Leeds United’s Premier League slump has been alarming and the numbers do outgoing head coach Jesse Marsch absolutely no favours, following his dismissal. The Whites made the decision to part ways with the head coach on Monday afternoon following Sunday's 1-0 defeat to Nottingham Forest at the City Ground.
It was a frustrating afternoon of the highest order, leaving the Whites perched precariously on the very brink of the relegation zone on the back of a winless run of league games to seven. That’s a run Leeds have picked up just three points in, slipping from 12th to 17th as Sunday’s performance failed to provide the traction Marsch’s side had been searching for.
However, it’s the longer-term numbers that will have provided the real cause for concern and to fully comprehend Leeds’ predicament, minds must be cast back to the start of the season. More specifically, we must look at the situation United found themselves following the conclusion of matchweek three.
Read more: Jesse Marsch sacked - live updates and reaction
Marsch’s side were third at that stage of the season, having seen off Wolves and Chelsea at Elland Road and secured a point on the road at Southampton. The result over the Blues in August was as emphatic as it was euphoric, with Brenden Aaronson, Rodrigo and Jack Harrison finding the back of the net in a 3-0 win.
Things were looking up after the club’s spending in the transfer window and optimism was at an all-time high. However, that summer haze lifted in the weeks and months that followed to reveal the cold hard reality of yet another relegation battle.
The Whites picked up just two points in the eight games that came after the win over Chelsea and the first voices of dissatisfaction could be heard from the stands. Successive losses to Crystal Palace, Arsenal, Leicester City and Fulham saw the club slide to 17th, and it seemed as though the walls were closing in on Marsch.
When he needed a result, though, the head coach got two, as Leeds edged out Liverpool and Bournemouth in the space of a week. But, that Bournemouth result, under a picturesque Bonfire Night sky, was Leeds’ last success in the Premier League.
The seven games United have played since have yielded just three points and shined a light on a run that has seen Leeds pick up just two wins in 17 Premier League outings. To be more exact, since August 21 Leeds have claimed 11 points from the last 51 available to them, which is enough to see them take the mantle as the joint-worst team in the top tier during that time.
Bottom of the table Southampton are the only other side to muster such a measly tally, with Bournemouth and Everton, who find themselves in the bottom three, securing 14 and 17 points respectively. Admittedly Leeds have played 16 games in that time, at least one fewer than every other team in the division, but it doesn’t make for positive reading.
Of the 18 points Leeds have amassed in total, only 10 have come from the 10 matches they have played against teams currently in the bottom half of the table. Upcoming games against the Toffees and Saints give them the opportunity to boost that figure somewhat, but opportunities have clearly been missed up to this point.
Chances on the road have been spurned, too, with Leeds now holding one of the worst away records in the top flight. No team has picked up fewer points than the Whites’ five away from home, with Bournemouth’s goal difference ensuring they sit bottom of any away form guide.
Comparisons to last season, when Leeds needed a final day win over Brentford to survive, are inevitable, but they don’t look too favourable either. After 20 2021-22 outings, Leeds found themselves in 15th with 22 points in the bag as they kick-started the New Year with wins over Burnley and West Ham United.
It’s worth reiterating that, despite the decision to part ways with Marsch, Leeds aren’t in the relegation zone but the Whites were only going one way under the American and the change needed to be made.
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