Leeds United's Joe Gelhardt and Tyler Roberts question and an answer fans might have to accept

When times are hard and results aren’t consistently good, like right now for the Whites in the midst of a six-game run that has included one draw, two wins and three defeats, the questions come thick and fast for any head coach.

Supporters want to question Bielsa on tactics because it’s just as natural as judging individual performances or debating refereeing decisions. But nothing comes under scrutiny quite like team selection.

In the promotion season, thanks to the largely consistent manner in which Leeds went about their business, there were few selection decisions that needed working out.

The one that caused most consternation was Bielsa’s continued faith in Patrick Bamford, despite goal droughts and missed chances, despite the presence of Eddie Nketiah on the bench. Nketiah was taking chances from limited amounts of game time and for all the world looked like the finisher Leeds were lacking during Bamford’s struggles in front of goal. On and on the questions came for Bielsa, phrased in a variety of ways but, as he well knew, all asking the same thing - why not Nketiah? He explained himself, at length, highlighting that Nketiah ran more than Bamford but that running was to try and score goals whereas Leeds’ No 9 was expected to run for the team. Bamford might not have been finishing his chances on a regular enough basis but he was fulfilling the role as Bielsa required. So he played and Nketiah waited, until his and Arsenal’s patience ran out. That was when, with half a season to go and a Championship winner’s medal in the offing, Nketiah ran out on Leeds and Bielsa.

Time proved Bielsa correct as Bamford not only played an important role in the club’s ascension to the Premier League with six goals, two assists and a host of big performances, but went on to score 17 goals in the top flight last season. With eight assists thrown in for good measure, there were no questions for Bielsa over the No 9 shirt for a full season. Last season was a simpler time than the one we’re living in now.

Bamford has played just 459 of Leeds’ 2,070 Premier League minutes, a series of injuries reducing him to a frustrated onlooker as Bielsa picks from Daniel James, Rodrigo, Tyler Roberts and Joe Gelhardt.

After a game against Newcastle United in which Leeds missed a natural centre-forward and ahead of the visit to Aston Villa, the question fans wanted their head coach to answer was ‘why are you persisting with James up front?’.

End product has not come easily to the winger this season, even when playing as a striker, but then he scored twice at Villa Park and, at least temporarily, silenced the questions.

Few could argue with the selection of James as a striker in the team that faced Everton but, after a mess of a first-half performance, Bielsa went with a different option for the second 45 and you could hear the question coming from supporters before it was even asked. Why Roberts and not Gelhardt?

It’s a fair question when you look at their offensive output. Gelhardt has a goal and three assists in the Premier League, while Roberts has one goal and one assist.