What they are saying about Jesse Marschs Leeds

[Irish Ian]

Reproduced with no permission.

The day Jesse Marsch finally helped Leeds move on from Marcelo Bielsa

Injury time ran to three minutes, the standard tally whenever a team has taken enough of a kicking.

Chelsea were beaten and the points had gone but even as the board went up, Sam Greenwood was chasing Reece James, Mateusz Klich was digging the defender in the back and Pascal Struijk was hacking the ball off his toes. A tackle into touch, irrelevant by then, had the stadium around them baying like wolves as 30,000 souls aligned with Jesse Marsch.

This was how Marsch wanted it, with the public feeding on the things that drive him.

Midway through the second half, Conor Gallagher tried to shield possession near Leeds’ byline but was hassled into conceding a goal kick. Forty yards away, Marsch turned towards the West Stand, an arm raised and his fist clenched in the air, the pressing game flooding his veins.

Goals, wins, aesthetic appeal; all of it matters to Marsch but none of it is more fulfilling than the sensation of his players unleashing physical hell. On Sunday, among the crowd he has been trying to win, the penny dropped dramatically. Marsch’s Leeds have legs, and in more ways than one.

He stood at the entrance to the tunnel as the pitch emptied reluctantly at full-time, pulsating and soaking up the atmosphere before a raft of interviews drew him back into a calmer, more measured shell.


Marsch was demonstrative throughout the game (Photo: Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images)
Marsch had been waiting for a game like Leeds’ 3-0 victory over Chelsea since the day of his appointment, since Leeds took a leap in the dark by creating enormous shoes to fill and asking Marsch to fill them. Only with football so sweet could the club move on. Only with football so sweet could the club ever hope to step beyond the void between Marcelo Bielsa and Marsch. It was 90 minutes but a statement win and an era embraced, perhaps for the first time.

“This was nothing to do with pressing, with running less kilometres, with the style of Leeds,” Thomas Tuchel protested but it is rarely habitual for a coach to sit and concede that any defeat is the equivalent of surgical destruction.

Marsch, though, knows what he is looking for, what the building blocks of his team should be, and Leeds oozed all of it: the pressing, the distance covered, the heat, the burn.

“He can have his opinion,” Marsch said when Tuchel’s comments were put to him, “but our way of playing dictated the match, almost entirely.”

Opinions have surrounded Marsch for six months, not all of them complimentary and not of them purely about him. Some in Leeds were sceptical about him because of his past record. Some were even sceptical about him because he was American. Some were sceptical of him because he wasn’t Bielsa or certain to match up favourably.



There was cultural resistance to the change of head coach at Elland Road and the inescapable view that Marsch would have to prove himself and then some. Even survival last season was not enough to consolidate his reputation, beyond the fact that Leeds were resolute about starting this season with him in charge.

But the final whistle after beating Chelsea had a profound effect, with people talking about the most compelling home win since promotion to the Premier League in 2020, about the starting gun with Marsch at the wheel sounding for real. Possibility threatened to leave Leeds with Bielsa yet here it was again, potential and spirit wrapped up in a side who outran Chelsea by more than 10km. “There are probably a lot of doubts in me still,” Marsch said, “and that’s okay, that’s normal. There will be people who like me, there will be people who hate me. I just want the team to play with love, passion and belief.

“I’ve tried not to be pandering, I’ve tried to be appreciative of what the club is. This league will keep you honest so we can’t feel too good but it’s an intelligent crowd here. Winning always helps but in some ways, performances are more important.”

So too are the decisions on which head coaches are judged. Leeds spent more than £20million ($23.7m) making Brenden Aaronson their first summer signing and it was the midfielder’s tenacity, the predator’s instinct eating up yards in seconds, which caught Edouard Mendy in two minds in the 33rd minute, worrying the goalkeeper into taking a touch he couldn’t afford to take. Aaronson nicked the ball in front of goal and an empty net stood in front of him, the easiest finish he will ever have. One-nil and for Chelsea, one foot on the slippery slope.


Marsch was full of praise for Adams (Photo: PAUL ELLIS/AFP via Getty Images)
Leeds have committed another £20m to signing Tyler Adams from RB Leipzig, a second investment in a footballer Marsch knows inside out. There is wit and skill in Adams’ play but at the centre of his skill set is the capacity to arm himself with a shovel and dig from the first minute to the last, a constant spoke in the opposition’s wheel. It was Adams who first injected Elland Road with venom, throwing himself into a 50-50 with Gallagher and crunching through the ball. Gallagher could not get rid of him all game. “Tyler’s another guy who’s playing the best football of his life,” Marsch said, having earlier suggested Rodrigo was doing the same.

Rodrigo encapsulates the way in which football ebbs and flows. There were periods last season, not least in the final home game, when friends and allies in the stands were scarce. His deft header from a Jack Harrison free kick yesterday, his fourth goal in three matches, gave Leeds a 2-0 lead and by the time he left the pitch late on, the sound of appreciation almost made him float. Harrison’s form can peak and trough but his attacking numbers are flying, delivering as much as Marsch could ask for. His half-volley on 69 minutes was curtains for Chelsea, leaving Tuchel to spiral towards a pointless argument with the fourth official.

Tuchel, in his defence, must have wondered where he was. Three months ago, he brought Chelsea to Elland Road to tangle with a team who did nothing other than roll over and die. Marsch himself could not help but hark back to his first home game as head coach two months earlier, a 3-0 defeat to Aston Villa in which Leeds did exactly the same. March 10 was a night when he stood horribly exposed, a coach scrambling for hearts and minds, employed by a club who were losing them. August 21 might go down as the day when those hearts and minds met his.

[Victor_Notts-17]

My eldest son 31 years old, a Leeds fan since before the day he was born did not want Bielsa to go (I did). He also did not want, like or accept Jesse Marsch (at first). He is now converted. I had no doubts about Marsch initially but did wonder why he did not suceed at RB Leipzig. I did believe that he would keep us up (gut feeling). I'm not going to make this about MB vs JM but I do feel that we did the right thing in getting Jesse marsch in early. really excited now

Great post btw

[SG90]

Maybe Leeds fans will start showing Salzburg more respect now. Their scouting is the best in the world

[Musicman1965]

Great Post,
Its great to finally move on from the past as the Jesse Marsh era is starting to show promising results. Its the way we won the game
that got my attention and the opposition were a class act costing £170 million to assemble. I have mentioned before that one game
of great football doesn't mean that suddenly we are top four contenders. Jesse Marsh has a plan to get Leeds United to play a certain way and more signing are needed to complete the his vision. The Chelsea victory will put smiles on our faces but it sent shock waves through the Premiership. What a great time to be a supporter Leeds UNITED F.C

[TonyT]

Great post.
I remember being really miserable when Don Revie left us and I wasn't keen on replacing him with Brian Clough. I did think, last February, that sadly we needed a new manager urgently and I was happy with Jesse March. Staying up was critical and it obviously influenced the way he approached the remaining games. Now he's had a full pre-season and players that he wanted have joined us, we saw last Sunday what he's about and how he wants us to play. I've got high hopes for this season and personally I'd be happy with a secure top half finish. Obviously top five would be wonderful, but I'll not let my enthusiasm run away with reality.

[TonyT]

In addition to the above, my son in law, who has an encyclopedic knowledge of football, said in August '21, 'You're going to struggle this season because we've all worked how you play'. I laughed and said no chance top 5 easily. How wrong I was. When JM was appointed he said that we've picked a good manager and that, providing we stay up, we'll be set for a much better '22/'23. Hopefully he's right.

[TonyT]

By the way I actually typed Marsch, but got autocorrected and didn't notice. Soz

[Kennyb41]

Top post Ian, and great to see new members coming in all the time, welcome.

Looking forward to BHA with anticipation, can't wait, and for the right reasons.

[1964white]

Great article, Ian

[Irish Ian]

Love it!

[Byebyegeegee]

Injury time ran to three minutes, the standard tally whenever a team has taken enough of a kicking.

That’s a cracking opening line and absolutely true. I think the officials know when a team has taken enough punishment.