13.05.2022 - It’s hard to think of another fanbase in the Premier League that doesn’t suffer fools gladly as the Leeds United supporters do. Indeed, West Yorkshire has never been a safe haven for chancers or those who wish to fly by night.
It should be said that for the last four years, the club and its supporters have existed in complete harmony under the management of the honorable Marcelo Bielsa. However, that peaceful period in the club’s history was shattered when Bielsa was fired with Leeds heading for an untimely relegation from the top flight. The situation at Elland Road hasn’t improved much either since then with the Whites at just 4/5 in the latest Premiership odds for relegation and as of mid-May, there is a genuine fear that Leeds could return to the Championship.
Furthermore, the most up-to-date Premier League score predictions forecast a difficult run-in for Leeds in their bid to stave off what will be a devastating development at Elland Road in the event that they do go down.
Should Leeds finish in the dreaded drop zone when the final whistle is blown on the season then it will be under the new management of Jesse Marsch, the man who replaced Bielsa in late February. The American did start relatively well and had Leeds on course to avoid relegation after the Whites went five games unbeaten but no one could have predicted that the club’s relegation-threatened rivals would match Leeds’ points tally in the final throes of the season. Put another way and in seasons gone by, Leeds would have comfortably avoided relegation but this campaign has seen a surge in points from those fighting the drop.
? "Our backs are against the wall now!"
— Match of the Day (@BBCMOTD) May 8, 2022
Can Jesse Marsch keep Leeds up? ?
? Watch #MOTD2 on @BBCiPlayer and @BBCOne
Some could argue that the Whites have been unlucky enough to be in the wrong place at the wrong time but the narrative won’t necessarily focus on that irrespective of whether Leeds stay up or not. Instead, the spotlight is likely to turn on Marsch who has alienated himself somewhat from the supporters owing to his style of management.
At least, the American's overly positive approach has large parts of the fanbase questioning how sincere he really is. The 48-year-old certainly missed a step when he said that it felt like Leeds had won after just being comprehensively beaten 4-0 by Manchester City. Notably, it also hasn’t helped that Marsch has conducted a string of interviews where he has promised that Leeds will be playing in Europe whilst the reality is that they are staring down a future in the Championship.
◉ Best academy in Europe
— Football Daily (@footballdaily) May 8, 2022
◉ Academy players in the first team
◉ Competing for European Football
◉ Create world class players
◉ Rebuild the infrastructure of the club
Jesse Marsch on his three year plan for Leeds United. pic.twitter.com/aLBdF6334E
It’s this type of front that unsettles a fanbase that would rather their manager put his head down and produce results on the field instead of promising the world whenever he has a mic in front of him.
This type of outlook - the "fake it until you make it" approach - may pay off at other clubs, but it will not fly with a fanbase that puts hard work above lip service.
It is with this in mind that you feel, regardless of whether Leeds survive or not, that Marsch will inevitably not last long at Elland Road.
