Former Leeds United forward Mike Grella has claimed Jesse Marsch is the best manager the Whites could have hired to replace the departed Marcelo Bielsa. It has already proved to be a successful arrival so far as the new boss at Elland Road has been able to stop the rot and pull his new side away from the relegation zone.
The job is far from over with six games left of the season but, with an eight-point cushion to the bottom three, they are in a great position to secure safety. Grella is a man familiar with both Leeds and Marsch, having played for the club for two and a half years and under his fellow American at New York Red Bulls for almost three years.
He believes it is a match made in heaven but admitted that his reaction to the appointment probably came too soon following Bielsa’s departure. He told the Official Leeds United Podcast : “I came out on Twitter and said something like ‘you guys are getting a top manager’ because I know how good he is, I worked with him for three years.
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“I hadn’t realised that Marcelo had just left and how much he was loved at Leeds so I got a little bit of backlash. It was probably bad on my part because it was too soon but he really is a top, top manager.
“When you take a look at what he’s doing, take away the football side of it, just how personable he is with media and how he can communicate with the players, you’re not going to find a better guy. Now whether he can get the results in the Premier League consistently, I don’t know but if you’re going to get rid of Marcelo, he’s the only guy I would say is suited for the job.”
Such a glowing reference from a former Leeds player who has experience of working under the tutelage of Marsch will come as a relief to some fans who are still unconvinced by him. During his brief spell in charge so far, the football hasn’t always been expansive or pretty but, when it comes to relegation battles, it is all about getting points on the board.
Grella’s description of his preferred playing style makes it sound quite similar to that Bielsa, explaining the decision of the Leeds hierarchy to bring him to the club.
“He would always say this to me, and to the group as well, Jesse’s brand of football is very fast and very intense,” he said. “He wants to press, once you win it he wants you to get to the goal in as few passes as possible, if you can do it in one or two passes that’s great.
“I was the one guy in the team who could slow everything down at times because sometimes the one defect of playing that way is that the game goes back and forth and you end up running a lot. It almost becomes a coin flip because both teams are just flying in transition, it becomes too much and there are times when you need to slow the game down.”
Permitting Marsch is able to keep Leeds in the Premier League this term, the real test of his quality will come next season. With a clean slate, the opportunity for recruitment and a full pre-season, he will have the perfect chance to implement his style on the squad at Elland Road.
