Danny Murphy har intervjuet Adam Forshaw.
De er innom mange temaer, men det mest interessante er kanskje rundt Marsch som manager så jeg putter det her.......
DANNY MURPHY talks to Adam Forshaw: A big-hearted manager with a volatile streak, tour bonding, interior decorating - and the WhatsApp group with Jesse Marsch! The secrets of Leeds' AMERICAN REVOLUTION revealedDanny Murphy meets Leeds player, and early 00s Liverpool fan, Adam Forshaw
The Yorkshire club has undergone a revolution under American Jesse Marsch
Forshaw revealed the club's new signings were quick to adapt to their system
Leeds play Aston Villa, managed by Liverpool legend Steven Gerrard, on Sunday By DANNY MURPHY FOR THE MAIL ON SUNDAY PUBLISHED: 22:30 BST, 1 October 2022 | UPDATED: 23:56 BST, 1 October 2022Some moments make you feel old. Sitting down with Leeds midfielder Adam Forshaw, he revealed that, as a lifelong Liverpool fan, he used to go to Anfield as a kid and see me play.
'I was also at the team hotel before the 2001 FA Cup final against Arsenal,' he says. 'You were standing at your balcony and I shouted up 'Murphy!'. My dad gave me a look and said 'His name is Danny.' I was nine and obsessed with that team, Michael Owen, Sami Hyypia, you, Stevie [Gerrard] and Jamie Carragher.'
He laughed when I provided some extra information to bring the story full circle. When I was on that balcony, my room-mate was Steven Gerrard, the opposition manager Sunday when Aston Villa visit Elland Road.
Like me, Forshaw gained experience in the lower leagues before establishing himself in the top flight. He started at Everton close to home but left to play first-team football and build a reputation at Brentford, Wigan and Middlesbrough, where he first played in the Premier League.
Forshaw worked his way through the leagues before finding top-flight success with Leeds
At the start of 2018, he moved to Leeds. It was not an auspicious start — their manager Thomas Christiansen was sacked two matches after he arrived — but the club have since been revolutionised, first by Marcelo Bielsa and then Jesse Marsch.
In the final weeks of last season's great escape from relegation, Forshaw played a key part with his leadership and tenacity in the middle of the park, though an ankle injury rules him out on Sunday.
'I was going stale at Middlesbrough. Neil Warnock wanted me at Cardiff but once Leeds came in, I looked at the potential and had to do it even though they were in the Championship,' he says.
'Bielsa was the first big change. There was nothing softly softly about him. Straight away, the rules, standards and environment became elite. We had the respect to run for him. A one-kilometre track was installed around the pitches. The culture changed from 'go to the gym if you like' to two or three sessions a day. It was a shock but I loved it. We needed it to become a Premier League team.'
Bielsa is still revered by Leeds fans for winning promotion but, on a practical level, the club needed a reboot in the middle of last season to stop leaking goals and survive.
Marsch arrived with an ethos established by managing Red Bull clubs in New York, Salzburg and Leipzig. Even so, there were sceptics who doubted an American could adapt to English football.
Having stayed up on the final day, Leeds have sold Raphinha and Kalvin Phillips and brought in young signings including US internationals Brenden Aaronson and Tyler Adams and Colombian Luis Sinisterra.
'It was hard for Jesse to transition us in the middle of a dogfight. Six weeks of pre-season was the biggest period to get us restructured but we still run a lot, that is in the lads' DNA,' says Forshaw.
Forshaw hailed the 'personable' nature of Marsch, but knew the manager could be tough too
'As a character, he is very personable. You walk past his office, the door is literally open. There are bits of different terminology, full-backs are outside-backs and you hear him mention red zones [between the lines]. But you quickly pick up on it.
'He's nice but can switch if he needs to. After one game, a couple of substitutes grumbled about doing pitch runs and he's made it clear 'That is your f***ing job'.
'We were doing phase play in training and [goalkeeper] IIlan Meslier gave a slow pass out, a sloppy one. Jesse ordered him to do it again, which the lads weren't expecting. Illan gave another slow one and Jesse has ripped into him. Five minutes later, the gaffer is laughing, saying 'I still love you'. It was a different side from the manager that the lads respect.'
Gerard Houllier changed the discipline at Liverpool like a sledgehammer but was still interested in players as people. At Fulham, Mark Hughes came in and insisted we wore club suits, home and away. Managers all have different strategies.
Tactically, I have also noticed a change in Leeds. Raphinha was a wide player. Without him, Marsch almost plays with three No10s — narrow. It will be up to the full-backs to provide width.
Forshaw explains why the transformation has gone more smoothly than some expected. 'It was good to make signings early in the window and Brenden, Tyler and Rasmus [Kristensen] had played for Jesse before. They know the system.
'The Americans have settled in well. Tyler is robust, gets about the pitch, makes tackles. Bielsa had also wanted to sign Brenden before Jesse. He runs 13km each game besides being a really good player. so you can see why!'
The pre-season trip to Australia was useful for team-bonding as well, with Marsch on a WhatsApp group with his players.
'It was to tell us what brewery we were going to!' jokes Forshaw. 'He's all for team camaraderie. It wasn't a pre-season camp, it was a tour. I wasn't sure what start we'd have but we won three and drew one.'
The manager has not tried to rip up the core of the dressing room, with Stuart Dallas, Patrick Bamford, Luke Ayling, Liam Cooper and Forshaw himself having been at the club for a significant period of time. Marsch clearly values their input.
'He's set up a leadership group with us five and Rodrigo,' says Forshaw. 'He sees the importance in the lads who have experience. We talk about all sorts of things. For example, we've made improvements to the players' lounge so families can feel comfortable in there. It was a disgrace for them before. He cares about the players' welfare and it's not put on, he's genuine.'
After the bright start, Leeds have lost two of their last three, including a 5-2 loss at Brentford. There were mitigating factors in that defeat, though. Leeds were denied a penalty and Forshaw is convinced both the officials and Stockley Park missed a touch by Ivan Toney which would have deemed a goal by Bryan Mbuemo offside.
'I'd get rid of VAR. Most of the lads would,' says Forshaw. 'It gets you more infuriated because there's something there that is meant to be black and white for you and it's not. So you would rather still go off opinion. You are still getting decisions wrong when there is the technology. It's embarrassing.'
Marsch let his frustration boil over and was sent off, meaning he will have to watch this afternoon's game from the stands.
A few games into the new season, Forshaw sees a growing trend for teams to prefer counter-attacking football to keeping the ball. 'We have had games where we've had more possession but opponents are happy to sit in,' he says. 'Everton did it, probably due to personnel, Brentford did it against us.
'We had a great start to the season and began to think we could play. Then we play Brentford, have comfortable possession in front of their box and they've gone with Toney and Mbuemo [in transition] and won it. We were shellshocked.'
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-11270615/DANNY-MURPHY-talks-Adam-Forshaw-secrets-Leeds-AMERICAN-REVOLUTION-Jesse-Marsch.html
