Leeds United's Chief Executive, Angus Kinnear, recently sat down for a chat with Dan and Michael from The SquareBall podcast to talk about last season's performance and what's in the pipeline for the upcoming one. Fans had a lot to say after this interview, and it seems like Kinnear's image among them is quite a mixed bag.
Putting it bluntly, most fans are calling Kinnear a "politician" who's great at avoiding taking sides and basically saying whatever it takes to keep his job. Most are baffled by Kinnear's insistence that decisions about managers, players, and contracts were all down to the club's Director of Football, Victor Orta, leaving them wondering what Kinnear's CEO role really entails.
Kinnear also talked a big game about using data to make smarter player signings, but fans aren't buying it. They remember similar promises from the previous summer, which ended up with some lackluster signings who didn’t perform. Most of those players have turned out to be "snakes" who didn't really have what it takes to play for Leeds and have buggered off when the going has got tough, feeling they are somehow better than the Championship despite them being the ones responsible for the club being here.
Phrases like "in hindsight" and "retrospectively" have also irked many fans. They felt it was a bit too much, and they were left wondering why Kinnear, as the CEO, wasn't more involved in making sure these mistakes didn't happen in the first place.
As time goes on it’s clearer that Leeds United's promotion to the Premier League was all thanks to the genius of Marcelo Bielsa, with very little credit going Victor Orta's and his signings. Bielsa managed to squeeze every ounce of potential out of the squad, and most of the players were already there before Orta arrived. Performances have just not been at the same level since Bielsa left and the majority of singings, particularly last season, have not performed at all.
Kinnear's claim that Bielsa was asking for mega-expensive players in the range of £40 million to £50 million also had fans scratching their heads. They thought Bielsa's style was more about finding hidden gems than splurging on stars. There is no doubting the calibre of player that was brought in needed to be taken to a new level but it’s the effectiveness of the club's recruitment department under Orta which is to blame here.
If the rumours are true, the club's higher-ups were thinking about replacing Bielsa even before he left, maybe because they wanted more credit for the team's success. It sounds like the egos might have taken over, jealous of the admiration the fans had for Bielsa whilst they received little credit themselves. As it turns out, all they have managed to prove is that our success was almost down to Bielsa and his genius.
Kinnear didn't escape criticism when fans pointed out that he often seems to dodge blame and put a positive spin on things. For instance, he highlighted the wage savings on departing players, but these are players who the club overpaid for in the first instance, proved by the fact that no serious offers came in to take them off our hands permanently.
So, after Kinnear's chat with The SquareBall, fans are left with mixed feelings. Some see him as a slippery character who sidesteps tough questions, while others question his role at the club and his effectiveness as CEO. As the new season kicks off, eyes will be on Kinnear as he faces the challenges of steering Leeds United under the new 49ers ownership. Will he still be here come the end of the season?