It didn’t take Jesse Marsch long to put together what he has described as Leeds United’s ‘leadership council’ at Thorp Arch. The American head coach mentioned the group of senior players in one of his first press conferences in charge at Elland Road after taking over from Marcelo Bielsa.
Of course, Bielsa already had something of a leadership group which included the likes of Liam Coop e r, Luke Ayling, Adam Forshaw and Stuart Dallas. They were, and still are, some of Leeds’ most experienced players having been around the club and the game for some time.
They were obvious selections for Marsch’s council, when he arrived at the end of February with the brief of keeping United in the Premier League with 12 games remaining. He would rely on the quartet to help set the standards on and off the field, while also acting as a go-between to help Marsch get his point across and vice-versa.
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However, the head coach didn’t stop there as he handed senior responsibility to Kalvin Phillips, Patrick Bamford and Rodrigo to make up the seven-man council to represent the entirety of the squad. It was a call that may have come as a surprise to some, but it was one Marsch felt was important to make.
“I'm trying to get the whole team to know me, but it's really important for them to have their finger on the pulse of who I am,” Marsch said back in March. “So that we can, kind of, they can translate to me what they think is important for the team from what they're hearing from other players and I can translate to them.
“They can, kind of, disseminate and help give information that's important and they're fully in, they've committed 100 per cent to what we're trying to develop here. The more those seven guys can do that, then it will disseminate and it will be easier for everybody to be all in and to understand what we're trying to accomplish here.”
However, it seems this summer there could be changes to the way that council looks, though. Kalvin Phillips is on the verge of a switch to Man City and with confirmation of the deal thought to be imminent, the midfielder’s leadership council membership could be transferred to another member of the Whites’ squad.
If there is to be a new appointment, it will be something Marsch considers carefully with two or three candidates within the squad. The most obvious choice for the head coach may very well by Mateusz Klich, who is the oldest member of the squad at 32-years of age.
The Poland international is also one of the longest serving at Elland Road, joining from FC Twente back in 2017 and he has made 163 league appearances for the Whites since. As such, it’s fair to say that he may already have a leadership role to play in West Yorkshire, even if he hasn’t strictly been recognised by Marsch until now.
Whether he’s in the starting XI or not this season, Klich could have a key role to play for the Whites and his presence is certainly a big one. He’s not the only option, though, with Robin Koch someone who has been given leadership responsibility in the past.
In the absence of Ayling and Cooper, Koch was the man chosen by the squad to skipper Leeds during last summer’s pre-season friendly with Blackburn Rovers, which spoke volumes about his status and how highly he is regarded at Thorp Arch. Of course that came during Bielsa’s tenure and Marsch may have different plans for the Germany international, but it seems he has the respect of the group and certainly could find himself progressing into a senior role in the months to come.
The same can be said of Jack Harrison, who is expected to remain one of the first names on the teamsheet moving into the new season. At 25, the winger is at the point in his career where he could be considered a senior man in the squad and a spot in Marsch’s inner circle of leaders would definitely reflect that change.
He showed huge amounts of professionalism during the off-season, with several posts on his social media indicating his desire to keep up his fitness and stay on the ball, both literally and figuratively. That attitude, which was shared by a host of his teammates, won’t have gone unnoticed by the head coach and he’ll be hoping to see Harrison continue to grow as a player and a man.
Harrison certainly has the experience to command respect within the group and he delivers on the field on a regular basis, too. The need for fresh leaders to emerge under Marsch is highlighted further by the fact that both Ayling and Dallas will miss the start of the Premier League season through injury.
The pair will return in their own time, but their collective absence from the matchday squad may well put pressure on others to step up and take on such roles. For now, though, the head coach may well be keeping his eyes peeled in training for the right man to join the council.
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