‘Do or die’ – Rio Ferdinand shares verdict on Leeds managerial situation
Rio Ferdinand believes Marcelo Bielsa was a victim of his own philosophy but says it’s ‘not impossible’ that Jesse Marsch keeps Leeds in the Premier League.
Bielsa was sacked following a ninth defeat in 12 games on Sunday and replaced by former RB Leipzig coach Marsch on Monday night, with the club just two points above the relegation zone.
Now Ferdinand, speaking on his Vibe with Five podcast, has claimed that the ‘do or die’ tactics ultimately cost Bielsa his job and that Marsch now must hit the ground running to keep the team up.
“I respect him [Bielsa] for his beliefs and he stands by what he believes in,” he said. “I respect that to a point, but it’s almost gone to a fault. Well, it has.
“Where he will not accept any type of flexibility with the way he sets his team up. It’s these tactics, do or die. We’re not going to change it, we’re not going to deviate from that. We’re going to go man for man all over the pitch and we’re going to press as high as we can. You’re going to run 20 miles each a game.
“Is that sustainable over time? It’s proved at Leeds that it’s not.
“[Marsch] He got the sack not long ago. He won five games out of 14 I think in his last job. He does like to play a pressing game, albeit different to Bielsa, but he does like to press all over the pitch and break forward quickly.
“I don’t know. The problem you’ve got there is the squad you’ve got is very, very tailored to what Bielsa wants. The way they recruit at Leeds is a Bielsa player. Are those players adaptable to new tactics? I’m sure they will be but the person that comes in now has got to be able to hit the ground running and do it immediately.
“So it’s a big job, tough job, but it’s not impossible.”
Uphill task
The one positive in Marsch’s favour right now is that things surely can’t get any worse right now at Elland Road.
The defeats have been awful and form shocking, so unless Marsch also gets battered on a regular basis between now and the end of the season then it was probably a good decision.
One problem he does have is that relegation isn’t necessarily in their hands. They’re above all of Everton, Burnley, Norwich and Watford in the table, but both Everton and Burnley have two games in hand on them.
Marsch has a week before his first game to get the team heading in the right direction and carrying out his instructions to try and get as many points as possible.
Ferdinand is right that ultimately Bielsa caused his own downfall by not adapting, and that Marsch really needs to get that new manager bounce in the first few weeks or they will be in big trouble.
In other Leeds news, Leeds may be ‘forced’ to sell two players in summer despite Jesse Marsch arrival – report