The first rule of relegation battles is not to invoke Mahatma Gandhi. The second is not to quote Mother Teresa. Jesse Marsch broke both and got away with it. The more meaningful element is that, while the Leeds manager invited mockery by revealing he draws inspiration from iconic figures, he did the short-term task required. His return of 15 points from 12 games was more than respectable, especially as the American took over a team who had lost their previous four games by an aggregate score of 17-2. Marcelo Bielsa’s legacy was admirable in many respects but he contrived to ruin Leeds’ goal difference so Marsch’s job entailed getting an extra point to compensate. Three at Brentford on Sunday sufficed.
Leeds’ season had seemed laced with tragicomic moments. There was the time they accidentally substituted Luke Ayling, to Marsch’s visible fury. A club accustomed to Joy Division-inspired taunts of “Leeds are falling apart again” from opponents showed a self-destructive streak as first Stuart Dallas, then Ayling, then Dan James contrived to bring his campaign to a premature conclusion with a reckless, and arguably dangerous, lunge. This could have ended in acrimony as well as underachievement.
