Sam Allardyce claimed that Leeds United were one of the worst sides in the Premier League on a physical level when he took over. Jesse Marsch disagrees.
United’s chances of staying in the Premier League this season look high. It’s due to a combination of both smart recruitment and pragmatic coaching.
Two things that Leeds were in short supply of during our previous survival battle in 22/23, as we finished 19th.
Sam Allardyce blasts Jesse Marsch for poor Leeds United physical numbers
A damning indictment of Leeds’ fall in 2023 was not only bouncing through three permanent managers, but the final one being Sam Allardyce for four games.
In less than 18 months, Leeds had gone from Marcelo Bielsa – a club legend – to a journeyman firefighter given less than a month to save our season.
Unsurprisingly, Allardyce registered no wins and we were relegated. But, the one-time England boss believes he inherited a side at the foot of the Premier League for physical output.
“Bielsa had the top physical stats in the Premier League, so Leeds United were number one. So when I got to Leeds after two managers, I think, ‘At least they’re fit’,” Allardyce said on his No Tippy Tappy Football Podcast.
“The two managers after Bielsa [Marsch and Gracia] allowed the physical stats to drop into the Premier League as the bottom three.
“I remember I was manager of West Brom when they came down. But they [Leeds] were still going in the last 20 minutes, as fast as they were going in the first 20 minutes. And I went, ‘Wow’.
“So, why did the two previous coaches allow that to slip?”
Jesse Marsch hits back at Leeds United criticism from Sam Allardyce
The main similarity, perhaps the only one, between Marsch and Bielsa was that both pressed high and stuck to it.
So, to hear from a following manager of his that the Leeds side weren’t fit hasn’t sat right with the Canada boss.
He reacted on Monday night via X about Allardyce’s claims:
Marsch references data from the 22/23 campaign, in which it depicts Leeds as first or second for every metric. Those metrics include distance covered, sprint distance, high-speed running distance and the rest.
Of course, Marsch’s replies are inundated with those wanting to remind the former manager of how poor our form was prior to his dismissal. That is true. But, Marsch definitely felt the need to set the record straight on something he believes is obviously false from Allardyce.
0% Love 0% Funny 0% Wow 0% Sad 0% Angry
Post navigation