Leeds United coach Jesse Marsch has been speaking to the media today in his Tottenham Hotspur press conference. Here are all the key details surrounding the fixture. As per LeedsLive.
As usual, Marsch started with the injuries and team news for the trip to London. Archie Gray’s toe injury has turned into a little bit of an ankle injury, and because of his age and the fact he is still growing, he will be missing for Six to Eight weeks. Adam Forshaw has been back out training but the Spurs game has come a little too soon for him. Stuart Dallas is progressing well and he should be back in training in late December or early January. Patrick Bamford is also out as he still hasn’t recovered from a hip complaint. Mateusz Klich took a knock to his knee in the match against Wolves and Jack Harrison is a little bit questionable with a muscle strain but hopeful he can be fit.
When asked if Willy Gnonto could be in line for a start Marsch said, “Yeah, I think if Jack seems a little bit questionable then it becomes a real possibility. I think Sam Greenwood as well played really well when he came off the bench. So it’s a little bit what tactic we decide to use. You know, is Willy a better fit or is Sam a better fit to supplement what we would require from Jack but regardless, I think that both played really well against Bournemouth, both played well when they came on against Wolves and I know that both will be ready.”
A lot of Leeds fans want Gnonto to start instead of Jack Harrison whether he is fit or not, the poor form he has shown recently has led to calls for him to be rested and give the youngsters a chance. Gnonto has played well in his recent cameo appearances and maybe it’s his time to take his chance and hopefully make an impact.
Should Willy Gnonto start against Spurs?
Yes, definitely
No, impact sub
When asked about the plans for the players who aren’t involved in the international break, Marsch said, “They will all have a week off. Then we give them a physical programme for another week to do on their own so they will have two weeks off but the first week they do absolutely nothing. Then we come back into 28th here and we do testing and then James won’t allow me to be as open as I want to be, but when I have information I usually give it to you guys. So, but that’s not what I’m supposed to do. Okay, but yeah, but we have a good plan and I think we have some good opponents and then we’ll have most our team together which is which is a positive.”
When asked about the debutants in the Wolves match, Marsch said, ” I think that Mateo, Sonny and Darko all played very well. I wasn’t surprised. We work diligently with all of our young players, really all of our players with with the individual development plans with trying to communicate with them through video and statistics on ways that they can improve. How training the things that we want to try to achieve with them and the most important thing for young players, I think, is to just show them belief. And we’ve done that. And I give credit to Skoobs and Pudge in the 21s, coaches and coaching staff and the environment that they’ve created there and how they’ve really attached themselves to what we’re trying to do with the first team. I think it gives a real pathway for all these young players to see that they can be first team players for Leeds United, so that was a big moment for them and for us.”
There was no doubt the U21s made the step up into the senior side smoothly and their performances was superb considering the occasion. Mateo Joseph lead the line very well and Sonny Perkins looked like he had been playing in the side for months. Darko Gyabi looked calm and assured in midfield, and indeed all the debutants did fantastically well. There is certainly an exciting crop of youngsters coming through at Leeds United.
Every word Jesse Marsch said on Leeds United's Tottenham trip, World Cup, injuries & January | #LUFChttps://t.co/0zMACfLRjr
— Leeds United Live (@liveleedsunited) November 11, 2022
When asked what he expected from the Spurs game he said, “Conte in general doesn’t always do a lot of rotation. You know, he has a group that he works intensively with and almost protects very carefully. I know from when he’s travelled to the US many times with different teams, Juventus or whatever. And he’s known as one of the guys that keeps a closed environment more than anyone else that comes when they make these tours of the US. So this is his leadership style. I think at the moment that Tottenham has had a lot of games, they’ve rotated a little bit but not that much. They have such a quality squad. Playing at home they’re always good and what an incredible stadium and fan base they have. So we know that this is a big challenge once again, against the top opponent in our league, that is disciplined to play the way that they want to play. But the beauty of where we are is we are not perfect but we are also not afraid. We have shown that this year that we are not afraid of top opponents and for sure we are going to go down to Tottenham and we are going to play confidently and we are going to go after the game in every way.”
When asked if conversations had been had about January and the transfer window, Marsch said, “We’ve spoken a bit you know, I think in general whenever I look at windows I look at it as you know, sort of piece by piece and window by window. And I mean there’s the two-month project and what we think we need right now, then eight months and what is 14 months and trying to piece together how the cycle will present itself. We have targets. You know, I think we’re smart enough to know that in order to achieve our goals, we want to continue to look at every position and think about how we can move forward in the right way. We also know that I think we have some young talented players that will continue to draw interest and so trying to figure out how to keep those players, how long we can keep them, what can entice them to stay and what that means to the pieces that we might need moving forward. I don’t want to talk specific about positions. You know we talked enough about the striker position in the in the summer and I don’t think that that’s gone away but I think we’re active, we’ve been active. This is one of the best parts about working with Victor is his clarity on what the market is and what’s available and what are good fits for how we’re trying to play football is quite good.”
Leeds must certainly be looking for a proven goal scorer and a solid left-back in the January window. It is clear to everyone what is needed to improve this squad, but for all the bad points this season we actually have a decent squad. We need some new additions, but the basis of a solid side is there. If we were honest we would say we need a left-back, another centre-back, an attacking midfielder and a striker. If we were to bring in some quality in those positions I think we will be safe this season, easily.
What do the fans think, what do we need in January? Let us know in the comments.
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