Leeds United parted company with manager Marcelo Bielsa on Sunday after a highly successful and hugely emotional stint at the club.
Revered as much for his presence off the pitch as his achievements on it, the Argentine guided the Whites back to the Premier League after an absence of almost two decades, and helped to establish them as one of the most relentless and enthralling sides in the English game.
But this season has proven tricky for Bielsa and his team, with a number of high profile injuries to a thin squad leaving Leeds somewhat hamstrung and facing the increasingly looming threat of a relegation battle.
Reaction to the manager’s departure from supporters and those associated with the club has largely been one of sadness, and while those sentiments have been echoed by many pundits, some have taken a less sympathetic view of the situation.
We’ve gathered up a host of reactions from a number of the game’s most recognisable figures below...
7. Curtis Woodhouse
“Sad day for football. He divides opinion and some things I watch and how the team sets up I think wtf but the players would follow him over a Cliff and that’s so rare in modern day football. The English game is worse off without this man. Absolutely legend of a gaffa. MOT” (Twitter) | Getty Images
8. Chris Sutton
“I’m not sure getting rid of him was the right move to make, in truth. “There is a heap of pressure on Leeds to survive now under his replacement. You only needed to look at the reaction of the fans to understand what Bielsa means to them. “They’re heartbroken. They adored him. They’d love a statue of him sitting on his bucket to be installed outside Elland Road, and I bet we hear his name sung by the supporters at their next home game. “You can’t sack this beloved boss and still go down. That’s just not an option. If that happens, there will be a real feeling of toxicity towards the board. Bielsa got Leeds through tough spells in the past.” (Daily Mail) | Getty Images
9. Gabriel Agbonlahor
“During the week, I was on the Breakfast show and Leeds fans were agreeing with me. “They said they loved him and was a God there, but his stubbornness was going to cost them their Premier League status. “It took them so long to get back into the Premier League. “He was being that stubborn that he wasn’t going to change the way he played, he wasn’t going to learn from his mistakes. “How many times can you keep getting battered?” (talkSPORT) | Getty Images
10. Garth Crooks
“Just when you thought it had been a difficult week for Leeds having been beaten 6-0 in midweek by Liverpool, the game against Tottenham was about to make it considerably worse. That said, no-one could have predicted Bielsa would have been given the sack after the game, but he had taken Leeds as far as he could.” (BBC Sport) | Getty Images
11. Danny Mills
“He will be hero worshipped for what he did for the club, and rightly so. He was absolutely outstanding. “But results, and performances, and the way they are playing at the moment – they are heading in one direction. “Yes, he will always be a hero for getting them promoted, but you can’t take them down and get beaten by four, five, six and sevens every week.” (talkSPORT) | Getty Images
12. WOLVERHAMPTON, ENGLAND - DECEMBER 04: Matt Smith, Clinton Morrison and Matthew Upson report pitchside for Amazon Prime television ahead of the Premier League match between Wolverhampton Wanderers and West Ham United at Molineux on December 04, 2019 in Wolverhampton, United Kingdom. (Photo by Catherine Ivill/Getty Images)
“I still didn’t think Leeds would do it. I thought they would keep him until the end of the season. He’s been unlucky with injuries. “I look at Bielsa, and he’s a top coach who’s had an unbelievable managerial career, but it just didn’t look like, to me, he had a Plan B or a Plan C. “I’m not going to question him as a manager, because he’s managed at the top level, but what I will say is that when you come to the Premier League, it’s a different league, a demanding league, and Leeds have probably acted now because they’re in a relegation battle here and it’s a big struggle. “It’s sad to see Bielsa go, but if you don’t change, it was always going to happen, and he didn’t want to change”. (Sky Sports) | Getty Images