The 49ers have finally fixed what Jesse Marsch said was Leeds United’s ‘weakness’ in 2022

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Relegation was not Sam Allardyce’s fault at the end of the 2022-23 season. It wasn’t even Javi Gracia’s fault, but a large part of the blame can be placed on the shoulders of Jesse Marsch.

Whether it be his tactics, his work in the transfer window, his press conferences, or the fact that the hierarchy didn’t sack him before the 2022 World Cup, due to wins over Bournemouth and Liverpool.

Marsch’s work in the 2022 transfer window has been the source of major criticism. He brought in players with no Premier League experience that simply did not cut it in England, a lot of his old Salzburg players.

Rasmus Kristensen, Max Wober and current Leeds attacker Brenden Aaronson. But according to Marsch, after a 3-2 defeat at Fulham, there was an outstanding reason why relegation was inevitable at Leeds.

• READ MORE: Neil Warnock says if Leeds will be relegated with Daniel Farke at the helm

Jesse Marsch identified ‘weakness’ with Leeds United in 2022

The date is October 23, 2022. Leeds have just suffered a fourth consecutive Premier League defeat, a 3-2 loss to Fulham. Jesse Marsch blamed a defensive weakness after the game, the defence was “too weak”.

“In our weak moments we look naive and vulnerable and are too weak defensively. I take responsibility. I have to find solutions, get momentum and kickstart our season,” Marsch told The Guardian in 2022.

A defence that often saw Junior Firpo left out of position on the left, an injury-prone Liam Cooper and Wober, a past-his-best Luke Ayling and Kristensen who was simply not good enough. Now, it is different.

Leeds are completely different defensively, this time around

Well, Leeds have changed that this time around. Lucas Perri is not only taller than Illan Meslier, but more imposing. Jaka Bijol won the fourth-most headers of any players in Serie A, Joe Rodon is, well, Joe Rodon.

This Leeds defence have kept two clean sheets in three Premier League games, albeit with the help of the Elland Road Crowd. Gabriel Gudmundsson is an enormous improvement on Firpo, especially in defence.

Not only are Leeds better defensively, but nine of the 10 signings are over 6ft. It promises to be a much stronger window. Aside from the 5-0 loss at Arsenal, Leeds look like they’ve corrected Marsch’s wrongs.