Inside Jesse Marsch’s failed move to Southampton - The Athletic 16/2/23
By Jacob Tanswell and Simon Johnson
Southampton have an extensive database of managers, and one
name that had been in it for a while was Jesse Marsch.
If the appointment of Nathan Jones signified a deviation
from the club’s strategy, making Marsch his successor was felt to be more
in-line. It was supposed to be the convenient fit.
Southampton started sounding out replacements for Jones in
the lead-up to the Welshman’s final game, a galling 2-1 defeat at home to
10-man Wolves on Saturday. Official confirmation of his sacking, after only
three months in charge, came just before 10am on Sunday — almost a week after
Marsch, ditched by fellow Premier League side Leeds United four days earlier,
had first been mentioned as a possible candidate.
Marsch had been tracked by Southampton for seven years, and
they had compiled a 60-page dossier on the American, who has managed clubs
under the Red Bull umbrella in New York, the Austrian city of Salzburg and
Germany’s Leipzig. Such experience appealed to the St Mary’s hierarchy,
particularly given Red Bull’s alignment in playing style chimed with
Southampton under Ralph Hasenhuttl, who was himself fresh off two years
managing RB Leipzig when he came to them early in the 2018-19 season.
Southampton first became aware of Marsch during his time at
New York Red Bulls of MLS, between 2015 to 2018. Their interest far pre-dated
the arrival of new owner Sport Republic and its co-founder Rasmus Ankersen in
January last year, and it was Ankersen who was the influential voice in hiring
Jones away from Championship side Luton Town in November to replace Hasenhuttl.
It soon became clear, though, that sourcing a replacement
for Jones was a matter of urgency. Southampton’s board deemed it crucial to act
fast and decisively and have a manager in situ before the game at Chelsea on
February 18.
Marsch had not left the UK in the short time since the end
of his 11-month reign at Elland Road and was still renting a home in Harrogate,
a short drive north of Leeds, with his wife, Kim. A few of Leeds’ players had
seen the 49-year-old out and about in the Yorkshire spa town since he was
sacked by the Elland Road club on Monday, February 6.
Hours after Jones was let go, The Athletic reported
Southampton’s long-standing interest in Marsch, with the former USMNT
midfielder on the shortlist to take over at St Mary’s.
On Monday, February 13, Southampton had an opening round of
talks with Marsch. In discussions, the potential length of his contract was
outlined. The club’s offer was an initial six-month deal, with an option of an
extension.
Overall, the meeting was positive, with Marsch impressing
the board with his enthusiasm and mutual vision. A second round of talks was
scheduled for the following day and the issue over the length of the contract
was set to be resolved. Throughout the various stages of negotiations, talks
went well and both parties reached an agreement in principle.
Marsch arrived in Southampton on Tuesday afternoon, staying
overnight at the Harbour Hotel in the south coast city’s Ocean Village marina.
He was expected to finalise everything the next day.
He went to bed that night to sleep on a final decision.
Early on Wednesday morning, two people-carriers were stationed directly outside
his hotel, ready and waiting… but a deal was never completed.
A source with knowledge of the negotiations, who will remain
anonymous to protect relationships, insisted a long-term contract was never
discussed and that Marsch’s salary or potential bonuses were not sticking
points.
But on Wednesday afternoon, reports emerged of talks
breaking down.
The proposed length of contract, a sticking point
throughout, was quickly seen as the determining factor. Marsch’s decision,
however, was not quite as black and white.
From his point of view, there were many aspects of
Southampton’s infrastructure he liked but, given he had only been sacked by
Leeds nine days earlier, the timing felt slightly off.
Coupled with Southampton’s position three points adrift at
the bottom of the league and some of his backroom staff, such as Paco Gallardo
and Chris Armas, staying at Leeds, there was a narrow window for Marsch to make
the impact at St Mary’s he desired. Ultimately, he would only have 16 matches
to preserve Southampton’s Premier League status.
Ankersen was keen to stress the benefits of the bigger
picture at Southampton, looking beyond the downsides of short-term survival but
wanting to focus on the youthful project he sees bearing fruit, regardless of
the team potentially going down to end an 11-year stay in the top flight.
For Marsch, though, there was a sense he had jumped out of
the frying pan in leaving a Leeds side who are fourth-bottom and a point above
the relegation zone and, with Southampton, would be going straight back into
the fire.
Southampton’s board has previously spoken about the appeal
of going with managers who have failed in the past due to their ability to
learn from mistakes and, in turn, improve as a coach. In Marsch, they saw a
character and a manager who suited their setup better than the one he’d been
part of in Yorkshire.
Marsch’s work with young players was identified as a
standout attribute, while his abilities to communicate effectively and to
motivate were regarded as essential in a relegation battle. This season,
Southampton have fielded the second-youngest team on average in the Premier League.
In addition, a bloated squad of 30 first-team players left
some under Jones extremely unhappy with their lack of game time. Marsch’s
affable demeanour, more so than Jones and also Hasenhuttl, was thought to be
capable of galvanising players and avoiding those issues.
Before deciding on Marsch as their lead candidate,
Southampton also enquired about other coaches from overseas. Ivan Juric, of
Torino in Italy’s Serie A, was a name linked but no direct talks took place.
As was the case in November when Hasenhuttl was sacked, a
move for Marcelo Gallardo, most recently manager of Buenos Aires giants River
Plate, was swiftly discarded. The 47-year-old Argentinian is between clubs
having stepped down in December after eight years in charge at the end of his
contract, but his preference is to wait until the summer before he takes
another job.
Frank Lampard was also considered but after initial reports
and background checks, Southampton decided against pursuing negotiations with
the former Derby County, Chelsea and Everton boss.
Like Marsch and Gallardo, Lampard was unattached having been
fired by fellow strugglers Everton last month after just under a year in
charge, and Southampton would not have had to pay a severance package like the
£3million ($3.7m) they paid to extract Jones from his contract at Luton.
Leeds have not yet finalised compensation for Marsch
following his dismissal.
Although there was an admission Marsch’s appointment was a
risk, club sources insisted his Red Bull background and character made greater
sense.
Relationships between Southampton and Marsch remain cordial,
with the American retaining respect for the club’s proposed future project.
Those close to the St Mary’s dressing room expressed their
shock at the move breaking down, but there was also an acceptance that this was
simply another episode in a nonsensical season for the club. While players had
not been told officially that Marsch was to be their new manager, there was an
expectation he would be appointed on Wednesday — in time for the weekend trip
to Chelsea.
Instead, assistant Ruben Selles will lead the team at
Stamford Bridge.
Throughout the week, while talks with Marsch were
progressing, Selles was in charge and taking training.
The 39-year-old Spaniard is well-liked by players and highly
regarded internally, having joined Hasenhuttl’s staff last summer from Danish
champions FC Copenhagen. He has ambitions to manage one day and coach at the
very top, and there is an increasing feeling he is not far away from making
that step up. Marsch was an admirer and was prepared to work with him.
In a training session on Monday, Selles made it known that
some players needed to step up their efforts or, given the size of the
first-team squad, they may not play again this season.
His direct, thorough approach is appreciated by players,
with one squad member describing Monday’s session as “great”. From Selles’
perspective, the message has been simple — to keep fighting, however difficult the
team’s form and the outside noise have been.
