“What I’ve tried to say to [Jack Harrison] is that it’s okay to be a good young man and a son of a bitch on the pitch,” said Jesse Marsch just a couple of weeks after being appointed as Leeds United manager.
It’s not what was expected of a man that looked like he’d be pulled out of leading a LinkedIn seminar to dig Leeds out of a ditch. The air of your school’s most affable maths teacher being drafted in to coach the rugby team and overcompensating to fit the brief.
Predecessor Marcelo Bielsa’s stoic, get-on-with-it-and-say-no-more-than-is-strictly-necessary attitude always seemed more in tune with the naturally gloomy regional identity of the Yorkshire city than Marsch, a man who never lost his sense of positivity and never seemed to stop talking as Leeds unconvincingly scrapped their way to survival last term.
There was a stark contrast between a glorious recent past and a distressfully uncertain future. Marsch’s schtick wore thin with some as a culture war raged within a chronically damaged fanbase. For the non-believers, it felt like the nightmare scenario of your miserable workplace bringing in a self-actualisation guru.
Many cringed at the coach’s Brentish use of Gandhi and Mother Theresa quotes, but have you seen Mikel Arteta and Pep Guardiola behind the scenes on All Or Nothing? Corny managerialism genuinely seems to do the trick as a motivation tool for this generation of players. There’s a strong argument that Marsch’s relentlessly optimistic, uniquely American, manner is exactly what a down-and-out Leeds squad needed.
Ultimately, the football questions are most important. Masterminding a blinding 3-0 victory over Chelsea might’ve seen Neil Warnock, Steve Evans or even Brian Clough win over the fans.
And as Marsch wins over the doubters by instilling what looks like an effective style of football built in his own image, his character looks less of an awkward fit with each passing week.
What’s gradually becoming obvious is that the spiky elements of Marsch’s persona aren’t an act of overcompensation. They’re genuine. And they’re Leeds.
From his heated arguments with Wolves boss Bruno Lage to refusing to play the diplomat as Thomas Tuchel escaped a touchline ban at Elland Road, it’s clear that Marsch is not one to shirk a fight.
chelsea fans think marsch is scared of tuchel 🤣 pic.twitter.com/HKRMrgWyQ9
— 🌲stray north🌲 (@north_stray) August 19, 2022
“It’s fine, I think I maybe got too many…
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