Life After McCormack

Article by e-Leeds United's Jeremy Taylor @jezaldinho

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So Ross McCormack has left Elland Road for Craven Cottage in a deal believed to be for £11million and, like any good deal, all parties seems to be happy.

Besides the fact that the transfer kitty will have been significantly swelled, this piece of business clearly shows that times have changed at Leeds United.

Cellino has, with this move, demonstrated what his track record at Cagliari suggested; that he’s a shrewd businessman who isn’t afraid to stand his ground.

Had an offer of half that amount come in twelve months ago then it would have been accepted by GFH without any resistance and had half of that been offered during the Bates regime then it would have been accepted immediately also.

The key difference is that, for Cellino it’s personal. Leeds United is his club and McCormack was his player. He was always going to get the most he could get rather than just look at the amount the club paid and be happy with any quick profit.

The word ‘profit’ in itself encapsulates the difference in attitude between Cellino and previous regimes. At best Bates was solely interested in making as much profit from the club as he could before he eventually sold it. At worst he was keen to systematically ruin it in the process.

GFH didn’t care a hoot about the club either. They just wanted to inflate the value as much as possible before selling pieces of it off to anyone that was prepared to let them stay at the dining table; in order to make a healthy profit.

This is a sound strategy in almost any other arena of business, apart from football. What GFH didn’t count on was the severe pressure that comes from running a business in which an entire city has an emotional attachment. Their ill-advised attempts to make friends via social networks soon backfired when they started making decisions that were clearly not in the interests of on-pitch progress.

Of course it’s foolish to think that Cellino has no interest in making money. Of course he has. However, listening to him and analysing his decisions reveals that he expects this to take some time. It’s also difficult to image a scenario where he’d want to sell the club. Bates was quite clear that he’d sell when the time was right, as were GFH. Again another key difference.

Back to the current topic and Cellino has clearly negotiated hard in a manner that befits someone who cares about the club rather than his personal wealth. Admittedly this perspective is only valid should the money be re-invested in the team rather than funneled into his personal coffers, but again Massimo has nothing to gain in the long term by syphoning cash out of Leeds United and handicapping its chances for success.

Money aside and it’s clear to see Cellino is a passionate football man and what he really wants is success. It’s this simple fact that stands him apart from anyone seen in the Elland Road boardroom since Peter Ridsdale; another man who desperately wanted success at Leeds, but unlike Cellino clearly lacked a grasp of economics.

In terms of Ross, it seems that most Leeds fans accept his desire to move and give him their blessing. There will always be a contingent that grows angry when thinking about the badge kissing antics and declarations of love for the club but at the end of the day a footballer must think of their career first. Ross has done a lot of good for Leeds United and he stuck around a lot longer than others would have.

He single handedly kept us in the division last year, something that says as much about the disastrous reign of Brian McDermott as it does about the talent of the player. At 28 he deserves to give himself the best opportunity for success and right now that isn’t at Elland Road.

Many, including myself have questioned why he’s chosen to move to another Championship club rather than the Premier league (where in my opinion he belongs). At the end of the day though, Fulham have a war chest of parachute cash and have retained the core of a Premier League squad, both things that Leeds do not have. So, his chances of gaining promotion this coming season are far greater down at the Cottage. I’d dare to say that moving his young family (including his model wife) to the bright lights of London serves as an attraction too.

Anyway, the point is that as Leeds fans we should applaud the contribution Ross has made over the past few years and wish him well, apart from when he faces us of course.

Incoming

All eyes are now on who will come through the door. The embargo has been lifted and there’s a big lump of money ready to be spent so all that’s left to consider is the ability and promise of the newly appointed Nicola Salerno. His remit is to identify and sign players that will succeed at Elland Road and if the transfer rumours are anything to go by, he isn’t hanging around.

Names are constantly being bandied around, some more frequently than others and taking the ‘no smoke without fire’ perspective suggests that it’s a case of when not if the speculation materialises into smiling footballers holding up white shirts.

While the lack of clarity is certainly frustrating, the hazy, speculative nature of what’s happening is actually encouraging. It shows that Salerno and Cellino are again being shrewd and keeping their business private which is the best way to approach the transfer market.

Nothing good comes from pursuing footballers in public unless you’re a Spanish giant and your strategy is to unsettle players via the media.

The approach Leeds must take relies on knowledge, contacts and leadership; all things that Nicola Salerno seems to be well known for.

Beyond this the club needs to be discreet and focused in order to land players that other teams will want. Leeds United has shown over the past few years how easy it is to sign footballers no one wants (*cough, Noel Hunt) and subsequently how difficult it is to then move them on (*cough Noel Hunt). Signing players that other clubs actually want requires something else besides a telephone and some money.

The other difficulty Leeds have is the fact that we’re a Championship club with an unknown coach; the latter being particularly important when trying to attract quality players.

Again though, this is where Salerno comes in, hence why we’re looking at talented Italian players rather than English ones. They know him and know what he’s about.

Why else would a talented player with offers from clubs in better positions come to Elland Road? The answer is the same as when players like Ivan Campo and Jay Jay Okocha turned up at the Reebok Stadium. They bought into and believed in a vision. This again comes down to the charisma of Salerno and Cellino.

The encouraging thing is that the players being linked are relatively young. Over recent seasons we’ve grown used to seeing players on the decline coming to Leeds for one last hurrah before they retire, players such as Paddy Kenny, Michael Brown and so on. Fine if they were once world-class but not fine if, at their peak, they’d have done well to get anywhere near a top flight side.

This change again signals a longer term view, a strategy to build a team rather then patch one up in the hope of fluking a quick bit of success. All things that point to someone that considers the club his own and therefore wants to be successful for years to come.

We can surely expect an influx of players over the next fortnight. All signs suggest that deals have been lined up over the coming weeks, waiting for the McCormack deal to drop.

Cellino can afford to buy players regardless, but he’s a businessman and knows how to run a business properly. This coupled with the fact that he genuinely cares about the club makes for an exciting blend of leadership; something the club hasn’t had for a very long time.

Who knows? Maybe a new Ross McCormack is waiting to sign on the dotted line.

Cellino has done everything right so far since he took over. There’s no reason to suggest his incoming business won’t follow in the same vein.

@jezaldinho

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