“It's been emotional”, in the words of the one and only Vinnie Jones. We all know how much Bielsa did for our great club and how much he'll remain a part of our folklore.
But the future begins today. Jesse Marsch, 48 year old American former manager of RB Leipzig, RB Salzburg and MLS clubs joins as our new manager.
I believe from the pundits he's a believer in a high energy, high press, attacking game which will wean us away from Bielsaball without reinventing us. We must hope a new voice galvanises the players and that a little bit more defensive balance will see us out of our current predicament.
This feels like the start of the 49ers regime and the twilight of Radz tenure, it would mean more money for the squad if they do exercise their option to buy, but equally we are now a conventional club trying to prosper in the PL, just like everyone else.
Sadness and optimism live together in me this week. Leicester City away is live on BT sport - what will the "new Leeds" look like? We'll soon see.
This is not the time to sack a ̶ ̶ ̶P̶r̶i̶m̶e̶ ̶M̶i̶n̶i̶s̶t̶e̶r̶ ̶ ̶ Manager.
With the way we're conceding or rather gifting goals, his reign may well come to and pretty soon.
he's definitely under a bit of pressure now - but when we play well it is very good to watch. I feel like a run of results will see this take off, but we do need a win in the next 2 or we could be in the relegation zone and ringing Steve Bruce.
Just hope JM gets the win tonight and also v Fulham on Sunday. I like him and his style of play.
JM needs results or the trigger will be pulled!
It might end soon!
Move aside Douglas Bader with your three testicles - it's time for a new flyboy hero on this MB.
Guy Gibson and his spambusters equipped with their bump bombs
I like him, just hope it is not misplaced.
Big2 games v Villa and Palace coming up for JM. It will either be doom and gloom or happiness. 4 points min.
JM doing rather well this season. Will still wait until new year before fully committing
I see lots of negative stuff about JM in the social media - the Premier League record right now is as follows:
Bielsa pld 64 pts 79
Marsch pld 14 pts 20
Marsch has a better record, despite inheriting Bielsa's team at short notice. He is not without his flaws, but then again so was Bielsa.
I think the way we play now is still high energy and entertaining too, so I'm happy right now.
Well he kept us up and is playing an entertaining style.
Next test is Chelsea. A draw or win would be great!
Totally agree Bull and us cockneys would never dare stereotype about the Irish and their love of tablecloths or even mention about just nodding our heads when not understanding their accent when over for game meets....
not even mention it....
🤣🙈😉👍
Just don't go on talk sport.
Bielsa never commented on previous managers and he followed Heckingbottom.
People are waiting for an excuse to jump on him so just don't give them the opportunity, keep zipped and get on with the job. Don't let a few good results inflate your confidence as a few bad ones coming up will lead to a big confidence deflation.
Can't knock the results so far and his name was being sung at Watford so he has had a dream start, let others do the commentating on it.
I've just listened to the interview (15mins approx) tbf i don't think JM was being critical of MB's style, just that he was being honest in how he feels players need time to recover and recharge the batteries, as i've said many many times, rest days are just as important as the actual training days and after 3 years of constant hard work, energy sapping training schedules it was only a matter of time before the players bodies started to suffer.
Immediately when he came out with the words Darren Bent almost gasped as if he was thinking Jesse was dissing probably one of the best managers in the world in Marcelo and this could be huge, but after a few moments he saw what Jesse was getting at and nodded.
I do think tho and i maybe guilty of stereo typing here but most yanks i know in fact all 8 of them blab first and think second, but JM looks and sounds to be a person that thinks alot and studies alot so he maybe cut from a different cloth.
Totally agree Richard and didn't say anything in the least derogatory and just an honest flippant comment that if he was being interviewed live after a game nobody would have even picked up on.... just sensationalism that media picked up upon.
Nothing to see here but just proves how careful you have to be with comments to media....
HODDLE IN....
I managed to find the interview last night. Simple google search of Jesse Marsch talk sport, took me straight to a 15min video of the interview. To be fair to Marsch he was directly asked about the injuries and it was here that he stated that he thought some of it could have been down to how hard they had been trained. I didn’t take it as him having a direct dig at Bielsa, just his thoughts on the injuries and that he works differently.
As with all of his interviews I’ve seen he comes across well and is incredibly fluent.
Dont get me wrong what JM may have said may very well be accurate and if im honest its something ive said a good few times myself, but a person in his position must know and understand being critical of the man you have just replaced, a guy that has a high standard of ethic and honesty of effort and wasn't publicly critical of anyone deserves to be treated in the same way.
Didn't hear the interview either however if reports are accurate and not taken out of context, I feel this type of thrash talk is something JM dosen't need to get involved with. Its a thin line new managers walk when they come into a new job, you might not have liked the last guy or feel you are better than he is, but people must remember you were brought in to take over and improve the situation over the last guy. The last guy could still be regarded highly by those left behind and they may still have a strong association with that guy.
If anyone needs proof of this look at our own Club when Clough came in and insulted the players and called them cheats, and insulted and tried to undermine DR successes, sure that couldn't end in any other way than it did, i'm surprised it took 44 days if i'm honest.
To MB's great credit i never heard him blaming a ref, the opposition tactics, players feigning injury to get free kicks or peno's etc, he never spoke or was critical of anyone that i can recall, so i think JM's comments about how MB "managed" in his way isn't a good move.
Jesse must remember MB is and always will be fondly remembered at ER, and a was a manager than WON something while in charge at LUFC, where as he is only in the door and has won what? 3 matches.....
Marsch was on Talk Sport this morning for an interview, sadly I didn’t get to hear what he said due to work. Did anyone on here, hear the interview.
on my way home this afternoon I heard a short clip where it sounded like he was saying that a lot of the injuries had been caused by the players being over worked and over trained.
Ah the guy (Jesse) and the players deserve huge credit to turn what looked and felt like a relegation season into a promising one, and all in such a really short spell.
Someone mentioned earlier in the thread that one player always seems to shine after a change in manager and for me that's looking like Rodders, although JM has put it on record that Coops is the best Club Captain he has ever worked with, so after Saturdays clean sheet i'm expecting more of the same when Coops gets back into the full swing of things.
JM's interviews are always very upbeat, always positive and eventhough i think the dressing room bond was strong when Marcelo was in charge the squad seems to have gotten tighter, maybe its because of all of the injuries and the fit players have shouldered even more of the burden, i dont know but if the manager came in and started pushing his weight around i dont think the players would have taken too kind to that approach.
10 points out of 12 is really encouraging and we have certainly turned things around but its still early days in JM reign and he still has a job to do over the remaining 6 games before he can go to Radz/Orta for players he thinks are better to allow him to bring LUFC into a top half team regularly.
The first few steps taken are really positive so lets start building on those.
MOT
I would expect we give Crysta) Palace a run for their money, a win would put us up to 36 points and almost certainly safe - it's about the normal safety mark in previous years. After which, we may well get some points against City, Arsenal and Chelsea, particularly the home venues. Cooper's return has made a massive difference, and once Phillips gets up to speed, the spine of the team will be back in place (apart from Bamford). Rodrigo looks a whole different player, and Harrison and Raphinha are getting goals. The u23s offer lots of running. This is by no means a bad squad, even despite the lightweight midfield .
Absolutely delighted with the last few results. I’m not going to get over excited until we’re mathematically safe - I don’t see many (if any) points coming from the next four matches. Hope I’m just being a pessimist.
10 points in the last 4 games may well be the difference at the end.
Jesse Marsch deserves so much credit now. He's seen the potential of the best younger players Orta brought in but also what needs to change tactically and he's been brilliant. Bamford on SKY today was worth watching, his comments were very telling.
He has turned Rodrigo into a star, Harrison is on fire, Phillips can be eased back in, Greenwood and Jimmy getting pitch time......
So pleased for us and my dicky ticker!!
I'm also pleased for Radz and Orta who had a hell of a decision to make and were brave. They have been justified now.
Totally agree with you Bull.
If he persists with James as a 9 and Ayling as CB what’s the point in a new manager? It just doesn’t work. Everyone can see other than our last two managers. We all know better 😂
Agree. Firpo should not be in the team, problem is he is our only left back. Would much rather Dallas at LB but I would rather Dallas in midfield, but a much better solution than playing Firpo.
I do not see how people think Orta has done a good job.
Firpo
Rodrigo - should have got someone like Watkins instead
Llorente, Koch, James - jury out
He has got somethings right but made too many expensive mistakes, Augustin, Costa etc - and who was that French winger we took the option to sign for £3m and was one of the first players Bielsa got rid off.
our three goals conceded last night were ALL preventable
IF FIRPO isnt on the pitch
1st goal (pascal unlucky with the deflection) but firpo runs straight across the keeper (before the cross comes back into the middle for the second time) never picks up any villa player but is eventually in what is supposed to be his position (zone) but far too late to prevent the cross and i lay the blame squarely at his doorstep.
second goal ok keeper should do better but like how far did firpo run past Matty Cash??? 5 yards?? straight past him ffs school boy defending in fact not school boy stuff, kids about 5 years of age in a bloody playground wouldn't run that far PAST the person with the ball.
Third goal
Good strike, keeper no chance, but look back at firpo, runs out with his two hands behind his back and never gets close to blockdown the shot, should be sprinting out to close that down not coming out as if he is about to come down the catwalk.
I dont like singling out players but ffs we are on the brink of relegation and we are giving a jersey to a guy that cant do the bloody basics. I ASK WHY?
Its not as if he is creating anything at the other end so straight away picking any player defending like that you are effectively playing with 10men.
But did anyone b0ll*x him
NO
why arent the players getting onto him?
He has changed to a zonal marking system which I think makes us more solid.
We made a good start to the second half against Villa until the Flopo error cost us. Not sure if Firpo will ever come good.
Marsch has to learn about the players as much as they have to adapt to his methods. Far to early to judge.
I really do not think the U23 players will make a huge difference, Geldhart shows promise but is not yet a PL grade striker. Good to see him come on for a full half though.
One question for the new manager
Why continue selecting the same players in the same positions (wrong ones at that) that havent worked for our previous manager when a change in the manager is supposed to be doing something different?
Whats the point in picking up the Bielsa playbook and teamsheet and use them as his own when for whatever reasons failed to deliver? Yes every team will lose games but i think opposition managers worked out how to beat a bielsa team and MB refused to change his approach, so why does JM sitting in the same technical area with the same players continue with the same tactic? ffs i could have done that or anyone else could have followed the last manager.
We needed a change as MB wasn't going to change, the board made the change but it looks like they have appointed a clone.
JM must show us what he intends to change otherwise why change one of the best managers we ever had?
The definition of insanity is?????
The Roberts debate is now dead for the season as his injury is going to take a while to heal. For the record his assist as the primary last pass man are down as you pointed out but you also can see that his pass has lead to the person given the final ball. I think in hockey they call it a secondary assist.
Fair enough Dan2 but for me Tyler has had plenty of time on the pitch to show that he isnt worthy of the Jersey and the following league stats are my reasons especially when they are compared to the likes of Joffy
TR
Played 22 times
Starts 7
Mins Played 972
1 Goal
1 Assist
JG
Played 10 times
Starts 2
Mins Played 393
and has 1 Goal & 1 Assist same as TR but alot less game time
that translate to 0.09 goals per 90mins of football for Tyler and .23goals per 90mins for Joffy more than double.
Yes ok Tyler has been asked to play "out of position" but its not as if he has come on as a CB replacement, and i accept its difficult to play / impress when you are outside of your comfort zone, but if he was out on the wing how come he hasn't provided more assists? Yes he is still young at 23 but Geldhart must be allowed sometime, not necessarily equal time, but sometime to show what he can deliver.
I think Ayling will keep his place especially when i heard one of JM interviews saying how impressed he was with the players but name dropped Bill & Liam Cooper
So some do not like my idea of starting Roberts upfront next to Rodrigo. Look through the stats and tell how many games has he started and played as a Striker? He was always deployed as a midfield player like Rodrigo has under Beilsa.
On Greenwood & Gelthart partnership up front just makes sense as the have developed together for the past 13 month and already have a very good understanding and their style suit each other.
Ayling form over the past 10 games has been that bad that he is now leading our club in missed placed passing and lost balls (during those games).
Shackleton games just makes sense as a second DCM. Movement and passing short and sharp is his strength. Forshaw and James are 2 i am not keen on seeing in Leeds kit and I go as far as to say they have been worse then Roberts performance wise.
Rodders the lone striker so mouseman?
i think he will go 4-4-2 personally in the hope of scoring and trying to get at least a point to stop the run of defeats, but its anyone's guess really.
Tend to agree with Soopa its how we approach the game, how we defend set pieces, and will we see the front men / midfielders continue to track back to help out in defence the way Marcelo demanded.
Result is important, very important, a point wouldn't be a disaster, the interviews ive seen of JM "sound" positive, "sound" as if he is working well with the players but the proof of that will unfold in the next few weeks.
For me a cleansheet is the target for Leicester, certainly cant be conceding 3 (or more) but i'll take a 1-1 ifs its on offer
Jessie
played
4-2-3-1 formation at Leipzig and I reckon will on Saturday that may help firpo as he won’t have to be out of position so often
If we want to be defensively solid, for me Firpo does not start. Every time I see him try to defend I worry he is going to get booked or sent off.
At 25 years old and a left back understudy to Jordi Alba, if has not learned how to tackle/mark/generally defend, it seems unlikely he ever will.
This may go against conventional wisdom, but he could well start with an unchanged lineup - and get a different result.
The issues for me are more about HOW we play, not so much WHO plays. If JM sees a change in personnel will work better then great, but I won't be judging anything on the starting lineup - I'll be looking at HOW we go about the task.
Personally I would rive Rodrigo a chance as the striker, i Would guess Marsch will not demand as much closing down as Bielsa did. I would then go for James and Harrison on either wing with Raphinha playing behind Rodrigo with a free licence. In the middle Forshaw and Dallas. With a back 4 of Ayling, Koch, Struijk and Firpo.
we might actually find out that Firpo can actually defend, when he isn’t chasing a winger back to the Halfway line.
I'm certain JM will have seen many of our games over the past few days and has done his homework on what he actually has available to him right now. In fairness he will only have a very small amount of time with the squad actually on the grass, but surly he cant go with the same players / subs as MB when we all know that hasn't worked so far this season.
We must give the guy a chance tho we cant just want this guys head without any decent time with the squad in order for him to changes things
Perversely looking forward to the Leicester game when I certainly wouldn’t if MB was at the helm.
We all know he would have started James up front and brought Roberts on as his game changer.
Looking forward to the line up. If it’s the same then we may be in trouble once more. Don’t think he will though.
Didnt hear that about John Toshack TC10 (fabulous player in his day)
Wishing him a speedy recovery
Wasnt Cameron Toshack managing a greek or Cypriot team that Darko Milanic is with now?
He turned that team completely around, from utter tripe to winning league points regularly (something we need badly).
Cameron Toshack has been appointed as the no2 to Marsch....
He comes highly rated and brings the youth through and has been manager in his own right....
Unfortunately, his dad, Liverpool legend John, is in intensive care with pneumonia and catching Covid!!
Doesn't sound good so best wishes to him and hope, in a selfish way, it doesn't affect us....
Reading the bits and pieces on Marsch, it seems he likes to develop young players, so there is optimism that the likes of Joffy, Greenwood, Summerville, Cresswell & Bate will be given their chance.
For me personally, I would be crestfallen if Roberts is given one of the strikers shirts. There are not enough games left for Marsch to arrive at the same opinion as most of us have on Roberts, so let someone like Joffy off the lead and see what damage he can do. I have said on many occasions, I have nothing against Roberts personally and he is a nice lad, but he needs to go somewhere were he can fit into a better system and get some confidence.
I agree Bull that Rodders is on thin ice, but the nagging bit I have is that he has never for a long period of time, played in a striker role at ER and definately never in a 4-4-2 formation when he has. I don't think we will see Bambi again this season so this is the perfect opportunity for him to show why we shelved out all that cash on him.
Ayling is definately a right back and therefore put him back in is natural position. I would play Struijk and Cresswell in defence and Dallas on the left.
James & Rapha as wingers, with Harrison as cover, which then leaves us with the remaining 2 midfield positions. As yet, we do not have an out and out playmaker in the team, given that we have never replaced Pablo. Our goal for the remaining games is survival and to be a lot tighter defensively. I think you could perm any 2 from the following: Forshaw/Shackleton/Koch/Bate. Once Phillips returns, then we have another re-think.
For me it is a Rodrigo & Roberts together starting and to change things up Geldthart & Greenwood together as their replacements.
For me Dan2, Tyler has had more than enough opportunities to show what he can offer, so i wouldn't be handing him a starting Jersey at all.
As for Rodders i think he is on thin ice also but we must take into account alot of his cameos were him playing out of his natural position so id cut the lad a bit of slack there but not much if i'm honest we must be told his performances MUST improve otherwise he too will be asked to take a seat on the bench.
No more Mr. nice guy treatment for these two in particular step up or ship out.
I think Joffy has earned the right to start in the absence of Bamford and Tyler's horrific performances, Start Joffy for these next 4 games and see how things go, i agree that 2 up front will help him as he is still very young and learning his trade. Put James back on the wing (his natural position) and Rapha on the other side and see how that formation works..
In defence
Struijk and cresswell as CB but instead of dropping Luke Ayling again id put him back to his natural position of wing back as whenever both himself and Rapha played together it worked very well and id go back to that again if im honest.
Find a spot for Dallas but isnt Dremah gone to Cardiff so he wont be an option at all.
I too like Shacks and i too would like to see him in midfield along with Forshaw, lets hope the lads have stepped upto the mark this week at training and have made selecting Marsch's first teamsheet a difficult one.
Time will tell but for me if we can get something from the game on Saturday it stops the losing streak and its something to take to Villians game where again we will find it difficult.
On the plus side with Burnley losing last night that should give us a boost now and hopefully Leicester will a bit tired on Saturday so that we can snatch something towards the end of the game as they tire.
Beilsa has laid a deep foundation and the the surrounding of the structure has been put up. We just need the fittings and furnishings to be installec and by this I mean when we change the defending to a decent zone system which everybody u understands and implements we will start winning again.
Looking forwardto see midfielders actually holdinb their positions in the middle of the park. Also really can not wait to see 2 up front. For me it is a Rodrigo & Roberts together starting and to change things up Geldthart & Greenwood together as their replacements.
Struijk (LCD) & Koch(RCD) has the starting Central Defenders and Cresswell (RCD) & Hjelde (LCD) as the back ups. On a side note. Dropping Ayling would be a start. Dallas and Dremah are better option on form this season.
Got to see Shackleton in the central midfield role with Phillips (when fit).
We plug the massive hole in ghe centre of the park and stop playing back i to pressure and we will be winning again.
Thiz move was supposed to happen this summer but now it has happen early.
I concur and welcome Mr. Marsch all any of us LUFC fans is honesty in effort and the willingness to try and win the game.
Like you Glory we cant nor should we judge our new manager on Wednesday's game against leicester, if we can see some patterns, different approach to defending corners that would be a start but even this will take time for the players to adjust. Sadly the next international break isn't for another fortnight but that's 4 more games going to be ticked off the list by the time Marsch's stamp on the team should be a little more evident.
We need points, BADLY, and we certainly need all 3 against Norwich to get them well and truly relegated and fill 20th in the league table first and foremost however what about the other 3 games Leicester, Villa & Wolves? is 2 more points from those games a realistic target? it dosent sound unreasonable and if it were last season id be looking 5-6 pts from the same 3 teams, but we cant look back we MUST MOVE FORWARD.
If we manage 5 points from the next 12 it would be a decent start for Marcsh in my opinion and may instill some confidence back into the team which must be pretty low right now with all that's been going on in the LUFC dressing room since Christmas. Brentford our best target to overtake in my mind only have 3 games before the international break and while we have no control over the result in anyone else's games they play both Norwich & Burnley so something has to give in those fixtures. If Brentford win both they will be upto 30 points if we only manage 5 points from our 12 we go into the international break 2 points behind Brentford with the same number of games played, pressure will certainly be on Marcsh and the players then.
But if we can get back to picking up points and Kalvin, Bamford & Cooper get back onto the pitch i firmly believe we can survive, but Marsch Honeymoon could be very short lived if we continue to draw blanks, regardless of performances.
Well like most Americans, a very polished act in front of the camera's. Certainly talks a good game, we'll see if it translates to the pitch against Leicester (given the short space of time, I'm not expecting miracles against the Foxes, but maybe some structured defending).
Some of the video's of Marsch meeting the players were a little awkward to say the least, but I guess it's a major PR job now to try and get everyone onboard and pushing in the right direction.
I'm not going to lie, it was a refreshing change to have no translators involved in the interviews and hearing the words straight from the horses mouth!
welcome to LUFC Mr. Marsch.
I just watched his LUTV & Sky sports interviews.He seems very well spoken and down to earth.He had good things to say about Marcelo and said he admired MB.
He said of his playing style its similar to MB with high press,high energy but he doesn't go man to man when defending,he prefers zonal or ball orientated defending.
he gets bonus points for not saying soccer in either interview!
good luck to him & hopefully he can hit the ground running and keep us in the PL.
.
Very true, It's the end of an era no doubt.
Whoever was lucky enough to be at E.R. For M.B first game against Stoke, will never forget the feeling that, after many years of sh-te, we had a man who had something special.
p.s I believe we have the players to give most teams a good game. Bring it
on I say.