Jesse Marsch asking Leeds United players to somehow resist Elland Road's 'push in the back' - YEP 7/4/22

Jesse Marsch’s challenges are as many as they are varied and one of the most fascinating is how he will coach Leeds United to go against the Elland Road roar.

By Graham Smyth

It was evident during Saturday’s game against Southampton that there was a tension between what Marsch has asked his players to do and what their fans are asking for.

A moment in the first half illustrated the point beautifully, when Illan Meslier had the ball in his hands with the Saints a little out of shape having just ended an attack high up the pitch after a chaotic period of play. As the Frenchman shaped to start a counter attack, with Rodrigo one of those calling for the ball around the halfway line and the crowd baying for advancement, Diego Llorente threw cold water on the moment, theatrically waving his arms around to appeal for calm.

Meslier acquiesced, paused and Leeds took up a more organised shape before building their next move and, although the question of what might have happened had Rodrigo or Raphinha been given the ball lingered, Marsch’s men soon took the lead having controlled the play for a couple of minutes. The significance of that moment was highlighted after the game, when Marsch himself brought up the importance of cooling off at points in the game.

“We have a term we call 100 to 70,” he said. “It means that, in certain moments, we want them to slow down a little bit and, not always physically but just in their heads, with the ball have a little bit more poise and control with how to put together the next play. When we play here, the fans don’t want to see 100 to 70. They want to see 100 to 150. You can see when Illan catches the ball, the fans want him to play immediately. And so, you know, I’m learning more and more about our fans every match, and I’m enjoying it in the process. But certainly, for us to understand what the rhythm of the game can look like, what the flow is like, what the tempo changes can look like, finding ways to control matches more will be important for us.”

For players so steeped in breakneck football and the competitive application of Marcelo Bielsa’s non-stop murderball, the concept of slowing down will be an alien one. It will take time to make it second nature and not just at Elland Road.

Pascal Struijk described the noise generated by Leeds United fans as a push in the back and, whether they’re at home or away, Leeds fans make a sufficient din to propel their team forward. If they are to carry out the orders of their head coach, the players must, therefore, learn to swim against the tide.

This is not just an issue for Leeds. Only a few days ago Graham Potter addressed the cries of ‘shoot!’ from Brighton fans when play nears the opposition box.

“Of course, the longer you go, you can hear the crowd, ‘Shoot, shoot, shoot’, and that sometimes is a challenge for the players,” he said. “Because sometimes there’s an opportunity to shoot - sometimes it’s a chance for the block and then the transition. And sometimes maybe one more pass gets you in a better position but, if you miss the pass, you should have shot.”

Just as matches in empty stadia played in favour of certain players and not others, some players might have a natural composure that helps them ignore all around them in order to execute game plans and a number of their team-mates may be more easily excited by the crowd.

But there will be no coaching Elland Road to sit on its hands and button its lips in important games when the score is level or Leeds are behind. Many Leeds supporters were reunited with their passion for the club by Marcelo Bielsa’s football and, once that genie was let out of the bottle, again, there was no corking it. So the only answer is to drill poise into the players to the extent that they can resist the urge to obey 30,000 voices.

On the face of it, it doesn’t sound like an easy task. Gareth Southgate recently spoke about playing Jude Bellingham farther forward because of his youthful desire to go and press - giving youth its head rather than imposing the less natural restrictions of a deeper role upon the teenager.

How Marsch will unpick what has become part of the Leeds psyche is difficult to say and how successful he can be in that venture in the short term is difficult to predict.

Perhaps he can turn to his assistant Cameron Toshack, who gained a Psychology degree at the University of Wales. Perhaps scoring the first goal will take sufficient sting out of games to dull the urgency and desperation in the atmosphere. Or maybe signs that his style of football is working will breed patience and understanding for pauses.

What is sure is that Leeds United at 70 miles per hour might not be so quick to catch on.