Tag Archives: Massimo Cellino

How Leeds Could Do With a Season or Two of Frank Lampard – by Rob Atkinson

Posted on 11/04/2014 | 41 comments

Leeds? Up norf, innit??

Cast your mind back to the genesis of Leeds United’s last promotion charge out of the second tier and back into the Promised Land. In Sergeant Wilko, we had the man to lay down the rules and ensure that the work ethic was in place. Howard Wilkinson had turned up at Elland Road to be interviewed for the vacant managerial post at Leeds – and had ended up turning the tables on the bemused board members when he started interviewing them. The upshot was that he not only got the job, but also a cast-iron commitment to doing that job the way he wanted to, as opposed to the shoestring budget poor Billy Bremner had been stuck with. It’s safe to say that the Leeds bosses were impressed by their new man, and they supported him accordingly.

The master-stroke came early. Wilkinson beat off interest from Ron Atkinson at his old club Sheffield Wednesday to sign Man U’s mercurial play-maker Gordon Strachan. This was some coup; not only were the Wendies still in the top flight, but Big Ron had been Strachan’s mentor from their days at the Theatre of Hollow Myths. But Strachan was the right man at the right time in the right circumstances for Leeds; the battle ahead was tailor-made for his combative style and world-class ability, leadership and dedication. The rest is history – we thought we might get a good year or two out of Strachan, yet we ended up with arguably the best eight years of his career, harvesting the Championships of the top two divisions in a three-season spell and establishing United as a top-flight power for fifteen years.

Wind forward over a quarter of a century from the capture of wee Gordon, and we find Leeds marooned once again in the shadowy hinterland of second-tier football. Morale is low, relegation to a humiliating second spell of League One football remains a faint but nightmarish possibility, the club has just been shaken up with yet another change of ownership and – just to put the tin lid on it – we have a sulky Football League, licking their QC-inflicted wounds and wondering how best to stitch us up in the weeks and months ahead. What we need right now is inspiration on a par with that provided by our second-greatest ginger Scottish captain way back in the late 80’s.

This blog is open to suggestions here, but it’s difficult to think of a more likely candidate to play the elder statesman role so badly needed in an ineffective and inexperienced midfield than Frank Lampard of Chelsea. The man is a legend, but his ongoing career at Stamford Bridge must surely be in doubt as this season reaches a climax. He might, of course, feel that he can stay on and fight for a continued place with Mourinho’s winning combination. He may well end up with a double of League and Champions League this season, after all. But if he were to decide that he wanted one last challenge – could his mind possibly be led in the same direction as Strachan’s was in 1989? Could he decide that he wants to be instrumental in reviving the fortunes of a veritable sleeping giant?

Lampard would bring goals, class and composure to our midfield and – while he’d hardly cost the earth in a transfer fee – he would justify what would doubtless be high wages by forming a statement of intent as regards Leeds United’s transfer and team-building plans. That was exactly the effect the Strachan coup had, back in the day. Suddenly, Leeds was a possible destination for players of class and ambition. That one signing made us high-profile again. Lampard – or someone in his mould – would be the ideal “statement” signing for the summer of 2014. If Frank doesn’t make the plane to Brazil, it’s more than likely that his England career would be over. The legs aren’t quite what they used to be, but as part of a midfield which includes younger players to do his running for him, Lampard could be a major success in the Championship.

It remains to be seen, of course, what the summer will bring for Leeds – assuming that we do stay up. There will be other issues to resolve – will Cellino still be in danger from the more detailed judgement in the Nélie case – or indeed from other cases yet pending? Will the implications of Financial Fair Play on the back of a year or so’s mismanagement by GFH lead to a cautious transfer policy, despite the fact that Massimo is minted? It all remains to be seen.

For the time being, though – with the Football League temporarily at least chained up and impotent – we can indulge ourselves in a little daring to dream. The next transfer window should be a lot more interesting than the last few, when the only real debating point was how many lies we were going to be told to flog a few more season tickets. The signs are that Cellino will not be treading the path of deception, valuing the biggest asset of Leeds United as he does. “Fans are not for sale, they have feeling and you don’t buy feeling,” he has said. “You can buy a bitch for one night, but you don’t buy the love my friend.” The man has the soul and spirit of a poet, his fluency of expression promises to be a highlight of the Leeds United soap opera for as long as we’re allowed to keep him. Perhaps such a poet, someone who thinks so clearly and expresses himself so fluently, can look back at history for inspiration and then act on it to provide Elland Road with a new talisman.

If he does, he’s odds-on to have ideas of his own – and who knows, perhaps even Brian will get a say in the matter. But just while we are daring to dream, my ideal situation would be for the name of Lampard to crop up, and then for Leeds to be audacious enough to ask the question. Stranger things have happened – two months before Strachan arrived in LS11, any suggestion of that calibre of recruit for Leeds would have led you to a sojourn in a rubber room with the old back-to-front jacket on. Wind back a further thirty years, and the signing of Bobby Collins from Everton would have appeared equally as outlandish a possibility.

Lampard for Leeds as the latest springboard to success and renaissance? Unlikely perhaps. But, where Leeds United and Massimo Cellino are concerned, never say never.

41 Comments

Posted in Football, Leeds United

Tagged Brian McDermott, Chelsea FC, Football League, Frank Lampard, Gordon Strachan, Leeds United, Massimo Cellino, summer transfers

Watford Gap is an Almighty Chasm for Dreadful United – by Rob Atkinson

Posted on 09/04/2014 | 65 comments

Another day, a new era, another defeat

The two main commodities Massimo Cellino will be looking to import into his new project, Leeds United, will come free of charge – but are nevertheless very difficult to obtain. Pride and Passion – anyone out there remember those two old friends? I do. Anybody old enough and fortunate enough to have seen Sergeant Wilko’s White Juggernaut blast its way out of the old second division in 1990 will also nod reminiscently, as the vision of those relentless troops is conjured up by their mind’s eye. The energy, the commitment, the refusal to give in. One game at Elland Road, Sunderland kicked off at the start and within five seconds, they had been dispossessed and were defending desperately as the white tide washed over them. Those were the days. This lot? There’s simply no comparison.

In 1990, Gordon Strachan was the jewel in the United crown. We have our jewel today in Ross McCormack, but it’s not set in a crown – more like a pile of the stuff well-fed pigs leave behind. Leeds have some good players, but team spirit seems non-existent and there appears to be no identifiable ethic of getting out there and getting stuck in for the shirt, the badge and the fans. In 1990, Strachan was ably supported by the likes of Vinnie Jones, Mel Sterland, Chris Fairclough and a pugnacious young midfield Rottweiler called David Batty, together with the nascent elegance of Gary Speed. McCormack in today’s shower has the air of a man who knows that, if the job’s going to get done, he’s going to have to do it largely by himself.

This latest United match at Vicarage Road marked the start of a new era, the beginning of a time when off-field worries, such as deferred wages and the lack of clarity over ownership, could be forgotten. What better time to roll up the sleeves and run out with a snarl on the lips and fire in the belly, determined to get some blood on their boots? But no. It was, if anything, an even more pallid performance than the ones United fans have witnessed and raged over at far too many points in the last few months. Leeds United are running out of time, running out of excuses (though they manage to recycle and re-use those) – and running out of the patience their sorely-tried yet still magnificent support is prepared to afford them.

The gap between Leeds and the relegation pack is now down to a mere eight points. Another win and maybe a draw should be enough to see them safe – and safety is clearly the upper limit of ambition for a team as devoid of application and bottle as this one. Where those points will come from is anyone’s guess – that’s assuming they come at all. Blackpool at home next weekend seems the best chance, but the Seasiders are also embroiled in the dog-eat-dog struggle at the bottom. Everybody is aware of the current malaise at Leeds and teams are facing us expecting to win. Blackpool will be disappointed with anything less than three points from their visit to LS11.

Barnsley away? Forget it. We always lose there, usually by a good few goals. Barnsley might be less than world-class, but they are fighters. Then it’s two home games against Forest and Derby, with an away date at Birmingham sandwiched in between. One point out of nine from those three, maybe. If Leeds do escape relegation, it will be by less than a comfortable margin, and we’ll have done the deed by virtue of performances prior to Christmas – before the wheels fell off.

Whatever the rest of the season holds for us, it’s impossible to be anything other than pessimistic. There is simply no reason for any belief that things might suddenly improve – and if the current attitude and form carries on, then our points total now may well not have changed by close of play on the first weekend in May. And if that’s the case, we’ll have to rely on three of the teams below us failing to overhaul our meagre points total. Dear me, I’m becoming rather depressed.

Still, tomorrow night it’s hopefully cheer-up time with Man U hosting an end of era party. I shall be watching and hoping that they crash out of Europe because that would restore my spirits considerably. But it’s a sad thing when Schadenfreude (no, that’s not a Bayern centre-back) is all that you have to rely on for your jollies, your own team being so utterly and lamentably crap. If Massimo Cellino is going to restore the good times to Elland Road – aided by those long-lost, much-missed allies Pride and Passion – well, it still promises to be a long and arduous, slow climb back up to the heights I remember Wilko’s Warriors attaining. Then again, a journey of a thousand miles begins with a single step. I wonder if that step might be taken sometime this week??

Buona fortuna, Massimo.

65 Comments

Posted in Football, Leeds United

Tagged Gordon Strachan, Leeds United, Massimo Cellino, pride and passion, Ross McCormack, Sergeant Wilko, Watford FC

Is Cellino Guilty? Possibly … Dishonest? No Chance – by Rob Atkinson

Posted on 08/04/2014 | 17 comments

Cellino: trusting in providence

The Football League – still reeling from the impact of a mere QC having the brass bollocks to overturn their magisterial decision to reject Massimo Cellino as owner of Leeds United – plainly have all their hopes pinned on the “reasoned judgement” of the Italian judge in the “Nélie” case. This judgement, a fuller statement of the reasons for the judge’s verdict of March 18th, is due within a 90 day period from the initial judgement – i.e. by sometime in June. The League will be hoping, in their remorseless determination to get rid of Leeds United’s best hope, that there is a clear imputation of “dishonesty” within the judge’s reasoning; this would enable them to revisit the issue of Cellino’s “fit and proper” status, as covered in Tim Kerr’s appeal judgement which was released on Saturday.

Happily for Cellino, Leeds United and long-suffering fans everywhere, there must be a very good chance that the Italian judge – for sound, common sense reasons – will make no imputation of dishonesty. Firstly, the fine imposed was some way beneath the normal minimum amount for the offence concerned, with a mention of “generic mitigation” about which we shall doubtless hear more in the detailed reasons. But this may well be an indication that Dr Sandra Lepore has decided that duty was evaded for reasons other than dishonesty. This leads us onto the second point: the important, nay crucial, distinction between “guilt” and “dishonesty”, upon which depends the eventual outcome of this case – together with all the League’s hopes of saving face and getting their man.

The first thing that needs to be understood is that, for Cellino to be disqualified, he must be found to be guilty AND dishonest. These two do always not go hand in hand, as some might assume. “Guilt”, simply defined is “the state of having done wrong”. Cellino would argue that, under the Italian constitution, his guilt is not established until the entire legal process including a couple more stages of appeal, is exhausted. That argument failed before Kerr, but he somewhat unexpectedly took the view that, on the evidence before him, there was no reason to find that Cellino had acted dishonestly.

Guilt can arise knowingly or unknowingly. You can be guilty by design, by omission, through ignorance or deception, by being misled or badly advised – many circumstances can lead to guilt, not just sheer badness. As can be readily understood, guilt through ignorance or misunderstanding is a different thing from guilt with, as they used to call it, malice aforethought. It’s these different categories of guilt that will differ in the presence or absence of dishonesty. Somebody guilty through ignorance or misapprehension is not dishonest, and this is very important in Cellino’s case.

In effect, to avoid any imputation of dishonesty, all Cellino has to show is that he thought he was doing no wrong. Dishonest guilt implies that the offender knows very well that what he is doing is wrong, but he chooses to do it anyway. It’s possible, of course, that import duty could be avoided in just this way. But to what end? You end up paying it anyway, and a fine which can be up to ten times the duty avoided – and, as in Cellino’s case, the item upon which duty should have been paid is confiscated. That’s not a good result – so why would anybody willingly court such an outcome? Especially somebody of Cellino’s reputed wealth, to whom import duty of €300k or so is almost literally small change.

Cellino also makes the point that he could have spun out this case over the yacht “Nélie” over a maybe a couple of years, by which time he and Leeds United may well have been beyond the Football League’s jurisdiction anyway. But instead, he opted to get it out of the way – because he thought he was right. This is vitally important. If Cellino really thought he was not guilty, then by the logic described above, he may well be guilty – but he can’t be dishonest. Dishonesty would require a good understanding of his legal position, an acceptance that what he was doing was wrong – and a reckless determination to go ahead and do it anyway. In those circumstances, the duty-evader could be expected to delay the evil hour of judgement for as long as possible, knowing he was bang to rights. Not – as Cellino did – to expedite the process, seeking an early resolution – because of his firm belief that he was in the right.

To summarise the position – if we assume that Cellino is guilty, i.e. that he has done something wrong for whatever reason, then all depends upon whether that reason had some dishonesty attached. But if he genuinely believed that he had a case for non-payment – based on the argument that he is a US resident, the yacht is a US craft and duty had been paid in the US – then he cannot be held to be dishonest. Ignorant, maybe. Misguided, possibly, or even badly advised. But not dishonest – and if that’s the case, then the Football League will not be able to apply their disqualification to him.

Given all of the above, if Dr Lepore has had regard to all of these circumstances, it’s difficult to see how she can impute dishonesty against Massimo Cellino in this case – and that may just be what is behind the rather low fine – significantly less than the normal minimum. Looking at it from the outside, it’s difficult to see how a finding of dishonesty can stick, given that all Cellino had to do was convince the judge that, if he has done anything wrong, it was through ignorance, not design. With so little to gain from acting dishonestly in such circumstances, and with the transparency of his actions in seeking to get the case disposed of quickly, there must be a very good chance that Cellino will emerge from this latest kerfuffle undamaged – much to the ongoing grief and rage of the Football League.

In Mishcon de Reya, Cellino has just about the finest legal team he could wish for – and they will certainly be on top of these arguments. Here’s hoping, then, that justice and common-sense will shortly prevail over the League’s murky and Machiavellian motivations.

17 Comments

Posted in Football, Leeds United

Tagged common sense, Dr Sandra Lepore, guilt and dishonesty, Italian law, justice, Leeds United, Massimo Cellino, Mishcon de Reya, The Football League

Football League Need to be Wary of “Vendetta” Accusations – by Rob Atkinson

Posted on 06/04/2014 | 84 comments

The collected intelligentsia of the Football League

So, Massimo Cellino is in. He has won the right to have ratified his 75% purchase of Leeds United and he is now effectively the owner of the club. It’s been a long, long road and quite a twisty turny one to boot. Along the way, matters have descended into low farce on frankly far too many occasions, with certain parties open to ridicule verging on laughing-stock territory. But now it’s all over – we move on, right?

Well, maybe not. The gentleman who decided in Cellino’s favour today, Tim Kerr QC, did so strictly on the evidence before him. He resisted invitations to decide the instant matter against Cellino pending possible imputations of dishonesty when the fuller “reasoned” judgement of the Italian court is handed down within three months or so. But he did acknowledge that, should such imputations be made, then at that time Cellino would fall within the scope of disqualification. What we have today is, in effect, a verdict “as is”. Things might change, and then the Football League would, in theory, have the option of acting anew against Cellino.

There are worrying signs within the judgement handed down by Mr Kerr today that the Football League acted with extraordinary zeal in an effort to preserve their decision to disqualify Cellino. They went so far as to try and have the evidence of an independent Italian legal expert disregarded, on the grounds that his impartiality was in doubt because – wait for it – he’d ended one incautious social media exchange with “Ciao – Forza Leeds“. The QC dismissed such prevarication, pointing out that the League were happy to rely on the witness where his evidence – as in part it did – counted in their favour. Such selective pleading rightly fell on stony ground. But the point is, this kind of eagerness and opportunism said a lot for how keen the League have been to exclude Cellino. After that decision was overturned, they expressed their “disappointment”. Some slight understatement there, we might now suspect.

The thing is, by June things might look different again – if the Italian judge finds in her reasoned judgement that Cellino has been guilty of dishonesty. But by then, he will probably have the wheels moving of some sort of revolution at Elland Road. Plans will have been laid, money committed. Are they really going to disrupt all of that and plunge the club once again into crisis and uncertainty? The answer to that might be indicated by their apparent readiness to throw Leeds United to the administrators in the process just concluded. The implied duty of care that binds them to looking after the best interests of their member clubs did not seem to have persuaded them to act otherwise.

Another point is that the League – as I have frequently pointed out – have within several of their clubs owners with much nastier things than unpaid import duty on their shrivelled consciences. Rape, money laundering – that kind of nasty. Whatever the ins and outs of spent convictions, or offences committed before the Owners and Directors test was drafted – the de facto situation is that those people remain – and the League have not seemed all that fussed about acting against them.

The trouble with all of these legalistic shenanigans is that – to the humble fan in the street – the machinations behind them all can remain bafflingly obscure. That’s made worse by the fact that nobody seems inclined to explain to us, in layman’s terms, precisely what is going on. It is quite reasonable, then, for a fan of Leeds United to point to Blackpool FC and say – hang on. They have a convicted rapist as majority shareholder. Where’s the even-handedness, where’s the justice? But no explanation is forthcoming; perhaps, we might suspect, no reasonable explanation exists. Whatever the case, if the Football League persist in their arrogant attitude of airily dismissing such concerns whilst pursuing Cellino – who may well be the only feasible saviour of the biggest club outside the Premier League – with such slavering, predatory eagerness, determined, to all appearances to “get their man” – then they might very well end up shooting themselves in the foot.

This sort of thing could, after all, leave the League open to charges of bias, prejudice, vendettas – all sorts of things that a responsible and impartial governing body should be eager to shy away from. Leeds fans will be quite justified in asking “why always us?” They can call on plenty of history to illustrate the validity of that plaintive demand. And at the end of the day, having gone through one high-profile and ultimately fruitless legal process – do they really want to embark on another, so soon? If they haven’t already made themselves look foolish by the desperation evident in Tim Kerr’s written judgement, they’d certainly do so by launching themselves, pell-mell, back into the courtroom again, with barely a chance for anybody to draw breath. A high-profile organisation like the Football League cannot afford that kind of all-too-apparent dopiness and pig-headedness.

Human nature being what it is, the gentlemen of the League are probably sulking tonight. Their showpiece application of the much-vaunted “fit and proper” test has exploded in their faces, casting doubt on the fitness and propriety of those who drafted it. Concerns have previously been expressed in other quarters about how prescriptive the test is, how little room there is for the application of some common-sense ad hoc judgement. Now, the test itself has been tested – and found wanting. The League mandarins are “disappointed”. Hell hath no fury like an ego thwarted.

It may well be that the initial League reaction is – right; we’ll wait till June and then hit Cellino with whatever we can find in the reasoned judgement. But, with time to cool off, perhaps that determination might mellow, eventually, into something more approximating pragmatism and common-sense. It might be best, after all, to see how Cellino goes about his Leeds United revolution, or evolution – whichever it may be. If he’s doing a good job and being a good lad, perhaps wiser counsel might prevail. The League have an over-riding duty to act in the best interests of their member clubs. If Cellino is putting things straight at Elland Road – and it’s an open secret that the place is in a parlous mess right now – then what good purpose would be served by interrupting that work? It could fairly be argued: none. Let Massimo have his chance, now that he’s had this disqualification over-turned, to work whatever improvement he can. Let us see how he does.

Of course, that’s common sense – the kind of thing laymen deal in because they’re not used to manipulating legal niceties. But – and here’s the thing – it sometimes works better than some of these administrative gentlemen might imagine.

And it may well be, in any event, that the Italian court’s reasoned judgement, when it is available, will not contain anything to harm Cellino’s prospects of remaining in control at Leeds. That’s one construction to put upon the unusually low fine imposed – around half the prescribed minimum – and the mention of “generic mitigation”. It may be that our Massimo has been guilty of oversight or ignorance, rather than anything criminal. After all, as the man himself incredulously asks, why would somebody of his fabulous wealth make a point of dodging import duty of three hundred grand? It’s chicken feed to the King of Corn.

So there may not be anything to worry about after all. But nevertheless, some of us will worry. Those of us who are aware of the fraught relationship between Leeds and the League over the last half-century. Those of us who remember Hardaker, or Mawhinney and minus fifteen. Those of us who could sense the frustration and malice in the League’s reaction to this latest decision which, for once in a very long while, has actually favoured Leeds United.

The worry won’t quite go away until finally we can be reassured that there is no stick for the League to beat Cellino and Leeds with. Because, failing that, we’ll be relying on their capacity for rational thought, common sense and the preservation of a member club’s future. And, for anyone who knows the Football League of old – that is not a very happy thought at all.

84 Comments

Posted in Football, Leeds United

Tagged common sense, Football League, Italian law, Leeds United, Massimo Cellino, Tim Kerr QC

Cellino WINS Reports BBC Leeds – by Rob Atkinson

Posted on 05/04/2014 | 26 comments

Reports immediately after the final whistle at Wigan v Leeds suggest that Massimo Cellino WILL be the new owner of Leeds United.

The reports are unconfirmed, but are coming from extremely reliable sources, including Adam Pope, a man with his finger on the pulse of United.

Farnan acknowledges Cellino success

The tweet reproduced above looks like early confirmation of this story. It seems to be true. Further details to follow, announcement expected around 3pm.

26 Comments

Posted in Football, Leeds United

Tagged gfh, Leeds United, Massimo Cellino, takeover, TOMA

Leeds United Dream Ticket Talks “Very Productive” – by Rob Atkinson

Posted on 03/04/2014 | 24 comments

Leeds United’s only current asset

An unfamiliar word threatens to gain some currency in the English language: “supersortium“. As words go, it’s a bit of an ugly duckling. There are a few too many syllables for the liking of certain football supporters, particularly those of a Barnsley or Millwall persuasion – and it doesn’t exactly trip off the tongue. But, for Leeds United fans, the one remaining tangible asset of a failing football club – this strange word may just herald the dawn of a whole new era at Elland Road. And boy, oh boy – do we ever need one of those.

The supersortium is, of course, really just a common or garden consortium – only bigger. In the case of Leeds United, it’s what you get when you take one hopeful bunch of guys with some nice ideas but a charming vagueness as to how much hard cash they have, and add a likeable lunatic of an Italian with family wealth of well into ten figures and a comfortable annual income not unadjacent to €200m. The revelation that Mike Farnan’s Together Leeds Group have been enjoying “very positive” talks with Massimo Cellino has taken some of the attention away from the fact that the Italian’s appeal verdict is set to be revealed very shortly.

Cellino has been trying, via Eleonora Sport Ltd, to acquire a 75% stake in Leeds – but the Football League has decided that Massimo wouldn’t fit in too well with their collection of virtuous paragons, including rapists, money launderers, porn barons and other such innocent characters. A barrister (a Chelsea fan, incidentally) has been considering the legalities of the matter – and his verdict is due any time now.

If the appeal is successful, then Cellino is presumably able to go ahead with Plan A and sort Leeds United out in his own unique fashion. If he fails, though, he will surely be considering all options. It may even be that a joint venture, with co-operation between Cellino and Together Leeds, is now the preferred option going forward. From everything that we know – which is doubtless but a small fraction of the true facts – such a combined operation could be a very solid foundation for the re-launch of a healthier and happier United.

Events over the past few days – notably a highly irregular interview with an extremely tired and emotional Massimo – have caused a radical shift in opinion among the Leeds United support. Where before there had been some guarded support for the Italian, now we appear to be entering the territory of mass adulation – the kind of thing that spawns tribute t-shirts and causes quotes to be circulated with approval from the gems of wisdom uttered by Cellino and relayed without his knowledge to an admiring world. It’s been a sea-change in the climate of support out there, and now those who wish for him to fail and begone are distinctly in the minority.

The wisdom of Cellino

This is understandable to anyone who has listened to Massimo’s tablets of wisdom, and his uninhibited style of self-expression. From that evidence, we appear to have on our hands a nutter in the best traditions of Leeds United; somebody who is a perfect fit for the club. The fact is that, should it now turn out that we have to move on without Cellino, there will be many regrets among the Whites’ support. And the feeling is unmistakably out there that, if this nutter, this profane retailer of fluent critique and homespun wisdom, were actually to end up approved – then a new United legend would be born from whom many memorable sound-bites would be forthcoming over what promises to be one hell of a ride ahead of us.

It may well be best all round if some sort of deal can be done between two parties that looked certain, until this latest remarkable development, to be engaged in a winner takes all tussle. Co-operation between two parties, each with distinct and different benefits to bring to the table, looks likely to promise a brighter future for the football club we all love. The presence of a maverick like Cellino could perhaps be tempered by the more considered approach of Farnon & Co. Equally, the kind of institutional caution that characterises a group of sober-sides businessmen might well need the occasional spicing-up that an individual like the King of Corn could provide – not to mention the considerable factor of his immense wealth.

Thursday promises to be a landmark day, with the QC due to hand down his decision. But, whichever way that goes, the whole matter is likely to take a few more twists and turns yet, before the future of Leeds United becomes at all clear. The question still remains right now as to whether or not Leeds United actually has a feasible future. For the time being, it is extremely encouraging to hear that there is dialogue between two supposedly competing parties, and that their agenda consists of the establishment of some security and future for Leeds, with the avoidance of administration an absolute priority. Surely, nobody with the interests of United at heart could possibly argue with the common sense and essential rightness of that.

Marching On Together. It has a certain ring to it, don’t you think?

24 Comments

Posted in Football, Leeds United

Tagged administration, appeal, Dream Ticket, Eleonora Sport Ltd, Football League, Leeds United, Massimo Cellino, Mike Farnan, QC, supersortium, Together Leeds

Free-falling Leeds Hammer Nails in Millwall and Barnsley Coffins – by Rob Atkinson

Posted on 01/04/2014 | 25 comments

Leeds lose yet again

Leeds’ shambolic collection of bottlers predictably meandered to yet another defeat at Elland Road as Charlton picked up a rare three points on the road. No surprises there, merely a hint of something to raise the eyebrows as United kept it down to one, making a welcome change from the lavish generosity of their defence over the past few games. It’s not even that upsetting when Leeds lose any more – it just adds to the cumulative weariness of a season long ruined by dishonest and self-seeking men off and on the field of play. The magnificent Leeds supporters have carried off all the laurels due at Elland Road this campaign. They have been there through thin and thinner; the highlights have been few, the disappointments and betrayals many – and yet still they turned up, those amazing members of the White Army, raucous and indomitable everywhere Leeds have played, startling fans on away grounds into an awed and respectful silence.

The Charlton game will not have added appreciably to those fans’ suffering. Their preoccupation is with off the field matters, as it has been for some time. It’s become more and more obvious that the one man out there honest enough to see how things are, and outspoken enough to lay it on the line as to what needs doing, is the man currently waiting to see if he will be allowed to set about saving a famous old club. Massimo Cellino has ranted his way into the hearts and minds of United’s fans, fans who notoriously love a nutter with passion in his heart. The decision as to his ownership of the Club will be made known in the next few days; on that decision, it is not fanciful to say, rests the whole future of a club that has been massively let down over the past few years – by just about anyone you care to name, aside from a select few players and staff. And, of course, those phenomenal fans.

The real losers coming out of this latest defeat to Charlton are, in fact, two clubs whose fans normally wish Leeds United no good at all, but who will have been on their knees praying for an unlikely Whites win. If there’s a crumb of comfort out there, I’m in the mood to seize on it – and the fact that Barnsley and Millwall would have been hoping for three points for Leeds does provide more than a hint of satisfaction. A glance at the league table makes this quite clear. We were looking at a group of death in the bottom four of the Championship, but it was noticeable that Charlton had a good few games in hand due to their Cup exploits. The win at Leeds has seen them open up a three point gap over Barnsley, despite the Tykes’ recent good form, and a comfortable FIVE points over a hapless Millwall side. And the Addicks still have a game in hand over Barnsley and two over Millwall. So Leeds’ abject failure against Charlton has done a power of no-good to two clubs whose fans’ attitude towards United leaves them deserving no favours from our part of West Yorkshire. I have to admit, that leaves me with a slightly malicious smile on my face. The fact that the normally-reliable Ross McCormack missed a late, late penalty to ensure the full three-point hammer-blow to the Tykes and the Bermondsey Scum, just added a slightly piquant touch. ‘Ave it, I thought.

As far as this blog is concerned, the priorities for the rest of this wretched season are few and simple. First, we need to have Cellino approved; this immediately changes the whole picture at Elland Road and provides a foundation upon which to build. The alternative, quite frankly, doesn’t bear thinking about. Secondly – let’s not have this latest defeat go to waste. Let Charlton Athletic use their three easy-gained points at our expense as a springboard to survival, and let’s see Barnsley and that odious, horrible club Millwall consigned to the lower leagues where they belong. And thirdly, on a totally unrelated plane, let Bayern Munich finish the job against Man U next week, before losing in their turn in the next round. These are relatively simple and realistic wishes; let them be granted. After this horrible, horrible season, I deserve no less – and I would hope a good proportion of my fellow Leeds fans would also draw some comfort in the fate of others, whilst celebrating a new era for ourselves, under our passionate, committed and insane Italian lunatic.

If that little lot comes true, then perhaps we can look forward to better times next season. A Championship that would be all the more fragrant and lovable without the likes of Millwall and Barnsley. A club under strong leadership, with money available to fund the big-club aspirations a big club should rightly have. That will do for me, as a starting point. If we can take the first step towards realising such a scenario in this fateful, historic week – then things will look, suddenly, not so bad.

25 Comments

Posted in Football, Leeds United

Tagged appeal decision, Barnsley, Charlton Athletic, Football League, Leeds United, Massimo Cellino, Millwall, relegation battle

Twitter in “Happy Ending for Leeds” Rumours: Cellino IN?? – by Rob Atkinson

Posted on 30/03/2014 | 55 comments

Shaun Harvey: rumoured to be bearer of glad tidings

When you’re drowning, you clutch at straws. So when a Facebook friend mentioned that she’d seen a hopeful-looking tweet from someone who is (apparently) a neighbour of Shaun Harvey and claims to have received his reassurance that all will be well for the takeover – well, I had to see more.

What I saw could be the usual Twitter rubbish, but it could (just) be true as well. Harvey is reputed to have stated that the Football League has no interest in seeing Leeds United go into administration, and that Cellino’s takeover was always going to be approved as the best way forward for the club. The Italian court case seems to have muddied the waters rather, and it was felt that a straightforward approval would detract from the credibility of the League’s Owners & Directors test. So – the rumour runs – the League felt it advisable not simply to approve Cellino, but to wait for the appeal stage in the knowledge that approval would be forthcoming then.

Obviously, the question arises: what is Shaun Harvey doing shooting his mouth off to a neighbour, when the whole matter is effectively sub judice? That’s a good point, and I tend to agree with it. However, this morsel of rumour seems to me to have enough going for it for me to at least pass on to the Leeds fans out there – who are doubtless chewing their nails down to the elbows worrying over what’s going to happen to our club. Any hint of good news is something I’d certainly want to hear – so I’m going out on a limb to do my bit to share it.

Don’t shoot the messenger, eh?

55 Comments

Posted in Football, Leeds United

Tagged appeal, fit and proper, Football League, Leeds United, Massimo Cellino, OAD Test, QC, Shaun Harvey, Twitter

Happy Monday? It’s a Pivotal Day in Leeds United’s History – by Rob Atkinson

Posted on 30/03/2014 | 65 comments

“Historic and Iconic” – Leeds United AFC

Forget March 2nd 1968, the day Leeds United won its first ever silverware, beating Arsenal at Wembley to lift the League Cup. Forget May 6th 1972 when, at the same venue, against the same opponents and by the same 1-0 score, United won their sole FA Cup. Forget, even, those three incredible days which saw the Whites hailed as the best in the land as our three Football League Championships were confirmed in 1969, 1974 and 1992. All of those dates pale in comparison with the epochal significance of the legal fixture being played out in London tomorrow, March 31st 2014. For tomorrow, it’s likely to be decided which of two well-defined paths Leeds United will be treading into the future.

On the one hand we have a signpost pointing upwards which says: possible fame and success, with a minted owner to put us on a par with those we should be emulating. On the other, there’s the signpost pointing downhill, with the equally unmistakable message: more of the same at best, with a distinct possibility of crisis and dissolution in the near future. It’s not a choice Leeds United or their amazingly loyal and long-suffering fans are able to make for themselves. We are all in the hands of the legal eagles as they fight it out over the technicality of whether or not the Football League were correct in saying that Massimo Cellino’s peccadilloes rule him out of fitness and propriety under their own test. Upon this technicality hangs the immediate, or short term – or even the whole future of a famous old club that has never been far from the headlines, for good reasons and bad.

A match-day commentator at Elland Road yesterday summed it up in one well-chosen phrase prior to kick-off against Doncaster Rovers. Leeds, he said, should be mentioned in the same breath as the likes of Arsenal, Liverpool, Man U and Chelsea. And so, of course, we should. None of these clubs has more of a right than Leeds – and its magnificent support – to be fighting it out at the top table for the big prizes. It’s ironic that such telling words should be spoken ahead of a league fixture – and a defeat – against little Donny Rovers. That sums up the dire straits Leeds have been consigned to by bad leadership, self-interested owners and relentless ill-fortune. Whatever may have been done wrong, whatever rules may have been broken in the name of Leeds United – it’s no fault of the fans. And yet, time and again, it’s been the fans who have suffered – whilst the principals in the ongoing pantomime of LS11 have generally waxed fat and walked away happy when their particular final curtain has fallen. A prime example of this is, of course, Shaun Harvey, CEO of the Football League and a man with a face in each camp, so to speak. I wonder how he sleeps at night? Blissfully, I expect.

There are two constants in any football club, which transcend players, directors, administrators, League officials and even solicitors, barristers and judges. One is the entity of the club itself, which in our case is now just five years shy of her 100th birthday. Where will she be, what state of health will she be in, when that Centenary rolls around in 2019?

The other constant is, needless to say, the supporters. Come rain, come hail, come snow, the supporters are always there. They were there to cheer on the Greatest Footballer in the World when John Charles plied his mighty trade at Elland Road. They were there to support Don Revie’s nonpareil team of the sixties and seventies as they witnessed some of the finest football ever seen on the planet. They were there too when Wilko’s Warriors rose, like a Phoenix from the ashes, to swagger back into the big time as if they owned the place and end up, once again, on top of the pile. And they’re here now, today, watching the dross currently being served up by a team weighed down with larger worries that what happens on the pitch – a team who, with a very few apparent exceptions, are preoccupied with where the next wage packet is coming from, and just how heavy or light will it be?

The supporters will be here in the future as well, whatever happens tomorrow. That is beyond doubt, save only for that nagging worry over the club’s very existence. Only the numbers of that indomitable band will remain open to any variation, depending upon which path we tread. Any Leeds United fan will tell you what the club deserves – and it’s not more of the same grinding, morale-sapping poverty that we’ve been putting up with now for twelve long and dreary years. Leeds United and their supporters – especially their supporters – deserve some time in the sun.

It’s not United – club or fans – on trial tomorrow. If anything is on trial, it’s the duty of care owed by the Football League to all of its member clubs – even Leeds. The questions before the appeal panel must include that consideration in the scope of its examination of this whole issue. The Football League have sat by and they’ve shown every willingness to let their biggest club, their most tangible asset, wither and possibly die for want of sufficient funding to operate on a big club level and compete with their true peers. And this is the kernel of the matter.

Because, with rapists, con men and porn barons among the current and recent number of their owners and directors, the League has elected to make a stand over an obscure tax question surrounding a yacht. One little boat, which might be American, and in respect of which some duty allegedly had to be paid in Italy, but was not. The League have chosen to accept that Cellino, a man of staggering wealth, would court trouble over a matter of what is, to him, small change. They have leant over backwards to interpret the law and their own regulations such that United are to be denied a saviour and their fans are to continue suffering. Where is the duty of care amid all of that?

Tomorrow will, in all probability, be the start of a new era at Leeds United. Whether it is an era of further degradation, more doubt, more humiliation, remains to be seen. There has to be a possibility that things might – for once in a very long while – go in Leeds United’s favour. And then what? Would we know quite what to do with ourselves in the absence of this millstone of penury and reduced status? Poverty is not just a matter of not being able to meet the bills, or afford a tank of tropical fish to brighten the place up. Poverty is much more than that. It seeps into the very fabric of a place and it poisons the soul. If we were suddenly to become “Dirty Leeds, Filthy Rich” – how would we cope?

I can tell you this much, especially you lot who occupy the anti-Cellino bandwagon. I’m heartily sick to death of a penniless existence. So if the “Filthy Rich” option is there, ripe for the sampling – let me at it. I’d simply love to try it out. We lived the dream in the nineties – but there was always that worm of doubt; where’s it all coming from? With Cellino – well, it looks as though we’d at last have a man of immense material wealth who is keen to invest it in reviving a fallen giant. Fingers crossed that he finally gets that chance.