Jesse Marsch is Mr Exclusive - The Square Ball 6/4/22

EXTRA, EXTRA

Written by: Rob Conlon

How many exclusives can somebody give before they stop being exclusive? Jesse Marsch never seems to stop communicating how much he values communication, communicating exclusively with Sky Sports, The Athletic, and now BBC Radio Leeds since replacing Marcelo Bielsa as Leeds United manager.

If communicating is wrong, then Marsch doesn’t want to be right. It’s admirable, really. But he has been at Leeds for such a short period of time he keeps getting asked the same questions about the same subjects, so keeps talking about the same things. It reminds me of Michael Calvin’s book ‘Living On A Volcano’, in which Calvin was given the sort of access to some of the biggest managers in the country that most journalists thought had disappeared amid the growing influence of press officers and PR managers. One of the most interesting chapters involves Brian McDermott talking about the state Leeds United was in when he was manager. The club had been stripped of its infrastructure to such an extent McDermott was having to ask other clubs if he could borrow statistical data on his own players. As for the rest of the book, the main lesson is that, whatever your access, most managers say exactly the same things. They want their teams to play passing, progressive football. And their job isn’t about results, it’s about getting the best out of fine young men.

I was hoping Marsch’s fourth ‘exclusive’ in almost as many weeks might reveal something different. At the end of March, he spoke to the American soccer podcast Men In Blazers. Given their audience is more familiar with Marsch both as a player and manager, this was hopefully a chance to hear him being a bit more relaxed, answering some different questions. Host Roger Bennett is a Liverpudlian, but unashamedly enthralled by the American Dream. Bennett’s autobiography is titled, ‘Reborn in the USA: An Englishman’s Love Letter to his Chosen Home.’ He unironically refers to Marsch leaving Fizzy Leipzig as a “conscious uncoupling”, and ends the interview with the words, “America is rooting for you. Courage.”

The main takeaway from this interview is just how long Marsch has been thinking about managing Leeds United. We already knew Victor Orta first contacted Marsch a couple of years ago, when Jesse was still managing Salzburg, but Marsch explains exactly how that initial meeting went:

“Victor Orta first reached out to me in the first pandemic lockdown and said, I would like to have a Zoom call with you and talk a little bit about our club. He said, ‘We have a great coach, his name is Marcelo Bielsa.’ I knew Marcelo obviously from all the different places he had been and the type of football he plays. I’d followed Leeds because they were looking like they were going to emerge as the promotion team to come into the Premier League next year.

“But what was really interesting was Victor showed me statistics about the way they played. He talked about some of their run performances, and then he compared them to the way my teams played in both Salzburg and New York. He talked about how there were similarities. Frankly, he said, ‘Listen, we do a really good job of trying to scout players that we think will fit into our system…’”

This was during the same lockdown Leeds were trying to pretend they hadn’t signed Jean-Kevin Augustin, but carry on.

“’…and we also do a good job of trying to create a network of coaches that we think can also be a possibility year after year. It’s not because we want to get rid of our coach, it’s because we always want to have a plan in place.’

“That kind of preparation, that kind of mindset, that kind of statistical analysis hits home with me because that’s how I think and that’s how I operate. When I’ve thought about going club to club, even though I’ve stayed in the Red Bull business, I’ve looked at statistical data and what different places would look like for me and what the player pool is. So I thought it was really smart to have a sport director like that. Right away I was drawn to the idea of Leeds United, not about being in the Premier League or anything like that, but just being attached to something where I thought there was a similar mindset.”

Even though Leeds were in the middle of a promotion battle, it’s no surprise Orta was trying to work out who could replace Bielsa given the nature of the one-year contracts he signed. At the time, Bielsa was sounding the club out about the average wage for a Championship manager, making the board think he was willing to stay for a third crack at promotion if it wasn’t the “formality” Adam Forshaw was predicting, but Orta obviously didn’t want to be complacent. Lee Bowyer and Steven Gerrard were being mentioned as potential candidates in 2020, but when Marsch was eventually appointed, he was reportedly on a list of options with Ernesto Valverde and Carlos Corberan.

Maybe Leeds’ long-term interest undermines Marsch’s insistence that his decision to leave Leipzig earlier this season, accepting it wasn’t the right fit between club and manager, was as “brave” as he likes to make out, if he knew there was another position waiting for him, potentially not far from from becoming vacant. Or maybe I’m being unfair. I don’t want to be sceptical of Jesse — Radz and co, less so — he seems like a nice enough fella trying his best in difficult circumstances. But it’s difficult not to wince when the Pro Licence chat starts sounding like a motivational talk from Jake Humphrey. He left New York Fizzies to become assistant at the Leipzig branch because he was in a “comfort zone”. Later, he says: “My office is a sold out stadium. That’s my office, and that’s where I’m comfortable.” But I thought being comfortable is bad? Has anyone ever been comfortable in Elland Road? When he flew to Leeds to take the job, he was asked by a customs official checking his passport, “So you’re here to save us?” Marsch replied, “No, I’m here for us to save us.” I mean, come on mate! What does that even mean?

At least Jesse knows fans will doubt him. It’s nothing new, and he insists he doesn’t care. When he was first appointed in New York, he attended a fan Q&A where his appointment was openly berated by yelling supporters. In Salzburg, fans hung banners that read, ‘Nein zu Marsch.’ But as determined as he is to prove people wrong by being himself, he also says he’s trying to stop using American terminology like PKs and soccer. Leave that for Richard Keys and Matt Law to worry about, Jesse. I’m not arsed about how you say things, but I am interested in what you’re saying. And sometimes there’s nothing wrong with having nothing to say.