Timing was against Leeds United when it came to appointing Jesse Marsch’s replacement. When Victor Orta went looking for a full-time successor with the kind of track record he liked, there would prove to be nobody ticking all the boxes he wanted.
Those coaches who were available were not initially deemed better options than Michael Skubala keeping the reins on an interim basis. While those considered the right candidates could not be extracted from their clubs or their self-imposed breaks from work.
It was February and the wrong side of the season’s halfway mark. Those coaches pulling up trees with their clubs did not want to walk away from trophies, while others did not fancy the idea of a relegation fight with so little time to have a material impact before judgement day in May.
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Everton, as we now know, was the turning point which told everyone Skubala was not going to be the answer. Javi Gracia pitched for the job, impressed and, up to now, has picked up enough points to reassure everyone he might just keep Leeds up.
The Spaniard’s flexible contract allows Leeds to choose their direction when June arrives. The final eight matches will dictate opinion on Gracia’s position, but the Whites will keep an eye on those coaches they wanted on the original post-Marsch shortlist.
Arne Slot’s Feyenoord have not lost in any competition since October 27. The Rotterdam giants are on course for their first Eredivisie title since 2017 and play the first leg of their Europa League quarter-final against Roma tonight.
By contrast, Andoni Iraola’s overachieving Rayo Vallecano have not won since the day after Marsch was sacked. Five draws and eight defeats have seen them slide to ninth in La Liga, which would still be considered an excellent campaign if they hold steady.
Marcelo Gallardo remains out of work and honouring his wish to wait until the summer for his next post. The summer, indeed, was left as the next best opportunity for Leeds if they wanted to go back in for any of those three names.
While they will be far more attainable between seasons, competition for their signatures is only going to grow as multiple clubs struggle to find the answer to their problems down the final stretch of this season. Leicester City, Chelsea, Tottenham Hotspur, Crystal Palace and Southampton all struggled to find candidates worthy of deals beyond the end of this season.
In the last few days, Tottenham, Palace and David Moyes’s West Ham United have already been credited with an interest in Slot. League status will go a long way to sifting the wheat from the chaff for those coaches in demand, but if the Whites stay up they will face fierce competition for those names they coveted more than two months ago.
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