Tag: Javi Gracia

Team engulfed in flames hires firefighter

It is desperation time at Leeds, and Big Sam is on his way

There is a certain profile of team that hires Sam Allardyce and goodness, does Leeds ever fit that bill.

Locked in a relegation battle? Check. Leaking goals at an alarming rate? Check. Full of desperation? Check check check.

How desperate is Leeds? Consider that Allardyce is replacing a man who replaced a man who was sacked three months ago. And then also consider that Leeds has four games left in the season.

But that’s where Leeds, which just allowed the most goals an English top-flight team has conceded in any single month since 1986, currently finds itself.

Leeds confirmed on Wednesday that Javi Gracia, who was appointed in late February following Jesse Marsch’s sacking, had been sacked himself, with Allardyce appointed as the club’s third manager this season.

Leeds director of football Victor Orta also left the club “by mutual consent” the previous day.

Allardyce himself couldn’t quite believe that he would be hired so close to the end of the season.

“[I was] shocked [to get the opportunity] – I never thought at this stage of the season there would be jobs offered,” Allardyce told talkSPORT. “When the phone popped up with a name that I knew pretty well, I knew who it was straight away, so it took me about two seconds to say yes.”

Leeds is currently 17th in the Premier League table, level on points with Nottingham Forest, which sits in the league’s final relegation spot.

Allardyce returns to the Premier League for the first time since he was sacked after his failure to keep West Brom up in the 2020-21 season. Before that, the 68-year-old managed Everton, Crystal Palace, Sunderland, Blackburn and Newcastle, among others.

Leeds’ statement announcing the move made sure to note Allardyce’s firefighter credentials, saying: “Over the past decade he has successfully helped Sunderland, Crystal Palace and Everton avoid relegation from the Premier League during short-term stints.”

Big Sam’s first game in charge? Saturday’s away trip at Manchester City, which will be followed by a home game against third-place Newcastle.

Even for a man renowned for his great escapes, this one looks daunting.

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Leeds boss Gracia admits Adams may not play again this season

Leeds did not initially give a timeframe for the USMNT captain’s potential return

Leeds head coach Javi Gracia has admitted that Tyler Adams may not play again this season.

Earlier this week, Adams underwent “non-invasive” surgery on a hamstring issue he suffered in training prior to the international break. Leeds did not set a timeframe for the midfielder’s return.

Speaking at a press conference on Thursday, Gracia said it wasn’t clear when the 24-year-old might be able to play again.

“We will see his evolution after the surgery,” Gracia said. “We’ll see if he can play any games this season. We’ll see — day by day.”

Losing Adams for the rest of the season would be a huge blow for Leeds, which is currently in 14th place but just two points clear of the relegation zone. The USMNT captain has been a fixture in the club’s lineup this season, starting 24 out of 27 Premier League games.

Should the injury linger, Adams may also be in doubt for the USMNT’s CONCACAF Nations League matches in June. The final day of the Premier League season is on May 28, and the USMNT will face Mexico in a semifinal on June 15. The final and third-place game are on June 18.

Leeds returns from the international break with a game at league-leaders Arsenal on Saturday.

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Armas not on Gracia’s Leeds staff, still reportedly at Leeds

It’s been a strange few weeks for Armas

It’s already over for Chris Armas at Leeds…sort of.

Leeds manager Javi Gracia said that the former U.S. men’s national team midfielder, who hasn’t been seen on the bench since the Spaniard took over, is not on his first-team coaching staff.

“He’s not part of my staff. He’s not here,” Gracia told reporters ahead of his side’s Saturday home match against Brighton. “It’s something the club can maybe explain better.”

When Jesse Marsch was sacked on February 6, Leeds said his assistant Rene Maric would also be leaving the club, but Armas stayed on alongside Michael Skubala and Paco Gallardo.

However, when Gracia named his assistants, Armas’ status was not addressed. Skubala was kept on, while Gracia added assistants Mikel Antia, Zigor Aranalde, and Juan Jose Solla. Gallardo is now the club’s Under-21 head coach.

The Athletic is reporting that Armas is still employed by Leeds, but what he’s actually doing at this point remains unclear.

Armas’ very short time with Leeds

Armas couldn’t have picked a worse time to sign on with Leeds. He was officially announced as a new assistant for Jesse Marsch on January 25. That was on a Wednesday, and on the weekend Leeds defeated Accrington Stanley in the FA Cup.

Leeds then lost 1-0 at Nottingham Forest on February 5, and Marsch was dismissed the next day. Armas worked as part of Marsch’s staff for a total of 12 days before things fell into disarray.

Gracia’s clarification on Friday came just 44 days after the club announced that Armas was joining the staff. Since then, he’s been an assistant, one of three members of an interim co-coaching committee set-up, and his current status on the books but not actually given any duties.

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Adams: Leeds more under control after Gracia replaced Marsch

The USMNT midfielder says his club isn’t looking to get forward at every opportunity anymore

Tyler Adams has said Leeds is playing a bit more under control now that Javi Gracia has taken over from Jesse Marsch as head coach.

Marsch, who is renowned for his full-throttle style, was sacked as manager last month amid a run of form that saw Leeds near the relegation zone.

The club’s efforts to land a new manager were unsuccessful at first, but Gracia was ultimately brought in last week ahead of a massive relegation clash against Southampton.

Leeds made Gracia’s debut a successful one with a 1-0 win, before falling to Fulham midweek in the FA Cup in the Spaniard’s second match in charge.

Adams has noticed a difference right away with Gracia in charge, contrasting the new boss to Marsch’s style of looking to go forward at every opportunity.

“[Gracia has] impressed me a lot. When he first came in, we didn’t have a lot of time to execute a perfect game plan for Southampton but what he did is focus on key bullet points, or key details that we need to improve,” Adams told BBC West Yorkshire Sports Daily.

“One of those things was with the ball: how can we break teams down more efficiently in possession whether from goal kicks or when we get into the attacking third, not just going to the goal straight away.

“Leeds are notorious for winning the ball back quickly and going straight to the goal. But not every time we win the ball, do we need to play the first pass forward that we see.

“Maybe we can keep the ball for two, three passes, switch the ball from side to side and start to tire the opponent. You saw that a little bit more against Southampton.

“He offers more of a balanced approach to the way that we’re going to play. It’s not just all out pressing, or all out possession, but of a balance.”

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Leeds’ interminable winless run is over after 1-0 victory over Southampton

The Javi Gracia era at Elland Road started with a vital win

It’s been 113 days, but Leeds has won a Premier League game.

With Tyler Adams, Weston McKennie, and Brenden Aaronson all starting, Leeds — in new manager Javi Gracia’s first game in charge — notched a potentially vital 1-0 victory over Southampton on Saturday.

That ends a 10-game winless run in which Leeds had seen their offense absolutely dry up. Leeds fell 4-3 at Tottenham going into the World Cup break, but since then it’s been a real slog. Leeds has been shut out five times since the league resumed, and has scored just six total goals in nine league matches.

But for today at least, all is well as Junior Firpo’s 77th minute strike was decisive in a crunch relegation battle.

When Saturday’s matches kicked off, these were the two bottom teams in the Premier League, but Leeds’ win has lifted them — barring a Bournemouth win over Manchester City later on Saturday — out of the drop zone and into the fragile safety of 17th place.

On the day, Leeds had the better of Southampton, controlling most of the possession, dictating the terms and tempo, and carving out 14 shots to Southampton’s eight. However, Leeds has repeatedly found a way to let that kind of game slip away from them, and in fact that pattern more than any other is what cost Jesse Marsch his job.

So for Leeds fans, watching their side avoid an all-too-common defensive calamity and pairing that with an all-too-rare goal has to be a relief.

On the other hand, there is also an element of good luck to the winner, and given the way the season has gone, it might be karma balancing out for Leeds. An attacking move out on the left wing should have seen Crysencio Summerville — boxed into the corner by three Southampton defenders — lose possession.

Instead, the Dutch attacker’s hopeful pass — or possibly just an attempt to carve out a corner? — clipped a defender before bobbling along the endline to Jack Harrison, who used his first touch to fool Southampton with a backheel to Firpo.

Firpo, under a challenge from Ibrahima Diallo on his left and with James Ward-Prowse closing on his right, shot while falling, and as is often the case in that scenario, he didn’t hit it well.

However, the ball hopped and skipped along the Elland Road grass, while Jan Bednarek seemed to freeze in the expectation of being hit by a more powerful strike. Firpo’s effort shuffled along past him, and had just enough on it to sneak past Gavin Bazunu, who didn’t see where the ball actually was until it was already rolling by him.

Watch Firpo’s goal end Leeds winless run

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