Leeds United: What’s done is done. Time to Move on

Article by e-Leeds Correspondent Jeremy Taylor

After the dust has begun to settle on what was a truly extraordinary deadline day for Leeds United, most fans are still in a state of disbelief at what happened yesterday evening. They are used to nothing happening for the club during the deadline day antics and they are used to losing key players, but such drama at management level is certainly a new pill to swallow.

Anger, frustration, confusion, anger and more anger are the feelings associated with the club at the moment and this was perfectly encapsulated by the scenes at Elland Road last night that will have greeted Mr Cellino as he tried to leave the ground.

Such scenes must have left Gianluca Festa feeling rather nervous about what faces him in the dug out when Huddersfield Town come to play. With his only previous stint in football management being with lowly Lumezzane, he’s certainly going to experience a baptism of fire with the Elland Road crowd directing their raw emotions towards him.

Taking a Step Back

Rather than simply repeat the torrent of rage and disgust that has been pouring through social and broadcast media feeds since the shock news broke, let’s take a calm and rational look at what now faces the club and how things could unfold in the coming weeks.

Starting with the task facing Gianluca Festa, his landscape will be immediately determined by the performance against Huddersfield. Win the match comfortably and while an air of emotional confusion will sweep through the stands, most will immediately assume this is the player’s passion and support for their axed boss carrying them through to the result.

But lose the match and the reverse will happen. The players will be forgiven for being in shock, devoid of direction and leadership and all anger will be directed at the outgoing and incoming regimes, and ultimately Mr Festa will find himself with an almighty mountain to climb.

Moving on though and fans should consider what happens if Mr Festa actually becomes a success over the coming weeks and months.

It’s an almost impossible scenario to fathom at this moment, but football is football and what happened yesterday isn’t actually a new thing. We saw an almost identical scenario unfold at Southampton a fraction over a year ago when their then new Italian owner ruthlessly dismissed Nigel Adkins, causing uproar with the clubs fans and disgust throughout the wider media. The only difference is that Southampton had actually been doing rather well, had been promoted six months earlier and were fighting for Premier League survival, which made the decision even more bizarre and confusing.

Three months later though and with the new and unknown Mauricio Pochettino delivering the best football the club had seen in decades and collecting astonishing results as a consequence, all was quickly forgotten and smiles returned to St Mary’s.

So, this isn’t the first time new owners have decided to make immediate changes at management level and particularly not when coming from the knee-jerk world of Italian football.

The huge question is, does Mr Cellino have a plan and is Mr Festa actually capable of taking control of the club, the squad and the individual players that can make the difference to our season. Is he coming to the dressing room with a clear philosophy of football and a vision of how Leeds United can be successful?

Back to Mr Cellino and let’s apply the same logic to him. He’s paid £25m of his own money to GFH to take control of the club and this in itself may well be the reason he’s been successful in his bid. After all, GFH’s last and most recent experience of dealing with a consortium didn’t exactly prove fruitful. Perhaps they were attracted by the singular nature of the Cellino arrangement.

Anyway, he now owns the club (assuming the formality of FL approval sails through) and will without doubt be looking for a successful reign and a healthy return on his investment.

Passion in Football

Let’s not forget that there are multiple characteristics of passion when it comes to football management. We’ve seen the rash, impulsive side of it with the dismissal of McDermott.

We may very well see commitment, emotion and real desire for success that can also come when directors have genuine passion for a project.

When was the last time Leeds United had people in charge that really wanted success, to the point they wanted to put their money where their mouths were? It would have to be Peter Ridsdale and how Leeds United fans would like to see that kind of financial ambition now (albeit with a degree if sense applied in equal measure).

Flip that ‘passion coin’ though and let’s look at the situation through Mr Cellino’s business eyes, without the clouding factor of emotion. Or to put it another way, let’s look at the situation on paper.

Statistically we are worse off than last season and during the time Mr Cellino has been observing things we’ve seen some of the worst results and performances in the clubs history. Anyone without an emotional connection to the situation and with a business head on would have looked at that and come to only one conclusion when considering how they would take things forward. It’s really not too surprising.

The fury will die down and while fans will never forget the good Brian McDermott did here, it obviously wasn’t to be. He deserves better and he won’t be out of a job long. His reputation as a steady pair of hands and as a good footballing man has only been enhanced during his time at Leeds.

Now though, the fans need to gain focus quickly and get behind the squad. Maintaining protest at the events will only serve to hinder the team and that will see us quickly fall down the league as we did last season. No matter how incensed the supporters are at what has happened and how GFH have cut and run, relegation isn’t what any fan wants.

Mr Cellino’s recent record at Cagliari saw him make a net profit last year, but make a significant loss of over £8m pounds the year before; meaning he’s not afraid to spend money on players when he feels he needs to, and Leeds United certainly need to.

It’s a big if, but if things are steadied over the coming months ahead of a similar figure being spent in the summer on talented footballers then the mood will be very different at Elland Road.

Things haven’t happened in an appropriate manner but this is football and in the end only one thing matters and that’s results. Lets see what kind Mr Cellino and his party deliver for Leeds United before we queue up to jump in the river Aire.

We may not be happy with what we have in the director’s box, but let’s get behind the lads on the pitch and who knows, perhaps we’ll be given something positive to get emotional about sooner than we think.

@jezaldinho

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