Jesse Marsch admits Leeds can no longer challenge mega-rich Newcastle for Premier League positions — insisting only sports with salary caps give every team an equal chance.
Leeds finished three places above Newcastle in their first season back in the top flight in 2020-21, and stayed above them for the first half of last term.
That all changed after Newcastle were taken over by the Saudis and spent £90million in the January window, and now the teams are battling at opposite ends of the table.
Marsch’s men are just two points off the relegation zone while Eddie Howe’s Toon are in the Champions League places, in third.
‘Money is always helpful,’ said Leeds’ American manager Marsch ahead of Saturday’s meeting at St James’ Park.
‘You don’t want to slight the job Eddie has done, because he has done an amazing job. But we all know this world of football is something different from American sports.
‘We (in America) have salary caps and everyone has a chance when the season starts. I’m sorry, but the way European football works, that’s just not the case.
‘So how do you build? One is a process and continuing to invest every penny the right way, which is what we are trying to do, and another one is a massive influx of money. Chelsea, Newcastle, Manchester City… it’s a difference-maker.
‘I know we are tasked in this league to compete with teams such as City, Chelsea and Liverpool, but our true competitors are the mid-table, bottom-of-the-table teams. That’s the reality.
‘It’s not just about money, but certainly it’s a factor. In almost any league around the world, you are always going to see teams at the top that are typically the ones that spend the most.’
Unlike at Newcastle, finances are tight at Leeds under the ownership of Italian Andrea Radrizzani, who confirmed this week he will relinquish control to American football franchise the San Francisco 49ers in the coming months.
But Marsch believes that what the Whites lack in wealth, they make up for in other areas.
‘We like who we are, we like our identity, we like the mentality that we have created and we like us,’ he said. ‘We are going to keep building in our own way. I look at it as trying to maximise our potential.
‘Every decision that we make —tactics, how we invest in players, everything — becomes vital. We have got a lot right over the past eight months so we are going to continue to believe in our process.
‘I know with the history of this club and what’s been achieved here that the expectations are high — maybe unfairly high. But who cares? I have to do the best job I can and help this club and team be the best it possibly can be.’
When Leeds and Newcastle last met in January, Howe’s side were second bottom and 10 points below the Whites.
Since then, though, Newcastle have earned 70 points, more than double the number Leeds have, and are currently 18 points above them, having won six straight league games.
‘We’re in for a really tough match,’ Marsch admitted. ‘They have a very good team and a lot of players at a high quality right now. You don’t get to the top of the table without having a lot of quality.’
Magpie_Fan
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That’s how man city’s opponents felt all these years