Stability and planning are possible at the top of Leeds United for the first time since 2018 with Jesse Marsch’s signature on a contract for the next three-and-a-half years.
Marcelo Bielsa’s penchant for 12-month deals, which provided flexibility for him and the club for better or worse, always left the door open for instability and the unknown.
Within weeks of him signing a new deal every summer, sometimes in the days before a new season actually started, the talk would soon begin again on what may lay ahead for Leeds the following summer.
No matter how well things were going on the pitch, Bielsa’s record for volatility at clubs and the little leverage Leeds held with a short contract, meant it was hard to look too far ahead.
It would be right to say contracts are barely worth the paper they are written on in the football industry and it’s foolish for anyone to plan too far into the future.
Still, having that June 2025 expiry date in the calendar at least means Andrea Radrizzani, Angus Kinnear and Victor Orta feel some sense of control when they approach the coming close seasons.
Bielsa was never even in the business of talking about new contracts until the football finished. The final match of the campaign would have to end before he even contemplated looking at the paperwork.
Even then, he would spend the summer focusing on improving the club, developing the training ground, expanding his analysis of the world game rather than signing his contract, which he considered insignificant against the backdrop of enhancing the organisation.
As noble and idealistic as that was, contracts are needed to keep the football world turning on its axis. Leeds need the paperwork and the Premier League needs it too.
With Marsch now committed to Elland Road until 2025, Orta and the top brass can plan recruitment with more confidence and pitch to prospective signings with more surety of who their head coach will be.
It’s all down to Marsch and the players to now see if they can do that 2025 target date justice.
