Leeds United squad band together in sending Jesse Marsch message of support after winless run - YEP 18/10/22

YEP journalist Joe Donnohue analyses Leeds United’s performance against Arsenal at the weekend and why there are reasons to be encouraged despite six games without victory

By Joe Donnohue

Leeds are in a difficult spot one point above the relegation zone after nine Premier League matches this season. The team are a quarter of the way through the campaign and have accrued as many points as they have matches played. Come the end of the season, this would leave the team on 38 points based on their current average, identical to the sum United picked up last season during a year fraught with anxiety, upheaval and narrow escapes.

Marcelo Bielsa’s tenure as Leeds manager came to an end in February, bowing out after six winless Premier League games in-a-row. Leeds’ current run sees the team on a similar stretch, having picked up two points from the last 18 available.

Unlike the period which spelled an emotional farewell for Bielsa, Leeds’ squad has demonstrated their support for the current regime under American head coach Jesse Marsch, largely through their recent performances, which the 48-year-old feels have been deserving of more than the mere two points earned.

According to industry-leading football data company Opta, Leeds have generated nine shots from turnovers high up the pitch in their last four matches. Marsch’s style is predicated upon causing chaos in the opponent’s half by hassling opposition players in possession, thus forcing them into forfeiting the ball to a Leeds player. This is, in essence, what a ‘high turnover’ is.

Opta data suggests Leeds have been successful in this endeavour, especially of late. Against Arsenal, Leeds generated three shot-ending high turnovers, as well as three in their fixture versus Crystal Palace the previous weekend. Partly due to the stop-start nature of their encounter with Aston Villa a week prior, and the second half sending off of Luis Sinisterra, Leeds managed just one high turnover and no shot-ending high turnovers against Steven Gerrard’s side at the beginning of the month.

However, in west London where the Whites were defeated by Brentford, the team recorded another three shot-ending high turnovers and one goal-ending high turnover. These figures may appear unflattering, although in the wider context of the Premier League as a whole, Leeds are one of the most prolific sides at winning possession in dangerous positions.

Only four teams (Leicester City, Newcastle United, Brighton and Hove Albion and Arsenal) have recorded a greater number of shot-ending high turnovers in the division this season – note, Leeds have also played a game fewer. Meanwhile, United have managed to translate a high turnover into a goal on three occasions already this season, a figure bettered only by Brentford, as per Opta.

Nine of United’s 15 shot-ending high turnovers have came in their last four league matches, indicating a growing familiarity and efficacy in Marsch’s style. In addition, Leeds’ PPDA (Passes per Defensive Action) – which calculates on average how many passes a team allows their opponent before attempting to retrieve possession with a tackle, interception or block – is the joint-lowest in the league, meaning they afford their opponents the least amount of time on the ball.

Quickly turning defence into attack, and employing a ceaseless approach to winning possession are two core tenets of Marsch – and the wider Red Bull sphere’s – footballing philosophy. After just over 20 matches under his tutelage – and in the case of this year’s summer signings, even fewer – the squad have adopted the American’s principles of play and are gradually translating them into their performances. Last weekend’s unjust defeat to Arsenal was the clearest manifestation of how Marsch envisages his sides playing football in an ideal world; Leeds recorded their highest single-game xG (Expected Goals) total of the season with 2.2, many of their opportunities deriving from winning possession in advanced areas with aggressive, coordinated pressing movements.

Speaking of pressure, there is plenty when football managers fail to win matches, especially in succession, and scrutiny will only become more intense if the team fail to put an end to their fruitless run against a wounded Leicester City and newly-promoted Fulham. But, for now the team have demonstrated their faith in the system, and Marsch.