Leeds United sack Jesse Marsch

Jesse Marsch has been sacked by Leeds United less than a year after he was appointed as manager.

Reports began circulating this afternoon that the 49-year-old had lost his job following the Whites’ 1-0 defeat to Premier League relegation rivals Nottingham Forest at the City Ground yesterday.

The result left Leeds above 18th-placed Everton on goal difference, winless in seven Premier League matches and with just two league victories since a 3-0 win over Chelsea in mid-August last year. Their last three points came against Bournemouth on 5th November.

In a club statement, United confirmed Marsch’s departure, along with three members of his backroom staff - not including Chris Armas, whose appointment as assistant manager Marsch described as a “public show of support”.

Under Marsch, Leeds won 11 (29.7%) of 37 matches, scoring 52 and conceding 60 [LUFC DATA: https://www.lufcdata.com/managers]. The American spent over £130m on new players, two of whom were record transfers for the club. He led the club to safety in the 21/22 season with a dramatic final-day win over Brentford, and this season has taken his side to the fifth round of the FA Cup.

The ex-RB Leipzig, RB Salzburg and New York Red Bulls coach has been scrutinised for his style of play, which was initially billed as a ‘natural progression’ from Marcelo Bielsa’s time in West Yorkshire.

However, his narrow system has seen Leeds trapped in a cycle of dominating a number of matches without securing points, while in others the Whites’ attempts to progress the ball looked laboured and forced at best.

The club are currently considering their options regarding Marsch’s successor, with Bielsa’s ex-assistant Carlos Corberan, currently enjoying a highly successful spell with Championship outfit West Brom, one of the names circulating in the media in recent days.

Leeds’ next match is on Wednesday against Manchester United at Old Trafford, followed by the hosting of the same opponents four days later.