Jesse Marsch will be calling on his Leeds United side to take more accountability this weekend as he watches on from the stands. The head coach will be serving the one-match ban he received following his red card during Leeds’ 5-2 loss to Brentford at the start of September.
His dismissal came following a penalty incident in west London as Crysencio Summerville hit the deck under pressure from a Bees defender. The referee waved away the Whites’ claims, but Marsch’s protests were deemed to overstep the mark.
As such, the American was handed a touchline ban, as well as a £10,000 fine, meaning he will be forced to watch Sunday’s game against Aston Villa from a distance. His assistant Rene Maric will be the man barking out the orders from the technical area against Steven Gerrard’s side at Elland Road, with help from Mark Jackson and Cameron Toshack.
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It’ll be a bizarre situation for the players on the field, looking over to the dugout and failing to see Marsch’s face. However, it’s a position the 48-year-old has been in before during his coaching career and he’ll have been calling on that experience over the last few weeks.
The Whites haven’t played since Marsch saw red and as such, he will have been working hard on the training ground to ensure his players are ready to be without him come Sunday.
“In theory when the manager's not there that's an advantage,” Marsch said in a press conference last month ahead of the club’s game with Chelsea, regarding the possibility of Thomas Tuchel being handed a touchline ban following his coming together with Tottenham boss Antonio Conte.
“I was probably tossed out of games too much in the MLS and so I developed strategies on how to deal with that. One of the strategies was seeing if the team could take more ownership and that's a big tenet of my leadership principles.”
How Leeds cope without him will be seen on Sunday, but Marsch will have full confidence in Maric, a man identified and brought to Elland Road by Marsch, to convey his message from the dugout. The manager also has several returning leaders, who should be able to help keep Leeds level-headed in times of success and strife.
Liam Cooper could have a big role to play as club captain, should he step back into the starting line-up that is. The defender hasn’t played a minute of league football this season after struggling with an Achilles issue, but he’s fit again now and many expect him to start against Villa and shore up a shaky backline.
Patrick Bamford and Luke Ayling could also play key roles in that regard if selected, given their position within Marsch’s leadership circle. Both men are ready to start once more after their respective concerns and the head coach’s absence could even push him to go with experience this weekend when it comes to his selection.
Tyler Adams has a important part to play, it would seem, too. The 23-year-old is still new to West Yorkshire after arriving from RB Leipzig over the summer, but he knows Marsch’s style of play inside out having played under him in New York and in Germany.
The American is already establishing himself as a leader within the dressing room and Marsch may look to him to provide a voice in the middle of the park. Of course, the head coach will only be missing for one game, but it’s a game Leeds will be targeting three points in as they look to get off on the right foot during this pivotal period before the World Cup.
He’s been in this situation before and he knows what needs to happen, but it will still be a huge test of Leeds’ mentality and ability to deal with adversity moving forward.
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