Simon Jordan believes that Leeds United should have sacked Jesse Marsch and looked to appoint Sean Dyche before the World Cup.
Jordan was speaking to the Daily Mail ahead of what looks set to be the day in which Leeds’ relegation out of the Premier League is confirmed this weekend.
Leeds require a miracle to get out of trouble. They have to win against Tottenham, and hope that they better the results of Everton and Leicester to stand a chance.
Even the most optimistic fan would struggle to suggest that Leeds have much of a hope. But for many, this has been on the cards for some time.
Simon Jordan says Leeds needed to replace Marsch with Dyche last year
The inquests have already begun. But plenty of supporters will suggest that the key moment was around the World Cup when Leeds stuck by Jesse Marsch.
Wins against Liverpool and Bournemouth lifted some of the gloom just before the tournament. But Jordan believes that not making a change before the turn of the year was ultimately the pivotal decision in Leeds’ season.
“It was inevitable he was going to go, but rather than sacking him before the World Cup as they should have done and replacing him with Sean Dyche, who would have more than likely jumped at the opportunity, Leeds displayed no coherence or logic, dithered, and allowed Marsch to spend big in January — including a club record signing who has barely played — before finally making a decision and booting him out when the transfer window closed,” he told the Daily Mail.
Leeds have blown so many chances this season – even all the way back to the second game of the campaign when Southampton came from 2-0 down to earn a point against us. And if anyone was going to win that game in the final minutes, it was actually the Saints.
Had Leeds killed off the game against Crystal Palace, they would have moved onto more points that day than they have now – seven games later.
There were the Patrick Bamford chances against Leicester and Newcastle which could have led to massive victories. And there will be several more moments fans can look back upon.
But that win against Liverpool feels like the worst thing that happened to Leeds this season. It took a lot of pressure off of Marsch and meant that many – understandably – only looked at the positives of the 4-3 win over Bournemouth days later.
Dyche has not done an amazing job at Everton. But he did not have the World Cup to work with his players at Goodison Park. And yet, they are on pole position to be safe.
So it is not hard to see why Jordan believes that appointing Dyche last year could have been a game-changer for Leeds.