Leeds United went through three managers during their 22/23 relegation season in the Premier League, with Javi Gracia in the middle as his early form completely imploded towards the back end of the campaign.With Daniel Farke at the helm this season, it’s been refreshing for the vast majority of fans to be trusting in what a manager is doing, especially after how the club replaced Marcelo Bielsa.Jesse Marsch had Leeds trudge to safety before he failed to kick the club on with further investment, then seeing Javi Gracia look to pick up the pieces.Javi Gracia reflects on Leeds and Watford stints in the Premier LeagueIt’s safe to say that Gracia’s stint at Leeds did not go down well, being appointed in late February before being sacked at the start of May.His time unravelled with peculiar decisions made with team selection and tactical approaches before and during games, but he is grateful for the opportunity.Speaking to AS about his time in the Premier League both with Watford and Leeds, he said this:I have had the privilege of being able to enjoy the experience of training there in two teams and the memory is unforgettable. It was a wonderful time for me and my family, including my three children. Everything there is fantastic.”Javi Gracia’s Leeds spell will go down as a baffling oneThe first thing that Leeds fans rejoiced in seeing in Gracia’s opening game against Southampton was the use of width in attack, as left-back Junior Firpo scored the only goal of that game.Positivity continued into following games with wins against Wolves and Nottingham Forest too, along with drawing against Brighton – showing that Leeds had more of a knack to get results against the sides they needed to be beating.However, a second-half collapse against Crystal Palace completely flipped the performances of Gracia’s side on its head, shipping five that game before being thumped by Liverpool and Bournemouth, as well as a totally woeful loss at Fulham in between.Gracia was sacked after that defeat to the Cherries, replaced by Sam Allardyce who also did little to divert the club’s relegation trajectory – playing six defenders and one striker in a game Leeds had to win on the final day against Tottenham, conceding before the two-minute mark.We looked to be cruising to safety before that Palace equaliser, but then we capitulated and it’s down to how Gracia managed us.Poor team selection, Leeds going into the shell when scoring, and a really negative approach for a side built on attacking – he wasn’t the man for us.He was a nice guy and handled the pressure with a calm demeanour, but fans will constantly be baffled at how it went so badly wrong.
