Jesse Marsch changes backed as 'better' Leeds United face Aston Villa at Elland Road - YEP 9/3/22

Ex-Leeds United defender Tony Dorigo writes exclusively for the Yorkshire Evening Post as Jesse Marsch eyes a crucial Premier League game against Aston Villa.

By Tony Dorigo

I have to say I was impressed with Jesse Marsch’s impact on Leeds United after just four days in training.

Given the time that he had with the team, the change at Leicester City was marked.

There was clearly a hell of a lot of tactical work done in those few days to get his ideas across. Clearly there’s a lot more days of training to come so the lads can refine things but, as a first step of playing how he wants to play, I was impressed.

Some things are very, very different and some are similar. Overall, the balance and shape were good and we looked a lot more solid, which is the first thing that needed to be addressed.

What was interesting was how Raphinha and Jack Harrison were playing inside to out, in that 4-2-2-2, and, when we defended, the attackers split to become a solid four. We didn’t go instantly charging after the ball, we got set and then worked together.

Collectively, it was impressive. Everyone had a job to do; they all understood. Mateusz Klich was another interesting one up against Kiernan Dewsbury-Hall - he tried to be a little bit more disciplined. He affected the game going forward but previously, under Marcelo Bielsa, he would have been charging forward. Everyone is being asked to do slightly different jobs.

The closing down, the trigger, when a forward runs in and everyone follows to try and win the ball, we don’t do that immediately, we’re allowing them to have a pass or two and, when we’re set and ready, we go.

With the man to man, if someone was out of position by a yard, we were suddenly beaten and the opposition were away. Now we take an extra second to organise and then play at tempo.

Going forward, there was some of the same slick football; we went a bit more direct at times; we got the ball up there more quickly.

I was impressed with our set-pieces. Sometimes, with the man-to-man marking, it was too easy for teams to play against by simply bunching up together and then your five or six players are trying to find their man and keep to him, but you end up running into each other and it’s an absolute mess.

We came unstuck with that a few times whereas on Saturday we had that solid line in the area and a blend of zonal and picking up. For me, that’s the best approach.

There’s no doubt we should have won. I saw so many positives but, as always, the most important thing is the scoreline and that wasn’t positive. I felt for the lads because they did everything right and made Leicester look very ordinary. I know they haven’t been having a good time but they’re still more than a good side, with quality players.

In all the areas we needed to be better, we were. We had nearly three times as many shots, twice as many corners, but they scored and we didn’t. We should have had two, maybe three, because there were very good chances for a number of players - Raphinha, Harrison, Junior Firpo, it went on and on. Then we got hit with a sucker punch, when we deserved all three points. Getting the attackers firing again is all about confidence.

We made chances, plenty of chances, enough to win games and it’s now about someone running into a bit of form and getting that confidence. Daniel James, when he gets through, doesn’t always look completely convinced that he’ll score, Raphinha is having one of those moments, but there’s no magic pill, you just have to keep going. That’s why this performance was a stepping stone, it will breed confidence. Getting battered every week, conceding four, six and four again, is not good for confidence and it really takes its toll. When you keep battling and yet you concede, you start to think ‘here we go again’. It’s important to end that mentality, which we did on Saturday.

Now we have to take it to the next level and take chances. It’s just that final little bit. You have to keep believing that this is the right thing to do. Someone can get one off their knee, shin or backside, and then I’m sure things will start to move in the right direction.

Patrick Bamford coming back will give the lads a lift, although he’ll take a while to get up to speed. We’ll get stronger and stronger with him and then Kalvin Phillips and Liam Cooper returning. I watched Bamford’s little forlorn jog back to the bench when he realised he wouldn’t be going on at Leicester, but Marsch gave him a little hug to say ‘not today, but soon’.

Under Bielsa, Bamford might have taken a bit longer to get back because of the necessary fitness levels but, clearly, Marsch understands that having Bamford, even for potentially 10 or 15 minutes, will boost everyone around the club. I could see him getting on against Villa.

I wouldn’t think he’ll swap too much for this game. From what I saw, it looked nice and solid and we didn’t vacate the areas too often, we didn’t look as open. When we lost the ball in less-than-ideal areas, you didn’t instantly assume it would end with a strike at our goal.

That formation was good, so let’s see how it goes against Aston Villa. I think the atmosphere will be great. They were singing Marcelo Bielsa’s name at Leicester and rightly so - his name will forever be remembered - but the fans understand that Leeds United will be here longer than any of us will ever be and that’s the most important thing.

They’ll sing their hearts out and they’ll rally behind the boys. Everyone knows they have a part to play.