Leeds gamble to recruit Marsch is already paying huge dividends
JeSSe MARSCH’S one brief miscalculation was the temperature. He began the match in an unfeasibly thin jumper on a deceptively cold day and froze for half an hour.
But Marsch is not misjudging the role Leeds United boldly recruited him for. To hire a manager with no Premier League experience to lead a squad so emotionally bound up with his predecessor Marcelo Bielsa, at the moment of ultimate jeopardy, was breathtaking in many ways.
Yet it has worked so far, in a way Norwich, Watford and everton’s more conventional managerial changes have not. Leeds have picked up 10 points from their last four games.
We have not yet seen a full tactical method from Marsch, though pressing hard and counter-attacking through the centre of the pitch is a part of it. ‘That’s what we’ve been working on since Jesse arrived,’ said Jack Harrison, whose goal on the break was his third in as many games.
But the American also gave the clearest indication yet on Saturday of his capacity to build the kind of bond with players that his predecessor did.
There was the five-minute talk on the pitch before the game with midfielder Adam Forshaw, who was missing with a calf injury, the lengthy pitch-side instruction for Robin Koch during an injury break and his decision to leave the post-match team talk to the outstanding Liam Cooper, having just told him he was the best captain he has ever worked with. Cooper was apparently in tears.
There is also the relationship Marsch is establishing with Kalvin
Phillips, who he did not risk at Watford despite the huge stakes, having seen Patrick Bamford return too early and suffer a setback with the foot injury which may have ended his season.
‘With Patrick, I felt so bad after his injury,’ Marsch said. The American’s candour is extraordinary, coming after Bielsa.
Leeds’ players are taking extremely well to him. ‘It’s just a much better atmosphere at the club,’ said one source close to the dressing room. ‘Jesse has a more holistic approach. So everyone feels happier.’
Marsch’s name was sung by fans on Saturday. The performance was by no means a classic but the benefits of their pragmatism and composure were evident, before the introduction of 20-year-old
Sam Greenwood as a No 10 added an attacking dash and two assists in the last half-hour.
The euphoria was an acute contrast to the desolation of Watford, whose constant state of managerial flux again comes into question. Roy Hodgson seems to feel the battle is lost. ‘I’m disappointed. I thought we could make a difference and help the club out. Unfortunately we’ve failed in that respect,’ he said.
There’s an intelligence to much of what Leeds do. The £48million they will pay out in bonuses if the team avoid relegation — up from £35m last year — is wise.
But they will need to be bold in evolving the squad this summer, despite the club’s optimism that they will not lose Phillips. Raphinha’s departure to Barcelona feels inevitable, and Bamford cannot bear all the attacking burden. A No 9 is desperately needed.
The club buys so well: £17m for Raphinha, Saturday’s opening goalscorer, and £11m for Harrison. But last week’s financial results, revealing Leeds had turned £63m losses in their last Championship season to a £5m operating profit in the top flight, revealed what a different world it is up here. They don’t want another season of torture. WATFORD (4-3-3): Foster 6; Femenia 5.5, Kabasele 6, Samir 5.5, Kamara 6; Sissoko 6.5, Louza 6, Kucka 6 (Kayembe 72min, 6); Sarr 5.5, Joao Pedro 6 (King 81), Hernandez 5.5 (Dennis 39, 6). Booked: Sissoko, Louza. Manager: Roy Hodgson 6. LEEDS UNITED (4-2-3-1): Meslier 6; Ayling 6.5, Llorente 5.5, COOPER 8, Dallas 7; Koch 5, Klich 6 (Phillips 59, 6); Raphinha 7 (Summerville 83), Rodrigo 6.5, Harrison 7.5; James 5.5 (Greenwood 67, 7.5). Scorers: Raphinha 21, Rodrigo 73, Harrison 85. Booked: None. Manager: Jesse Marsch 7.5. Referee: Andre Marriner 6. Attendance: 20,957.