After an incredibly frustrating two weeks, Aston Villa has the chance to right some wrongs. A draw with Wolves left a sour taste, which was worsened by a pathetic performance against League 2 Stevenage. Leeds United boss Jesse Marsch finds himself under pressure as his team travels down to Birmingham for what has previously been a very tasty fixture.
I caught up with @jake___2003 to gather his opinions about all things Leeds United.
UTV PODCAST X @JAKE__2003
Q. Leeds United have a had a fairly underwhelming season with just 17 points from as many games. What’s gone wrong this season?
“The main issue this season for me has been the style of play, some fans will tell you the squad isn’t good enough but I think it should definitely be worthy of a couple more wins given the fact that we’ve not had too many injuries and the starting XI is actually pretty decent.
We have very little width when in possession which makes our build up play quite tough to watch at times and often results in passes going astray. We also tend to be very ball orientated, so if the opposition has a player running down the channel, the entire team are drawn towards that side, usually leaving a player completely unmarked and in acres of space on the opposite flank (as seen in the example below) – doesn’t matter who’s in your defence, if you setup in that way you’ll concede goals.
With a possession based manager I feel we’d have more points.“
Q. Jesse Marsch has been heavily criticised by Leeds fans for his narrow style of play. How close do you think he is to the sack and who do you bring in?
“Well he should be very close as a defeat on Friday will make it 2 wins in 16 in all competitions, but I personally don’t think he is seeing as they’ve just spent £12m on a CB to play LB that specifically fits his system. I also feel the board don’t want to have to admit they recruited the wrong guy to replace Bielsa given how much they hyped it and the commitment they seem to have to this ‘project’, but who knows.
As for a replacement I just want someone with a possession based style instead of this narrow, counter-pressing, vertical ‘just win the ball back ASAP’ style we’ve weirdly adopted after Bielsa, doesn’t work in this league and for me doesn’t suit the squad we have.“
Q. 19 year old Willy Gnonto has been one of Leeds most promising players so far this season. Who else has impressed in the first half of the season?
“Gnonto has been an excellent buy for £3m considering we thought he’d be some desperate u21 signing on deadline day after our efforts to sign Cody Gakpo failed – little did we know he’d turn into one of our better players. Excellent on the ball and has a lot of pace and dynamism, definitely a danger man for you to look out for.
Other players are Tyler Adams in midfield, for me he’s proving every week why he’s one of the best DMs in the division, excellent at breaking up the play and just a complete animal in the middle of the park. Have to give Rodrigo a mention as well, 11 goals this season so it finally looks as if we’re getting something back from the £27m transfer fee.“
Q. Finally what’s your score predictions?
As much as it pains me, Aston Villa 3-2 Leeds
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OPPOSITION FOCUS | JESSE MARSCH
Just under three months ago things looked very different for both these clubs. Villa were getting progressively worse under a manager who had no real idea how to … well, manage. Leeds, on the other hand, looked very positive with their summer signings looking like shrewd pieces of business.
Fast forward three months and the roles have somewhat reversed. Villa have an elite level manager who is refusing to accept current standards in order to push the club on. Elsewhere at Elland Road, things are boiling over on the verge of turning toxic. What’s going wrong at Elland Road and how does it stop.
Well, it’s fairly simple. Leeds have continued a long running issue of not being able to defend. The attacking football is lovely to watch and provides some of the best entertainment in the league but it’s simply not effective. Leeds barely stayed up through the skin of their teeth last season but Marsch was trusted to build on the work. At the start of the season it was looking positive.
American international Tyler Adams looked comfortable in the middle of the park; and still does. Add to that the exciting attacking additions of Aaronsen, Gnonto and Sinnisteria and Leeds looked very exciting. 25 goals in 17 games shows a decent attacking show. The attack was fine. The problems lay elsewhere.
Most football fans are aware that Leeds’ defence has been problematic for a while. But why? Surely the players cannot be that bad. Some of them have represented their country several times. It’s the system that Jesse Marsch plays which constantly sees them exploited at the back. The narrowness of Leeds has cost them several points this season yet Marsch still refuses to drop.
So much like Steven Gerrard three months ago, Jesse Marsch’s stubbornness has cost Leeds vitally this season. Will the story end just like Steven Gerrard’s or will Marsch finally see that his tactics do not work and rescue his career from the inevitable sack.
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MY PREDICTION
This is a vital game for Aston Villa at a vital time in the season. Beating Tottenham means nothing when you can’t build on it and this is the chance for Villa to build on it. Leeds have struggled so far this season and can easily be beaten by the very simple tactic of width. If Ramsey is on form, he can cause Leeds problems, just like he did last season. Overall I’m feeling fairly confident so I’m going to go for a 2-1 win with Ramsey and Ings on the scoresheet.
AUTHOR | ELLIS BURNETT
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