Jesse Marsch knows he’s on a hiding to nothing. He’s replaced a true Leeds Legend and a global footballing icon in Bielsa, but rather than hide from it he’s embraced it fully. The fact that he actually tried to convince Leeds to keep Bielsa until the end of the season says a lot about the man. He truly believed that Bielsa would keep Leeds up, and then he could leave with his head held high and be given the send off he deserved. It was not to be. The club made it clear to Marsch before the Spurs game that they wanted him in now, and after careful consideration he agreed. He knew there would be an outpouring of emotion from the Leeds fan base, but he was okay with this and felt it was only right that the fans mourn Bielsa’s leaving. Again, it shows the character of Marsch. So, the thing everyone wanted to know was would Marsch completely change things. Well, there was a clue in the way he spoke about Bielsa Ball, effectively saying he believed in its principles and felt he only need to do some minor tweaks. And this was exactly his approach to the Leicester game. JM didn’t really change the starting eleven, with Dallas at right back, Ayling in the centre of defence and Koch at CDM. Pretty much Bielsa that. The rest of the team also typical Bielsa. Tweaks? Not in personnel or positions, but definitely in approach. Firstly, Leeds didn’t employ the high press, and rather than start the press against the keeper and centre backs, Leeds dropped a little deeper when not in possession, setting up their press just beyond the centre circle in the opposition half (final third if you must). Added to this was Raphinha and Harrison changing their starting positions to be more inside when Leicester started again from the ack, roughly in line with the penalty area, forcing Leicester to play out wide. Secondly, Koch tended to sit in front of the defence more, letting his man go if he tried to drag Koch out wide. This was very much the way Phillips did it, covering a certain area and picking up his man in that zone but never vacating the space in pursuit of man-marking. It was an interesting change designed to give more protection to the defence, and Koch did it superbly. Leeds were now harder to play through, and Leicester were finding it hard to control the central zones, their strength. This meant the balls to Vardy became longer passes designed to drop in behind the Leeds defence, for Vardy’s pace to exploit, but because Leeds were a bit deeper the passes were going through to Meslier or out of harms way. In possession Leeds were still going full on Bielsa Ball, bombing forward and the wingers getting back out wide to create space in the middle for Klich and Rodrigo to exploit. The players knew what to do in possession, and they created some superb chances. Once again the lack of finishing cost Leeds a win their performance justified. Marsch didn’t make big changes, he didn’t need to. He understood how the team had been set up and his minor tweaks meant they didn’t have to adapt much. This meant they were comfortable and there was no panic. It was good to watch, and the players seemed grateful that it wasn’t all change. The wins will come. Now, I have to address the fkn media. Every cock-eyed hack and pundit were claiming victory after Bielsa got sacked, their “we told you he was useless” chorus growing ever louder. They even went so far as to claim an assist in getting Bielsa the boot. Even Stephen fkn Warnock did a segment on Sky Sports Bews where he proclaimed his genius at being able to see what Bielsa was doing wrong, and how Marsch had “transformed” the team. What utter tripe! These idiots have no idea about Bielsa’s genius, and Bielsa the man. They will NEVER understand how he transformed Leeds United from a struggling Championship club into an exciting, attacking force that shocked the Prem. Interesting how the media basically ignored the horrendous luck Leeds had with injuries and simply piled all the blame on Bielsa. There were even suggestions that Bielsa’s lack of English led to his downfall because he couldn’t communicate with his players effectively. WTF? The truth is the media never wanted to accept Bielsa, they were happy to slaughter him at every opportunity. Thing is, Bielsa never gave them the opportunity as he stuck to only speaking in pressers or match day interviews. His results were also good, so there was nothing to write filth about. They started the Bielsa Burnout narrative, and when that was proven to be a myth, they rolled out the “because of Covid” insult. When Leeds reached the Prem, Bielsa Burnout started up again, claiming that in a condensed season it would finally destroy Leeds. Unfortunately for them Leeds simply got stronger, and by the end of the campaign the team was running further than ever. Myth debunked in style. You could sense the hacks were now praying for something to go wrong, and it did with all the injuries. It was always going to be hard, and so it proved. Now the hacks are gleefully dancing on Bielsa’s grave whilst totally ignoring the terrible start Fragile has made at Everton. Bias? You decide. Marsch is a coach with a lot of Bielsa’s principles in his setup. He does feel like the right fit to build on the Bielsa foundations, he’s a gentleman and a family man, and he believes in the team having a connection with the fans. He likes aggressive, attacking football and is not afraid of players getting into the opposition box. He does, however, want his team to be more compact when not in possession, and once this becomes ingrained in the players Leeds will become a tough proposition to face. The owners can do one for now, I have lost respect for them. They need to buck up their ideas or they may never get back in credit with the fans. Marsch and the players have my full support, and hopefully the team can settle quickly and get the wins their efforts deserve. He looks like a very calm leader, almost a mellow fellow who takes things in his stride, which will be good for the team. On the evidence of the Leicester performance, the wins will come sooner rather than later. ON ON ON!
Yes Marsch set the team up to do what his teams do which has similarities to bielsa except a preference for a narrower formation, a zonal press and without man marking all over the pitch. Promising start at the weekend. Let’s hope it turns into points tonight. Tying in your other thread… Was it the right decision to sack bielsa? That’s an ‘ask me in May’ question. As fans and as a club we owe bielsa a hell of a lot, from a brand of football and in terms of leading us back to the Prem. It’s been a roller-coaster ride, but a hell of a good one. The guy’s not perfect and isn’t a saint though… he’s respected by all his players but the calm measured outward face, wasn’t always the same behind the scenes… atmosphere after a defeat was funereal. Results and performances were shocking recently and rumours abound that the boss - always known to have ‘a mad one’ (to quote paddy) in his locker - was not fostering a positive outlook in the squad. So with regard to setting him up to fail? I’m not so sure Billy. We’ve had bad luck with injuries, but we’ve moved into serious relegation trouble, and I’d suggest the 49ers would rather have an Argentinian coach for another 3 months that keeps us in the Prem than an American that sees us relegated. There’s a very plausible non- conspiracy theory, that marsch was coming in the summer, and results/performances/morale drove them to accelerate it. I’ve no doubt that the 49ers were the driving force behind marsch and the pursuit of Aaronson. I said as much in Jan. There’s little doubt either that marsch will have been the man to recommend Aaronson. Who knows if bielsa really wanted him…. Though he looks a good fit for both bielsaball and JM’s style. The question remains as to whether - despite the marketing benefits - marsch himself is actually a good fit. Time will tell.
Everyone knows my view of our media, but Billy’s correct about commentator's and pundits not mentioning the amount of injuries this team has endured. Yes the idd comment about injuries but mainly meaning Cooper, Bamford and Phillips. When you only have 18 first team players and 11 are out injured then you have a fkg nightmare with 23s drafted in and then you get Cresswell, Gelhardt, Greenwood, Summerville and Hjelde injured too. No idea how tough Bielsa had it and why so many have played in the wrong positions. Yes Bielsa should have had a bigger squad and he should have accepted new players in January….. but
Marsch coming in June wasn't a conspiracy theory, it was a fact ... 49ers simply saw an opportunity to get him in sooner, "save" the club and make their decision look like a master stroke Bielsa wasn't set up to fail, and at the time of his sacking he still hadn't failed ... the goal this season has always been to finish 17th and stay up ... he was set up to be sacked though, that's for sure the "rumours" about Bielsa sulking after a defeat is exactly that, rumours spread by the Leeds haters to undermine our club ... stop falling for it
One thing thats as obvious as the nose on yer face, is that Palace, Brighton and Southampton (teams we were beating last season) have all got decent bench’s. Any player swapped is a player just as good as the player going off. These teams invested in players who are not worldies but good players. Due to injuries we have had square pegs and when we do bring a sub on its a Shackelton or Roberts coming on, or a kid expected to work miracles. Still playing square pegs and we are half way through March. Dallas RB and tomoz Dallas LB when hes best in midfield. Ayling CB when hes best at RB, Janes up front ffs. The seSon is almost over and we havent played our first team all season, not once. And because we have a small squad we dont have the same quality on the bench as we need. This is deeper than just Bielsa stopping accepting players. Ghis season has been a disaster
Shoot me down in flames as nutter by all means but I’d be tempted to give Harrison a go at LB with James ahead of him, try to recreate the overlapping he had with Alioski. I think he’s played LWB in the past at previous clubs?
The disgrace of this season is that ive watched a toothless Brighton today against a poor Liverpool. Now watching 2 of the worst teams in the league in Burnley and Brentford. Crap match and we should be nowhere near this lot. Erikson has just mDe a great cross for Tony to nod in, which means they move further ahead of us but no points for Dyche
i wasn’t referring to marsh coming in June as a conspiracy theory?? - that and the set up to fail were references to your other thread saying they timed/planned bringing in marsch after a tough run of games for bielsa. As opposed to it coinciding with a run of desperate performances. As for not falling for rumours… bielsa’s attitude/response to defeat is reasonably well documented Billy and I’ve heard it from a direct source. It’s not even a criticism, I like that he takes it bad. Bielsa was brilliant for us in so many ways, but he isn’t a saint and with his honesty and integrity would probably be embarrassed by some of the eulogising that goes on.
