

The recruitment Leeds have carried out since being promoted again in 2025 has been nothing short of exceptional.

A year ago they welcomed the likes of Dominic Calvert-Lewin, Anton Stach and Gabriel Gudmundsson to the club. They now form three pillars of this exciting Leeds team.

In 2026, their business was impressive again. James Trafford was the marquee arrival, signing from Manchester City. He was joined by Harry Wilson, Melvin Bard, Jean-Matteo Bahoya, Michael Zetterer, Nicol Elvedi and, last but not least, Tarik Muharemovic.

Leeds 2026/27 incomings

Player

Fee

James Trafford	£40m
Tarik Muharemovic	£34m
Nico Elvedi	£8.5m
Michael Zetterer	£4.3m
Harry Wilson	Free
Jean-Mattéo Bahoya	Loan
Melvin Bard	Loan

While Farke is still waiting for some of those names to come good, notably Wilson, the addition of £34m man Muharemovic looks to have been a masterstroke.

He looks like an exceptional talent, a player who would fit seamlessly into the Bielsa era as well as the modern era. Why? Well, with 0.75 successful dribbles per 90 minutes, he's one of the best ball-carrying centre-backs in the Premier League right now.

Compared to positionally similar peers in the top-flight, he ranks among the finest 13% for that metric. He's a modern centre-back, someone who is perfect for English football.

Standing at 6 foot 4, he's also a man mountain, a colossus. His physicality is unmatched in the Leeds team right now. That doesn't just make him perfect for the direction Premier League football has headed in, but it would also make him perfect for Bielsa. This is a player who would absolutely relish a bit of Murderball.

This term, he has recorded 12.5 defensive contributions per 90, ranking him among the finest 10% of centre-backs in the division. He's made 8.2 clearances and two interceptions per 90 too. This is a physical beast, someone who loves the aggressive side of the game. Can you imagine him during a training session under Bielsa? It's a scary thought.

He's a powerful and mean defender but he's also got a bit of class about him. He scored against Chelsea in the Carabao Cup and netted a jaw-dropping acrobatic effort against German side Augsburg in pre-season.