Blake: Leeds have management to establish themselves in Premier League

Blake was a player at Elland Road during Leeds’ period of financial adversity in the early 2000s, and witnessed the club drop into League One for the first time in their history. However, after more than a decade of waiting for their Premier League return, Blake now feels Leeds have the potential to remain in top-flight football for a number of seasons.

"It’s great to see Leeds back and I do feel if they survive the season - which looks likely at this stage - they’ll be a force to be reckoned with in the next five years. They’ve built a solid foundation and the owners aren’t short of money, so it wouldn’t surprise me to see them kick on from here," said Blake.

Leeds’ recent renaissance has been pioneered by former Argentina and Chile manager Marcelo Bielsa, who is renowned for deploying a vigorous, attacking brand of football. While the Bielsa philosophy relies on the extreme fitness levels and discipline, it has helped propel Leeds to a comfortable spot in the Premier League table, to Blake’s admiration.

"I think Leeds have been a breath of fresh air this season," stated Blake. "It’s been great to see a manager come in and take all the big guns on, playing each of them at their own game. Bielsa’s a top manager, and although I wouldn’t fully model my team on his style of football, he plays the game in the ideal way, with a quick tempo, sharp passing and lots of movement.

"If you had any other manager in charge of the squad of players Leeds have, I genuinely believe they’d be in the bottom three, which shows just how important he is."

Blake is perhaps most remembered for sporting claret colours in his playing days, having represented Burnley during two separate spells at Turf Moor.

Although Burnley endured a shakier start to the season than Leeds initially and are now locked in a relegation battle, their future in the Premier League has perhaps been strengthened by ALK Capital’s takeover of the club in late December.

Despite the influx of funds however, Blake is adamant Burnley will continue to follow their watertight business model, as it has helped keep them in the Premier League since their promotion in 2016.

"I look out for both teams obviously: I’ve got a huge affection for Burnley and I really admire how they sustain themselves in the Premier League year in year out. They don’t throw money away and they have a fantastic manager... Sean Dyche does an excellent job for them and sets them up properly. The takeover shouldn’t change that," he said.

Following several outbreaks of coronavirus at Premier League clubs in recent weeks, such as Fulham, Manchester City and Aston Villa, many have questioned the safety of football during these testing times, including new West Bromwich Albion boss Sam Allardyce. Although a ‘circuit break’ has been proposed to pause the Premier League for two weeks, Blake believes the testing system is currently secure enough to weather the storm.

"It goes without saying that the safety of everyone involved is paramount, but I’m pleased we’ve still got football on the TV. I believe they test the players and staff twice a week, and whilst there has been a rise in cases, I don’t think it’s enough to stop everything at this moment in time.

"Obviously, football is not the be all and end all, but it seems to be manageable with the protocols the Premier League has in place," he remarked.

Blake also shared his view on Allardyce’s circuit break request, stating: "Sam has been quite clever by asking, because the break would give him two weeks of getting the team prepared in his shape, so I understand that side of it. It’ll be a different test for Sam this year, and it’ll be interesting to see if he manages to keep them up."