How Marcelo Bielsa is on track to break a long-standing Howard Wilkinson Leeds United record

Since the introduction of three points for a win at the start of the 1980s, their record at Championship level is that of a club who tend to fall betwixt and between.

Just five times in 20 seasons in that league have Leeds cleared 70 points and Marcelo Bielsa is on course to become just the second head coach to pass 80, almost three decades after Howard Wilkinson did the same.

Leeds have seven games left to play this term but possess the third-highest point tally accrued by a United squad in the Championship and are in a position to go beyond the figure which took Wilkinson’s team up as champions.

The YEP looks back here at the best second-tier tallies of the past 40 years:

1989-90, Howard Wilkinson – P46 W24 D13 L9 Pts: 85 (champions)

For as long as Leeds have meandered in the EFL, Howard Wilkinson’s players have been the team to emulate and the team to eclipse.

Eighty-five points won his squad the title, on goal difference ahead of Sheffield United, and Wilkinson’s side – in keeping with the man himself – were a model of consistency: nine defeats all season (four of those before New Year’s Day) and a telling unbeaten run of 15 games after losing heavily at Newcastle United on the first weekend, enough to settle a tight, three-horse race involving Newcastle and Sheffield United.

Bielsa’s side are only one win short of the tally of victories under Wilkinson and will surely surpass that figure but with Norwich City already up to 81 points, a total of 85 is certain to fall short of the target needed for the Championship trophy.

2005-06, Kevin Blackwell – P46 W21 D15 L10 Pts: 78 (finished fifth)

Leeds’ closest brush with promotion since 1990 came on Kevin Blackwell’s watch, during the 2005-06 season. The year was Blackwell’s second as manager, a job given to him as Leeds picked up the pieces after relegation from the Premier League in 2004, and a steady stream of signings turned United into a top-six side, albeit for 12 months only.

The club spent on David Healy, Robbie Blake, Shaun Derry, Shaun Gregan, Richard Cresswell, Rob Hulse and others and had sufficient firepower and defensive nous to reach 78 points and finish fifth.

Bielsa’s side are two points further back with 21 left to play for and have already scored more goals but their priority is to avoid the fate which befell Blackwell: a play-off appearance and defeat in the final at Cardiff. In 15 years, Leeds have never gone closer.

2018-19, Marcelo Bielsa – P39 W23 D7 L9 Pts: 76 (currently second)

Leeds are far from finished under Bielsa yet and the scale of the opportunity in front of them is shown by the fact that just twice in all their years in the Championship have a team at Elland Road finished with a higher tally than United have at present.

Seventy-six points from 39 games puts United on course for a final total of 90 if their average per game continues at the same rate and the impetus under the Argentinian is a product of his absolute refusal to play conservatively or play for draws.

Leeds have contested just seven stalemates so far – by contrast, Wilkinson’s side drew 13 times and Blackwell’s 15 – and are very close to the magic average of two points a match. Leeds have committed to high-stakes football under Bielsa, for a potentially big reward.

2016-17, Garry Monk – P46 W22 D9 L15 Pts: 75 (finished seventh)

History will talk less about the final haul under Garry Monk – a very respectable 75 points, given the shallow depth of his resources and the situation he inherited under Massimo Cellino – than it will about the way Monk’s side finished the season.

They were virtually there for a top-six finish after a 3-0 victory over Preston North End on April 8 but conspired to take three points from their last five games, losing their nerve badly in defeats to Wolverhampton Wanderers and Burton Albion after Easter.

Two factors counted against Monk: an excessive number of losses – 15 in all – and the relentless form of Fulham, who came from 12 points back to grab sixth place. At the end of a freak of a campaign, 80 points was needed to make the play-offs, the highest number yet.

2010-11, Simon Grayson – P46 W19 D15 L12 Pts: 72 (finished seventh)

Simon Grayson is the one person who can truly appreciate the way it went for Garry Monk. Grayson’s Leeds were sitting pretty at the start of April 2011, in fifth place with 64 points and seven matches remaining after routing Nottingham Forest 4-1 at Elland Road. But the wheels came off badly after that and by the time Leeds rediscovered the knack of winning, a play-off place had gone.

Defeat at Crystal Palace on Easter Monday was the final straw and it was Forest who nicked sixth position, with a three-point advantage over United. On one hand, Grayson had a brilliant attacking line, who produced 81 goals, a figure which Bielsa’s side are unlikely to match.

On the other, he had a defence who conceded 70 and allowed too many points to slip away. Grayson summed it up himself recently: “To this day, I can’t help wondering what might have been.”