Leeds United boss Jesse Marsch hits out at English media on US radio after criticism
Leeds United boss Jesse Marsch has slammed the media response in England to his positivity after defeat to Manchester City last month (30 April).
The Premier League champions won 4-0, but the Whites boss was so enthused by the Elland Road crowd’s support for his team he said if felt like a win.
That drew a negative reaction, with BBC Leeds’ Adam Pope recently telling Off the Ball he “couldn’t believe his eyes” at Marsch after the game, and that his quotes and “antics aren’t going down well”, but the former RB Leipzig boss has now kept the team in the Premier League and let his compatriots know his true feelings.
Marsch told SiriusXM, via the Yorkshire Evening Post: “We were actually playing quite well in the match, we lost 4-0 and I said in the press conference that in many ways it was a win and people over here go crazy.
“The media in England is so ridiculous. Any one thing the American says they want to just jump on and they want to then ridicule and find holes.
“Whatever. I don’t care, I’m not changing who I am, I’m going to be the leader that I want to be and work hard with the group I work with and find ways to grow and get better and succeed, that’s what we did.”
He went on to say: “It’s frankly ridiculous that they don’t like to hear an American accent in their sport, in their country, it’s horrible.
“But I’m okay with it, I can handle it and there’s nothing happening like that in our team.
“Actually it’s totally the opposite, we have total belief, commitment, the guys have responded really well to my leadership style, they like the type of football we’re playing.”
Uphill battle
Marsch certainly speaks in a much more robust fashion when he is talking to media from his home country, and if everything he says is going to be jumped on here it isn’t hard to see why.
If the basis to much of the criticism of him is the fact that he is an American, and therefore an “outsider” in English football then it is a poor reflection on the game in this country.
It could be argued that Marsch replacing the iconic Marcelo Bielsa at Leeds was the hardest act to follow since David Moyes took over from Sir Alex Ferguson at Old Trafford.
In that context, the fact that he did oversee an improvement in morale and results and ultimately avoided relegation warrants him significant praise.
It’s been far from perfect, and it took failure from Burnley on the final day to complete the job, while other issues include taking too long to let Joe Gelhardt loose and most of his wins coming in games that could have easily gone the other way.
But he inherited a mess that wasn’t of his own making, and ultimately did what was asked of him.
He’s not Bielsa and he’s never tried to be, but he did improve results and kept a team that appeared to be in free fall in the top flight.
Clearly as the manager of such a well-supported club his words are going to be pored over, but they shouldn’t have to pass extra tests just for coming out in an American accent, just as they shouldn’t if they were in any other accent than a British one.
He doesn’t deserve extra leeway either and will have to make further improvements next season, but so far he’s done his job, which was a major one.
In other Leeds United news, even the number one advocate of British managers looks like he’s coming around to the Whites boss.