The last time Jesse Marsch replaced an idiosyncratic manager with a different tactical philosophy to his own, things didn’t go well. Marsch took over Julian Nagelsmann’s highly tuned RB Leipzig side last summer and tried to instil more speed and energy, to bring a little organised chaos, to transform them from designers into disruptors. But the American failed to unravel the possession-based habits of the players he inherited, and in early December, after six league defeats, he was gone.
Three months later he is the new manager of Leeds, where he takes over from one of the most distinctive coaches in the game. Marcelo Bielsa is often held up as an influencer of others but in reality he is unique in world football – no other coach of his reputation is dogmatically wedded to a man-marking system, and it is notable that his many admirers, who include Mauricio Pochettino and Pep Guardiola, do not copy it. Marsch inherits a Leeds squad which has been drilled to play in a very specific way for nearly four years. How easy will that be to untangle?
