Peter Crouch is a columnist for Sportsmail
Espionage was never a strong point for footballers. Back in the day, if your manager knew you had a mate at a club you were playing that weekend, he would ask you to make a phone call.
You can imagine how the conversation went: 'Hiya! How are you? Er…. Are you playing this weekend, by any chance? What's your team going to be!'
Usually, it would go one of two ways. You'd find out your mate was being picked and nothing else or — if he had fallen out with their manager — you would get the full starting line-up. You certainly didn't need camouflage, notebooks and wire cutters!
Those phone calls don't go on any more, as everyone is too professional, but the story with Leeds boss Marcelo Bielsa has taken things up to a whole new level. Even now, as I think about what he has admitted to this week, I can't quite believe it.
We play Leeds at the Bet365 Stadium on Saturday. We were the first team to play them this season. They beat us 3-1 on August 5 and when I look back at that match in light of his revelations — they overran us in the first 20 minutes — it makes me wonder what they knew in advance.
Marcelo Bielsa admitted to spying on every single one of Leeds' opponents so far this season
Our Clayton Woods training ground is in a rural area that dog walkers regularly use. You can see the pitches and we often have fans watching so I can only assume some of Bielsa's staff joined them last summer, given what he said on Wednesday.
There is no question what Bielsa has admitted to is morally wrong but it doesn't outrage me. He has dealt with it in a manner nobody could have expected, taking full responsibility and not hiding behind the club. Many people are angry but be honest — you will be delighted if you support Leeds.
I'm not condoning what he's done. The difference between finding out a team in advance and knowing exactly what system the opponents will use is massive. Tactics are sacred and it's why they are so closely guarded.
Leeds beat us 3-1 in August and when I look back it makes me wonder what they knew before
Rafa Benitez, for example, always did his tactical work at Melwood before Liverpool went away in Europe. We used to train at the stadium whenever we landed but it was never more than a five-a-side game to get the flight out of our system, as Rafa expected someone to be spying.
You expected it in big Champions League games, but for Bielsa to have done it for every Championship game is remarkable. The amount of time he has invested in working out what the other 23 teams do is unprecedented.
Computer presentations are nothing new — every club in every division will have a technical analyst who cuts clips and these men are becoming more important than assistant managers — but there is no doubt Bielsa has taken things to extremes by sending out spies.
However, Leeds are not top of the table because they have been watching other teams train. They are an impressive young side, full of energy and desire — and they have been well drilled by one of the great modern coaches. Spying won't get them promoted. Bielsa will.
Rafa Benitez would never do anything tactical just before European matches for fear of spies
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