Marcelo Bielsa & Kemar Roofe nominated for August EFL Awards

Marcelo Bielsa and Kemar Roofe of Leeds United have both been nominated for EFL Awards for the month of August.

Bielsa has been nominated for manager of the month, while Roofe has been nominated for player of the month.

Along with Bielsa, Blackburn Rovers manager Tony Mowbray, Middlesbrough manager Tony Pulis, and Bolton Wanderers manager Phil Parkinson. None of the names on this list are a surprise, as Pulis’ Boro are level with Leeds on top of the league.

Both Parkinson and Mowbray have guided their teams to strong starts, despite both teams being predicted to struggle in the Championship this season. Blackburn is making a return to the Championship after a spending a year in League One and Bolton Wanderers literally guaranteed another Championship season on one of the last kicks of the season last year.

As for the player of the month award, Kemar Roofe is joined by Brentford’s Ollie Watkins, Bolton’s Ben Alnwick, and Bristol City’s Andreas Weimann.

22 year-old Watkins, who burst onto the scene last year with Brentford after transferring to West London from Exeter City, has scored four goals and registered an assist in six league appearances. Brentford are currently fifth in the table, as they look to build upon last year’s success, with the winger playing a key part of their attack.

Alnwick has kept two clean sheets and only surrendered eight goals in six league appearances as Bolton have already gotten 11 points this season after six games, well above their pace of less than a point-per-game last year, which saw them finish on 43 points through 46 games.

Former Derby County winger Weimann has scored five goals and assisted on another for Bristol City in six matches this season. The team is looking to build upon last season, which saw them fall out of the playoff places late in the season and reach the semi-finals of the League Cup.

Good luck to both Leeds representatives in the competitions!