Paul Merson: ‘Absolute joke’ that Leeds United sacked Jesse Marsch with no replacement lined up
Paul Merson has blasted Leeds United as an “absolute joke” for sacking Jesse Marsch and not having a replacement manager lined up.
Marsch was sacked last week (6 February) after a run of just two wins in 17 games, but the Whites have failed to appoint a successor after running into problems for a number of candidates.
On the other hand the American coach is now set to take over at relegation rivals Southampton and while Merson isn’t sure that he’ll be able to save the Saints from the drop, he believes that he was very unlucky to be sacked in the first place at Elland Road while live on Sky Sports (15 February).
“I thought he was bang unlucky to get the sack at Leeds if I’m being honest,” he said.
“Now that they haven’t got anybody in, I thought they needed a little bit of luck here and there. I watched them again against Man United, they’re not going to score any goals.
“I think that’s the problem at Southampton. He’ll give them energy.
“He’s had legs at Leeds, I don’t know if they’ve got legs at Southampton. I think to go in to a place and want to play at that kind of tempo, I know we’re halfway through the season and they should be up to it but I’m not sure.
“But I do like him. I’m glad he’s back, I do like Jesse Marsch and I thought he was bang unlucky to get the sack.
“And to sack him and then get nobody in is an absolute joke in my opinion.”
Right and wrong
Merson is right about one thing, and that’s the fact that it is an absolute joke that the club have made this decision without a plan in place to make it work.
With that said though, Marsch was definitely not unlucky to be sacked and arguably could have been sacked even sooner than he was.
The performances were okay for spells, but ultimately this is a results business and the club simply cannot afford to be relegated after working so hard to get back to the Premier League and spending heavily since returning.
Marsch was on borrowed time after managing to steal results before the World Cup when it looked certain that he’d be sacked, and managing to stick around and spend more money in January.
But not having someone lined up to step in and replace him is a big problem, and the decision could now look like a crazy one if we end up being relegated while Marsch goes to St Mary’s and ends up saving Southampton in his new role.
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