The war of words between Jesse Marsch and Sam Allardyce has escalated as Leeds United’s 2022/23 relegation season in the Premier League continues to divide opinions.
Marsch is not the most popular of Leeds managers and is largely blamed for Leeds’ relegation from the Premier League at the end of the 2022/23 campaign.
The American did keep Leeds in the Premier League when he replaced Marcelo Bielsa at the helm in early 2022. However, the following season, Leeds collapsed, and March was sacked in early 2023.
Sam Allardyce took charge of Leeds towards the end of that fateful season and couldn’t do enough to ensure that the Whites stayed in the Premier League.
Jesse Marsch hits back at Sam Allardyce for his Leeds United claim
Allardyce blamed Marsch and his successor, Javi Gracia, for ruining the physical floor of the Leeds squad, and he conceded that he was shocked to find the squad in the state he did.
The former Leeds boss pointed out that the squad were nowhere close to the physical stats that they displayed under Marcelo Bielsa.
“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?”
Marsch has now hit back with proof that the physical stats of the team remained good even under him.
He responded with proof of his claims on X and wrote: “Really??”
Marsch also pointed out that he kept Leeds in the Premier League when he took charge of the team in 2022.
The American said when accused of relegating Leeds, “Except we kept the team up.”
Marsch is unlikely to convince anyone
Marsch remains one of the most unpopular managers of Leeds’ recent history, and that’s saying something given their struggles in the last two decades.
The American was fighting a losing battle the moment he arrived at Leeds, as he was replacing a cult hero in Bielsa. However, he did keep Leeds up in the top flight.
Jesse Marsch – Premier League Record at Leeds United| Competition | Premier League |
|---|---|
| Matches Managed | 32 |
| Wins | 8 |
| Draws | 9 |
| Losses | 15 |
| Total Points | 33 |
| Points Per Match (PPM) | 1.03 |
However, Marsch was brutally exposed in the following season, and many felt Leeds stuck with him longer than they should have.
Leeds were not in the relegation zone when the American was sacked, but it was clear that the club were moving towards relegation.
Gracia was another disastrous appointment, and by the time Allardyce arrived, the damage was done.
