Jesse Marsch before Brentford can’t say anything that will make you feel better - The Square Ball 20/5/22

ONE LAST TIME

Written by: Rob Conlon

We’re a cynical bunch at the best of times. It’s a shame Jesse Marsch seems to have only just learned that lesson now it’s too late. Even Jesse has realised there’s only so much talking a man can do, and his more recent press conferences have become shorter. The problem is, Leeds United’s position means the livestream of his pre-Brentford press conference was full of comments begging him to stop before he had even started. And then he began by congratulating Everton.

As far as things Jesse Marsch has said as Leeds manager go, one of the least annoying has been congratulating Everton, “for a hard fought last couple of months for them, but what a game to come back and show resolve and belief and manage to keep themselves in the league.” Yeah, whatever. It’s the kind of thing football managers obligingly say, then we all go home and get on with the rest of our lives. Coming the morning after Leeds dropped back into the relegation zone, a little over twelve hours since fans started staring into the abyss known as ‘Reading (A)’, the reaction online suggested nobody wanted to hear it. This is where I feel a pang of sympathy for Marsch: there is nothing he can say that will make the rest of this week any less excruciating until this godforsaken season is over and we know what division Leeds United will be playing in next season. And even once it’s over, he should probably keep it low key while we all decompress.

Jesse did actually have some good news. Pat Bamford seems likely to be involved on Sunday. Marsch started cautiously:

“Patrick Bamford has looked really good this week, we still haven’t made a final decision on where he’ll stand for the moment on Sunday, but he had a day off today inside to recuperate effectively, but we’re hopeful we can make the decision in the next couple of days that we can make him available for minutes on Sunday.”

Which made it sound like Bamford might be able to play at the weekend, or might not. But Marsch couldn’t help himself when he was pressed later on Bambo:

“He’s looked good, I think he’ll have a positive impact and we’re just trying to physically prepare him in every way to give us as much hope that he can play as many minutes as he possibly can.”

Which sounds a lot more like he will play at the weekend. How many minutes does he need to score a hat-trick? Give him that many.

This being Leeds United 2021/22, we’re not allowed to have a player returning from injury without losing another. I love Luke Ayling and don’t want him to be hurt, but at least he’s suspended for the weekend, so Bill having surgery on a knee injury that will keep him out for two to four months doesn’t change anything for Sunday. Also, maybe it means we’ll have to keep Raphinha next season otherwise we’ll be short of wing-backs.

Marsch dropped in that Tyler Roberts was back in training today too and is ahead of schedule in his recovery, which is another good example of why sometimes it’s better to stay quiet while Jesse is learning what his audience do and don’t like.

The journos in the room were clearly plugged into the mood online, asking Jesse whether he’s spoken to the board about what the craic is going to be if/when everything goes tits up at the weekend:

“We’ve not had any communication other than to say they have done some behind-the-scenes planning to make sure that we’re in good shape in any direction the season may go in. That financially with the player pool, what the future may bring, that we’re very secure and able to move forward in a positive direction, which they said to me at the very beginning. Before I came here, I asked the questions about what it would look like if it goes in this direction, or what it would look like if it goes in that direction. They were clear that they had a plan, they were able to map out what some of that plan looks like, there is clarity already. In that sense, they’ve kind of left me alone to not have to focus on anything other than the job at hand and do everything I can to keep us up.”

And on his own future, does Jesse fancy Reading (A)?

“Yeah absolutely, when we talked about coming this was about a long-term project and I am thankful the club committed to me in that way. You always know as a manager if things get tough that you never know what the future may hold, but I believe with the connections we’ve made and the work style, and ideas of what this football life is, really mesh well together. The support I’ve had from everyone has been amazing, but again, I’m not thinking about the long term project in this moment. I’m thinking only about Sunday and doing everything we can to prepare ourselves for that.”

As ever, where there’s hope there’s Eddie Gray, and Mr Leeds United has been around Thorp Arch chatting with Marsch:

“Eddie Gray was here yesterday and he told me that in the old stadium at Brentford it was always incredibly difficult to play there, and with the newer stadium it’s really nice, but that energy is not as powerful and it might be a little easier to play there now. We expect in their last match of the season — in their first season in the PL — for their fans to be there to celebrate what an incredible season and their team to perform for their fans. I think at this point we don’t need any extra motivation and we need to expect that Brentford will be at their absolute best and that’s what we will do.

“Eddie didn’t come to give a talk, he was just here, but he’s such a wonderful man and he has a lot of wisdom. He’s been very generous to me, I like speaking to him, I feel like he’s a real person and has real experiences. He’s incredibly positive so we spoke about what this club is to the community, to what it’s like to come here to this training centre, to what it’s like to represent Leeds United, to his nephews and sons, his connection to what football is, this club is, the future of the club with his great nephews and grandsons. What an incredible man he is, and that he can still at his age go jogging three or four times a week and stay fit. He looks like a machine, so it was great to have him here and nice for me to have that experience.”

Maybe ask Eddie to take his boots to Brentford, Jesse. Anyway, for the last time this season, here’s the rest:

After congratulating Everton, Marsch bemoaned how, “for us the results haven’t always gone our way in the last month. We went from after Watford being eight or nine points up and looking like things were relatively secure to then having a lot of teams around us win matches and being sucked down back into the relegation zone.” It’s not just because other teams started winning, it’s also because we started losing.

Even though Thursday’s results didn’t go the way Leeds hoped, watching the games, “there is always something you can learn about how teams respond, how teams handle moments, what the body language is like, how players and teams handle difficulty.” Thankfully, Jesse didn’t get any ideas about copying Everton by going 2-0 down to win 3-2: “The key is that the focus for us is to have a good start, bring ourselves into the match really well, be positive, find a way to get a lead. In the reverse way that can put Burnley under pressure if they know that we’re having a positive result in our match.”

The squad is feeling “a mixture of being pissed off, emotional, or disappointed” after Thursday’s results, “but the mood in the training centre today was really good.” Hopefully they haven’t looked at Twitter since finishing.

If Marsch wants clarity, Burnley’s result gave him clarity: “A win gives us the best opportunity.”

Jesse hasn’t had to use “a lot of extra energy” to make sure his players are dealing with the emotions of the final week because he does that anyway, “that’s something I care about.” But he knows this is when a manager has to be at his best.

Unlike plenty of Leeds fans, Marsch slept well on Thursday night. He’s excited, even if in previous final day situations he’s used to challenging for a title rather than battling relegation, “but whatever,” he says.

Brentford are good wi’out the ball with pressing and stuff but also good wi’ it. Especially Christian Eriksen. They’re also good from set-pieces. Especially Christian Eriksen. Friday at Thorp Arch was “set-piece day”, watching videos and practising them on the pitch. If anyone knows a bookies offering odds on Pontus Jansson to score from a Christian Eriksen corner hmu.

Jesse has been in final day situations before so knows how to communicate the relevant information to the players, even if some of his staff haven’t. “Everybody in the staff has some football experiences for sure, but I’ve been on the last matchday.” For some reason this made me think about them accidentally subbing Luke Ayling off against Southampton.

The last match of the season needs to be a representation of everything the squad has been through in the twelve weeks under Marsch, which I’m genuinely intrigued to judge it on.

The injured and suspended players are going to be dragged along so they can all go through the ordeal together. He might not have described it as an ordeal. I am describing it as an ordeal.

Marsch has had a few ideas about what to make his last message before kick-off, but there have been times he has asked the players to say something themselves. Regardless of the result, fans “should be really proud of these young men”.

He hasn’t gone through which players will be staying and which will be going, depending on which division Leeds are playing in next season, but the best chance of keeping the group together is to stay in the Premier League. “I’ve really enjoyed the group, so I would hate to see some of the guys go because I think I’ve made a real connection with the players here.”

Jesse doesn’t want to change how he tries to inspire his players because “it can sometimes add more pressure and more gravity”. Leeds need to be “calm and clear”, obviously.

My favourite part of the press conference was when Marsch was asked whether this is the biggest game of his managerial career. He immediately responded yes, but then concluded: “In the end, who cares?” That’s what I want to hear! Maybe he’s finally got it! Actions speak louder than words, right Jesse!

Except he prefaced that by saying, “I was asked that in a few different interviews yesterday and I answered it in different ways,” which sounds like we’re going to have to hear from him again before Sunday after all, starting with a sit-down interview with Football Focus on Saturday. Oh fine then. Stay in the Premier League on Sunday, and I suppose none of the chat will matter. Just don’t listen expecting Marsch to say anything that will make you feel any calmer until it’s all over.