Mis-management at Leeds? (Leeds United A.F.C.)

Member Name: CPTDANIELS

Product:	Leeds United A.F.C.
Date:	23/12/08 (290 review reads)
Rating:

Advantages: New ideas, promotion?

Disadvantages: Legal action? No improvement in results

Developments at Leeds United football club always make me wonder. Being a life long Leeds fan, in my opinion they seem to mis-manage running their business and seem to make decisions that are frankly odd, bad or just make no sense whats so ever.
I mean this in the nicest possible way, I just often end up smiling or scratching my head at what happens there and it's nothing new either.

Take today for example, having sacked manager Gary McAllister after just less than a year in charge in which time he took them to the Division 1 playoff final, they appoint Simon Grayson.

McAllister was a very popular player when he played for them in the early 1990's forming a successful partnership in the midfield with the likes of Gordon Stachan, Gary Speed and David Batty. Those glory days!! How I live on them now.

I feel the decision to sack McAllister was very hard but sadly understandable one. You don't like to see anyone lose their job, but football managers must have the most precarious occupation in the world. All it takes is a few bad results, maybe a bad or unlucky break or two and you are looking for new employment. It is not the players who bear the brunt of the fans protests when results are not going you way it is always the managers.

Loyalty by both managers and players seems a thing of the past too. No longer do players stay at one club all their lives, they employ agents who will try and get their player the best deal possible and look to other Clubs to get what the players wants.

I understand the decision because Leeds are a Club that want the 'Glory Days' back and you can't get those if you are two divisions below the big money and having an average season.

I suppose by at least doing it now you give the new manager a chance to bring his new style of Management in and new players so that you can in theory challenge for promotion. That's the theory anyway, as managers do not suddenly become bad or incompetent overnight.

Nothing particularly wrong there on the face of it with this new appointment at the Club. Grayson has been a manager with Blackpool for six years in which time he took them up to the Championship via the 2007 Play offs. So on the face of it it looks like a good decision.

This popular Yorkshireman who began a 17 year playing career at the Elland Road club, which will endear him to the fans to start with. He played in over over 500 appearances for a variety of clubs including Aston Villa and Blackburn Rovers.

However, Leeds approached Blackpool asking permission to speak to him earlier this week. This was flatly refused as they were keen to build in the good foundations he had set in place, not to mention the busy Christmas period is practically upon us and this is no time to be managerless.

Then yesterday Grayson handed in his resignation at Blackpool, this was also reject by the Club. Yet now Tuesday afternoon he is announced the new Leeds manaager. It makes me wonder what was happening behind the scenes, maybe I am a bit cynical but these days I distrust all these involved in football equallly.

Blackpool are quite understandably a little miffed. They are now threatening legal action against Leeds United. So is this another example of Leeds mis-management?

After all only a few years ago this well supported Yorkshire club were in debt to the tune of over £80 million and managers and chief executives were sacked. Having previously be spending money like there was a bottomless pit off it.

This left the Club bankrupt and in most other businesses they would have gone not only into administration but out of business too. Somehow they survived and despite being relagated twice they survived in business.

I suppose we shouldn't sympathise too much with the managers who lose their jobs like this, they are usually very well paid better than you or I and often sign long contracts that entitle them to a great redundancy package.

So what happens now at this once powerful Football Club? My hope obviously is Simon Grayson somehow puts a run together and guides Leeds to Promotion either automatically or Via the play-offs.

I feel sorry for Blackpool and hope they find someone decent to manager them very soon. But I fear for them now in that very competitive division and few bad results for them too could leave them in the dire straits.

It remains to be seen if this capture of Simon Grayson is a master stroke or another act be a desperate club trying to revive their fortunes.

What I'm sure about is this story about him leaving Blackpool for Leeds will run and run. As nothing involving Leeds United can ever be simple or straight forward, experience has tought me that!

Good luck Simon Grayson!! and thank you for all your hard work Gary McAllister, maybe he should apply for the Blackpool job?


Thanks for reading all. Happy Christmas!!!

CPTDANIELS December 2008

Summary: What next at Leeds United?