What went wrong for Jesse Marsch at Leeds? - Independent 6/2/23
The American had been in the role for just 12 months after succeeding Marcelo Bielsa in February
Mark Walker
Leeds have sacked Jesse Marsch following a poor run of
results which have left them in a Premier League relegation battle.
The 49-year-old American had been in the role for just 12
months after succeeding Marcelo Bielsa in February.
Here are five reasons why it failed to work out for the
former New York Red Bulls, Salzburg and Leipzig boss.
Missed opportunity
Marcelo Bielsa’s final season in the top flight was blighted
by his side’s chronic failure to convert chances and last summer Leeds passed
up the chance to resolve the problem. Whites fans had hoped the board would
spend big on a proven striker after Patrick Bamford’s injury woes, but they
opted instead to pin their faith on Rodrigo and the club’s emerging talent.
Rodrigo finally came to the party with 12 goals but is currently sidelined for
two months, while despite addressing the issue in January with the club-record
signing of Georginio Rutter, the France Under-21 international has not had
chance to make an impression to leave the responsibility on injury-prone
Bamford’s shoulders again.
No Bamford, no goals
Only Harry Kane, Mohamed Salah and Bruno Fernandes scored
more than Bamford’s 17 goals in Leeds’ first season back in the Premier League
in 2020/21, but he missed most of last term through injury and has since
struggled to recapture his form and match fitness. Bamford has only made 15
appearances this season, scoring his three goals in two appearances last month,
but he looked short of his best in Sunday’s defeat at Nottingham Forest. Leeds
have not been the same side without a fully-firing Bamford leading the line.
Chaos and confusion
Leeds’ board trumpeted Marsch as a natural successor to
Bielsa after sacking the hugely-popular Argentinian, citing similar footballing
philosophies for a smooth transition. But while Bielsa’s high-tempo tactics
transformed Leeds in a matter of weeks, Marsch’s full-throttle game-plan left
fans and pundits confused. If his team was set up to thrive on chaos, it
succeeded only in patches, with goal-scoring openings seeming to appear by
chance rather than any methodology.
The Bielsa factor
Whoever Leeds turned to after Bielsa, who had established
himself as a hero at Elland Road, faced a monumental task and Marsch deserves
huge credit for keeping Leeds in the Premier League after inheriting a mentally
and physically exhausted squad. He quickly won over the players and appeased
enough of the fanbase to ensure the club stayed united. But comparisons with
Bielsa were as inevitable as they were unfavourable and the American could
never step out of the Argentinian’s shadow.
No case for defence
Defensive fragility dogged Bielsa during the latter part of
his tenure and although Marsch abandoned his predecessor’s man-marking system,
he could not find a solution. Leeds remain glaringly vulnerable at set-pieces
and are too easily exposed after losing possession. They have started games
like a house on fire before a familiar pattern emerges. Momentum is lost due to
individual errors and positional lapses before Premier League opposition,
having ridden the storm, pick them off on the counter-attack.