Some Leeds United players thought Jesse Marsch may actually be in line to receive a new contract after Andrea Radrizzani addressed the squad in the wake of their defeat to Fulham in October, according to The Athletic.
Marsch has now been sacked after a turbulent 12 months at the helm at Elland Road. Unfortunately, his tenure has ended with Leeds just outside the relegation zone in the Premier League. And the defeat to Nottingham Forest at the weekend proved to be the final straw.
It seems that the decision has come out of nowhere. Leeds do not appear to have a successor waiting in the wings. And of course, Marsch was able to oversee the entirety of the January transfer window.
What Leeds players thought Radrizzani may do with Marsch in October
But some of the fans have wanted this decision to be made for a while. Marsch has never quite managed to win all of the supporters over, even after keeping the club in the Premier League last season.
And he has seemingly been on the brink before. Perhaps the closest call came when Leeds lost to Leicester City and Fulham in October.
The Fulham loss was their fourth in a row. They had been superb in the defeat to Arsenal. But the trip to the King Power Stadium was one of the bleakest of a turgid campaign. And a 3-2 loss to Marco Silva’s men seemed ominous.
At the time, it was not completely clear just how good a season Fulham would enjoy. So it seemed to be an extremely harmful defeat to a newly-promoted team.
It was a surprise, from the outside, that Marsch continued at that stage. But it seems that some inside the Leeds dressing room actually expected a very different reaction from the club.
The Athletic reports that Radrizzani addressed the players after the loss to Fulham. And some of the players came away from that thinking that they were so determined to stick by Marsch that he may be offered a new contract.
Leeds would bounce back by beating Liverpool and Bournemouth. The display against the Reds was outstanding – though beating Liverpool is proving to not be that special this season. Meanwhile, the Bournemouth comeback suggested that the players were ready to fight for Marsch.
There has been a World Cup since then. But Marsch did not win a league game in his last three months in charge.
Unfortunately, it was the decision that simply had to be made. And the pressure is now on to appoint the right successor.
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