Darren Bent has told talkSPORT he expects Leeds United will suffer a hangover effect from Marcelo Bielsa’s tenure for ‘some time’ whilst Jesse Marsch gets to work forming his side.
The Whites sacked Bielsa on Sunday after a 4-0 defeat at home to Tottenham Hotspur left the club 16th in the Premier League. The Argentine was the Elland Road natives’ miracle man after guiding them back into the top-flight. But results made his position untenable.
Marsch now arrives in West Yorkshire after three-months out of work after losing his role as RB Leipzig’s head coach. He lasted just four-months with the Bundesliga outfit following his summer appointment. But Die Roten Bullen won just five of his 14 games at the helm.
One positive of Marsch’s brief Leipzig tenure was that the Saxony outfit still held a positive goal difference. Despite struggling for form and results, they still scored 25 goals to the 18 conceded in 14 Bundesliga games. That was not the case for Leeds and Bielsa this season.
Leeds sit on the cusp of the relegation zone, having played twice more than Everton and Burnley immediately below. They have also allowed a league-high 60 goals after their 26 games so far – just over double the 29 goals that Bielsa’s injury-ravished side managed.
Bent feels Marsch appointment is a ‘risk’ by Leeds and fears Bielsa ‘hangover’
Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani and director of football Victor Orta will hope Marsch can quickly turn the tide that swept Bielsa into unemployment. But Bent does not expect the American will have a Midas touch at Elland Road given his previous coaching positions.
“I give them as much hope as I did when Bielsa was in charge,” Bent said. “He’s ingrained in them the style of football he played, which is going to take a long time to change…
“If they are going for someone with Premier League experience, has been a top coach and has the pedigree to come into the toughest league in the world and change things around when a team is in free fall, a bit like Roy Hodgson at Watford, then you will go ‘okay’.
“He’s managed in MLS [and] the Austrian Bundesliga, so it is a risk. These aren’t big, big domestic leagues and not the powerhouses of world football. It’s going to be interesting, but I think the hangover will be there for some time.”
Marsch spent seven-years in Major League Soccer, plus a brief University coaching position, with Montreal and New York Red Bulls. He then joined RB Salzburg between 2018 and 2021 as the assistant coach then manager before moving to Leipzig.
RB Salzburg won two Austrian Bundesliga titles and two Austrian Cups during his tenure at the helm. They also reached the Champions League group stage in both ‘19/20 and ‘20/21.
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