Mighty Leeds Weblog

Zak Garner-Purkis Sensing it might be a while before they can do it again English journalists gorged themselves on anti-American humor to bid farewell to the Premier League’s sole US coach Jesse Marsch. References to hapless sitcom character Ted Lasso were aplenty as Brits mocked the ‘Yank’s’ sacking by Leeds United. His departure was hardly surprising given the club's seven-game run without a win and position of third from bottom in the Premier League table. An intense, energetic character who often bounced with excitement as he delivered his post-game assessments, his final interview in the wake of a 1-0 defeat by Nottingham Forest showed the strain. "We are struggling to turn performances into results. We have been in this place for a while. It's frustrating,” he said wearily, deep lines across his brow, ”I've got to find ways to change that feeling and find ways to help our team to get the results we think we deserved.” Leaning on the subjective concept...

LOST IN CHARGE Written by: Moxcowhite • Daniel Chapman The problem with sending Jesse Marsch out of Elland Road is that he takes with him the credibility that, following promotion in 2020, should have ensured Andrea Radrizzani’s ownership was written gratefully into Leeds United history. Choosing a coach to follow Marcelo Bielsa was always going to be the key test of what Radrizzani, Angus Kinnear and Victor Orta brought to Elland Road, and with the grintastic group photo they gathered for with their new man in March, they put everything on the line with him. Now he’s gone, in circumstances that feel familiar. For Jesse Marsch read Thomas Christiansen, and read a doomed repeat of the strategy Victor Orta and Andrea Radrizzani screamed their way out of in summer 2018. The idea in summer 2017 was that the board wanted a manager who would grow and improve alongside the team, developing young players who would become worth big transfer fees in the process. So they identified Thomas C...

Leeds United have sacked Jesse Marsch just shy of a year since his appointment as Marcelo Bielsa’s replacement. YEP chief reporter Graham Smyth takes a look at why. By Graham Smyth Jesse Marsch's sacking by Leeds United had everything and nothing to do with Marcelo Bielsa. It was put to the American during a dinner with the media in Spain that being the one who followed the one who followed a legend was preferable to directly succeeding one. He politely disagreed. On that evening Marsch was excellent company. Gregarious, curious, generous with his attention and his thoughts, not dominating the conversation but playing a full part. When Bielsa, inevitably, cropped up then Marsch maintained a respectful silence. Had that been his approach from the off, when the microphones were on, then he might have enjoyed a somewhat easier ride at Leeds than he did. It was obvious, relatively quickly, that as he shot from the hip about over training, injuries and stress, he had wildly unde...

Leeds United are ‘unlikely’ to re-appoint former head coach Marcelo Bielsa after the sacking of Jesse Marsch on Monday afternoon Joe Donnohue The Argentine was in the United Kingdom last month for talks with Everton’s board of directors following Frank Lampard’s Goodison Park departure. The Merseyside club opted for Sean Dyche instead of the veteran coach who reportedly requested to take charge of the club’s Under-21 side and academy before assuming charge properly in the summer. Bielsa is unlikely to make a sensational Elland Road return, despite the wishes of Leeds United fans, after Jesse Marsch was confirmed to have been sacked. Chairman Andrea Radrizzani stated last year that the club had attempted to make contact with the 67-year-old following his February 2022 exit to seek permission in naming Leeds’ Thorp Arch training facility after him, however had been unsuccessful. Italian journalist Fabrizio Romano reported on Monday afternoon that any move for Bielsa at this jun...

The Yorkshire club has launched the search for a 13th head coach in a decade Leeds are looking for their 13th head coach in less than 10 years following the departure of Jesse Marsch. The American made his exit after 12 months at the helm with the club sitting 17th in the Premier League, clear of the relegation zone only by virtue of goal difference and gearing up for a survival fight. Here, the PA news agency takes a look at some of the candidates who may be considered to fill the vacancy at Elland Road. Steven Gerrard Out of work since he was sacked by Aston Villa in October last year, 42-year-old former Liverpool and England midfielder Gerrard enjoyed a promising start to his managerial career as he led Rangers to a first Scottish Premiership title in 10 years in 2021. He was relieved of his duties at Villa Park with the club hovering anxiously just above the bottom three and was recently linked with the Poland job. Marcelo Bielsa For many Leeds fans, the return of 6...

Leeds United owner Andrea Radrizzani has insisted he is “always grateful to Marcelo Bielsa” in response to a claim he was ‘fixated on removing every bit’ of the Argentine’s Elland Road legacy. Ben McKenna Bielsa joined Leeds in June 2018, leading the club to the Championship play-offs in his first season as they were beaten by Derby County in the semi-finals. The following season, the Argentine led the Whites back into the Premier League as Championship winners. In their first top-flight season under Bielsa, Leeds finished ninth in the table. It was not the highest finish from any promoted side but the Whites did secure more points and more goals than any other promoted side within the last 20 years. Bielsa was sacked by Leeds the following season as the board made the decision after a run of four-straight defeats which saw the Whites concede 17 goals as they were just two points above the relegation zone. In August, Leeds asked Bielsa for permission to name their Thorp Arch ...

By Pranav Shahaney Leeds United director of football Victor Orta has reportedly been handed a proposal to take over as the director of the Mexico national team. According to ESPN journalist David Faitelson, former Whites boss Marcelo Bielsa is also under consideration to be the head coach. This would mean that Orta would be part of the setup which is above the coaching staff – a similar sort of hierarchy the two had at Elland Road. Via Twitter, Faitelson wrote, “The Spanish Víctor Orta, current soccer director of Leeds United, was a proposal from Grupo Pachuca as director of national teams. He would be above Marcelo Bielsa.” It remains to be seen what Orta ends up doing as it would be a good opportunity for him to work for their national team ahead of their home World Cup. He would also have more power than he does at Elland Road and Bielsa is likely to be open to working with him, given their fruitful relationship at Leeds. However, if he does want to continue at the clu...

Leeds United boss Jesse Marsch is out to accomplish something Marcelo Bielsa could not in his famous Elland Road tenure, and yet the latter is pulling focus again this week. By Graham Smyth It's easy to wonder if Jesse Marsch wishes never to hear the name Marcelo Bielsa again but difficult to understand why he keeps saying it. Even 11 months after they traded places as Leeds United manager and looking-for-work coach, comparisons between the two still don't feel particularly fair to Marsch, whether he's the one making them or not. What Bielsa did in transforming a midtable Championship team and using them as the core of a side who finished ninth in the Premier League was daunting enough an act to follow, without taking into consideration the sheer beauty of the football en route to that achievement. He was, to some, and to his own obvious discomfort, a God. How dare a mere mortal stand where he stood? Being the man who follows the man is surely a far more attractiv...

A National team reeling from a disappointing World Cup exit are reportedly setting their sights on former Leeds United boss Marcelo Bielsa as their new head coach. Lee Sobot Dual World Cup winners Uruguay were knocked out of this winter’s tournament in Qatar on Friday under boss Diego Alonso despite recording a 2-0 victory against Ghana in their final game of the group stages. The South American side were sent packing due to South Korea recording a last-gasp 2-1 success against Portugal which sent them through as runners-up behind Portugal. Uruguay’s exit left striker Luis Suarez in tears and Argentine outlet TyC Sports are reporting that Bielsa will now ‘become the next coach of the national team’. They claim: “With the aim of qualifying Uruguay for the 2026 World Cup, he is chosen to succeed Alonso. El Loco will have his third experience in South American teams. One of the best returns to the continent.”

Bournemouth have ended their pursuit of former Leeds United manager Marcelo Bielsa after failing to agree terms with the Argentine. By Ben McKenna The Bournemouth Daily Echo report, via Football Insider, that talks have broken down between the parties after the Cherries had offered the job to Bielsa. The 67-year-old from Argentina has been out of work since being sacked by Leeds earlier this year, following a run of four-straight defeats which left the Whites hanging dangerously above the relegation zone. Still largely revered at Elland Road after leading Leeds back to the Premier League after a 16-year absence, many United supporters expressed their surprise and upset about the prospect of Bielsa being in the opposition dugout. Bournemouth have been on the lookout for a permanent manager since sacking Scott Parker earlier this season. The ex-England midfielder was dismissed by the Cherries after a 9-0 loss to Liverpool at the end of August. Gary O’Neil, who has been in tem...

BEAT HAPPENING Written by: Moxcowhite • Daniel Chapman When Howard Wilkinson saw photos of himself on the last day of Sheffield Wednesday’s promotion in 1984, the glorious end of his first season as their manager, he was appalled. He said he looked like he’d escaped from a prison camp, and swore never to let a football season have that effect on him again. Later, Wilkinson founded (and still chairs) the League Managers’ Association, because the players had a welfare union and he thought managers needed one too. Jesse Marsch became an LMA member by taking the job of managing Leeds United, and I’m sure Wilko would be glad to talk him through bringing the league title to Elland Road in 1992 from a supine position of golf in the afternoons and relaxed banter with the press, while his red-faced rival Alex Ferguson looked like his world was falling apart. Ferguson learned from that; Kevin Keegan never learned from him. Marsch, lately, has worn the same haunted look Wilkinson was horri...

Whites boss Jesse Marsch has fronted up to the “reality” that his Leeds United side face ahead of today’s bid for victory at the eighth attempt against visiting Fulham. By Lee Sobot Marsch will take in his 23rd game in charge through today’s 2pm kick-off as part of a tenure that began with the task of keeping a sliding Whites side in the Premier League upon taking over following Marcelo Bielsa’s sacking last February. Marsch’s side secured their top-flight status on the final day of the season through a dramatic 2-1 victory at Brentford and Leeds then began the new season in strong fashion as victories at home to Wolves and Chelsea sandwiched a 2-2 draw at Southampton. United have since gone seven games without a win and whilst Marsch has highlighted the differences between now and the situation last May, the Whites boss admits that ultimately only a return to winning ways will ease current woes. "Last year there was far more tension and a much bigger task," said Ma...

Leeds fans turned on their manager and players after the Leicester defeat, and Marsch’s disappearing act could soon become permanent By Ross Heppenstall Football fans can be brutal and vindictive, but seldom can they be deceived. As Leeds United supporters turned on Jesse Marsch following Thursday’s dismal 2-0 defeat at Leicester, their antipathy was both visible and audible. “Where the f__k is Jesse Marsch?” they chanted after what felt a hugely significant step closer towards the end for the American head coach. Marsch was nowhere to be seen, having taken the decision to avert a confrontation with the angry Yorkshire masses. He at least had the decency to apologise for his disappearing act, but the damage had been done. Many Leeds supporters are simply not having Marsch and never have done since he replaced the much-loved Marcelo Bielsa in February. When a fanbase as fierce and vocal as Leeds United’s turns to such an extent as they did at the King Power Stadium, there is...

Leeds United have recorded the fewest number of patient build-up attacks in the Premier League this season as Jesse Marsch’s style comes under scrutiny By Joe Donnohue Leeds United’s change of tack from the revered methods of Marcelo Bielsa was initially welcomed at Elland Road earlier this year, but nobody envisaged a change of styles would be required so soon into Jesse Marsch’s reign. Players and supporters in equal measure had become fatigued by the Argentine’s exacting demands and perceived tactical hard-headedness to amend Leeds’ setup, which saw the team concede 20 times in the month of February. Bielsa’s argument was a consistent one: when a manager jettisons his best-laid plans at the first sign of trouble, the conviction he held in his preferred style of play is undermined. And so, Bielsa carried on in the same vein as he had done for the entirety of his three successful years at the helm. Ultimately, this decision cost Bielsa his job. Eight months on, with another he...

Leeds United are winless in six but YEP chief football writer Graham Smyth says Jesse Marsch is still enjoying an almost cast-iron guarantee given to him in the wake of Marcelo Bielsa’s departure. By Graham Smyth It matters little that Leeds United are yet to finalise their promised permanent tribute to Marcelo Bielsa, such is the man's legacy. Finding an appropriate way to mark his incredible time at Elland Road is always going to be a challenge, not least because it's so difficult to imagine a single idea to which such a unique, modest character would bestow his blessing. Almost eight months on from his sacking, the strength of feeling towards him in the Leeds fanbase currently remains tribute enough. Just this week fanzine-podcast-merchadise kings The Square Ball released a Newell's Old Boys inspired shirt, in his honour. The Argentine's face still adorns walls in and around the city. His name still trends online, at least locally, on matchdays and continues ...

Leeds United director of football Victor Orta spoke to Norwegian television before the Whites’ 1-1 draw with Everton about the decision to replace Marcelo Bielsa with Jesse Marsch By Joe Donnohue Leeds United parted company with Marcelo Bielsa over six months ago, ushering in a new era under the stewardship of American coach Jesse Marsch. Director of football Victor Orta admitted upon Marsch’s arrival that the pair had been in contact for up to two years prior to Bielsa’s expedited departure and it was perceived that a similar style of play made the 48-year-old a prime candidate to replace the revered Argentine. After surviving the threat of relegation last season, Leeds have begun to build a side in Marsch’s image, featuring players who can execute his preferred style of play. At the forefront of Leeds’ recruitment is Orta – an experienced scout with previous stints at Sevilla and Zenit St Petersburg. Speaking to Viaplay Fotball ahead of Leeds’ 1-1 draw against Everton on ...

Jesse Marsch is going to test the patience of Leeds United fans this season and their consistency, too. By Graham Smyth Patience was in abundance last season, to such a degree in fact that Marsch's predecessor felt the need to point out how unwarranted it felt. During the club's tour of Australia, Liam Cooper told a Brisbane bar of the importance, to the players, of that kind of support, although his assertion that the fans didn't take any opportunities to turn on the team was not strictly accurate - there were boos on the day Leeds capitulated to Spurs in a game that was, for Andrea Radrizzani and the board, the straw that broke the camel's back. Cooper's point was a sound one though - that it took until late February in such a season to bring frustration to the boil said so much about what Leeds fans could tolerate and how defiant they could be in the face of disappointment. Part of that was undoubtedly the credit Marcelo Bielsa had built up in a remarka...

Kalvin Phillips has paid tribute to Leeds United supporters as "the best fans in the world" after leaving the club to join Manchester City. In an emotional open letter, Phillips also hailed Marcelo Bielsa as "the best manager I have ever come across". The 26-year-old midfielder has signed a six-year deal with the Premier League champions, for a fee thought to be in the region of £45million. Addressing the Elland Road faithful directly, he said: "You are the best fans in the world. I love you all and will miss you." Phillips was at Leeds for 12 years, having joined at the age of 14, during which time he helped them win promotion to the Premier League and became a fixture in the England squad which made the final of Euro 2020. In his letter, Phillips says: "I would like to express how much of a privilege it has been to play for this amazing club. "Since making my debut at 17 it has been a journey any Leeds lad could wish for." Ph...