Next Manager

[DDB220]

SA has not managed in the championship since the 2011/2012 season. Getting West Ham promoted, via the play-offs, is hardly a huge achievement. Before then his last experience in the championship was in the 2001/2002 season. So he has had 1 year of experience in the championship in the last 20 years.

His record in the premier league of last is relegation with the last 2 clubs he has managed. Albeit you can say the clubs he took over were poor but he did nothing to improve them. 19 points from 25 matches at West Brom so even if replicated over a full season would have comfortably seen them relegated. 1 point from 4 matches with us, 2 matches of which should have been winnable.

If I'd seen any positives during his time in charge of us then maybe I'd have looked past his record. I saw nothing but an old dinosaur coming into the club and saying c'mon lads.

I am not disagreeing, SA is not the right appointment by any means, but then again neither is Farke (IMO) beyond his ability to potentially get us out of the Championship. Would his appointment be the right strategy, perhaps for here and now but I would prefer a more long sighted strategy.

[ShaunL]

I wish we would hurry up as sign a new manager the longer it takes the worse it gets Didn’t Gordon McQueen say something along the lines of I would never leave Leeds & play for scum and then did so a week later ?

[Jimang]

I wish we would hurry up as sign a new manager the longer it takes the worse it gets Didn’t Gordon McQueen say something along the lines of I would never leave Leeds & play for scum and then did so a week later ?

Yes I do remember that. As a boy I had the Shoot magazine every week and the one headline Gordon said, I am at Leeds for life. Shortly after he moved with Joe Jordan to Man U. That started our downward spiral from the great team of the seventies.

[Cjay]

If its any of the long term mentioned

Gerrard, Farke, Parker, Vieira etc then why is it taking so long?

They've had there best man Angus on this for weeks supposedly laying the ground work.

Hardly like those managers will have clubs lining up for them.

Should be fairly easy.

Are the 49ers trying to be cheap? Save money already.

Because what I do find odd is no links to in work managers apart from a lazy Corberan link.

Just a long list of failed sacked managers.

No links to people like Carrick or McKenna or Mark Robins or many I'm sure very qualified foreign managers.

Just cheap free agent domestic appointments easily found on Google.

Strange for supposedly ambitious owners

[Cjay]

I agree the 49'ers were behind Marsch - regardless of their PR waffle at the time.

It is far too coincidental in my mind that we (suddenly) landed up with an under-qualified US coach, and spent money on 3 US players. (We MAY have bought - or maybe looked at - 1).

Its affirmative action basically ... on the one hand ...."we are just here to provide support and build a great club". On the other hand - "its very important to us that US players/coaches get more opportunities in the PL" (subtext - our chequebook may be reluctant to open fully unless you take the hint.)

How it happened - don't know, dont care now - maybe they just took advantage of Radz misguided leadership of his board. but I am convinced it happened.

I may be cynical - but don't expect it to end, now they have the power.

I'm not quite sure why some people on the forum expert the 49-ers to now suddenly be our saviours. They owned 44% of the club - they're as culpable as anyone.
I am also very nervous that there's been little real outreach to the fans since the deal. Sort of tells me where their perspectives are.

Hope I'm proved wrong - but as a fan since 1968, its up to them to convince me of their motives.
All I hear right now is the Sounds of Silence (and some misdirection).

Tbf I don't think anyone is convinced by the Venture Capital fund of an NFL franchise as owners.

But people wanted Radz out and are prepared to wait and see.

It's not been a good start.

Clearly despite having years to plan they hadn't beyond leave it to the failed CEO of the previous regime.

Anyone who is originally introduced to this club nearly a decade ago by GFH the skint Arab Bank (but now pretends it never happened) should be treated with caution.

[Jaydog]

Vieira punt gathering pace. 3/1 best odds now

[Cjay]

Common sense said that 49ers Enterprises would not want to rush its choice of head coach. This is its first big decision as owner-to-be of Leeds United, the first example of its judgment and competence. This is a decision that falls to the U.S. group alone, no longer subject to the views of differing factions in the boardroom.

With just over a week of June to go, the process of choosing is in its final throes, working through a last round of London-based interviews.

Expediting those meetings was not helped by a fortnight of the close season being lost to persuading Andrea Radrizzani to sell Leeds, but by the time a head coach is appointed, the club will have taken as long to place their bets as they could have feasibly allotted. Landing Marcelo Bielsa in 2018 seemed to take forever, but even that was done on June 15.

Burnley unveiled Vincent Kompany at a similar time last season, their first step towards the Championship title, and both he and Bielsa are examples of how a short turnaround need not be an obstacle to a highly productive season.

Coaches worth their salt plan in advance to avoid taking a new job cold and it is doubtful any of those being spoken to by Leeds have not thought at length about how they would attack the summer if an offer is made to them. But even so, this is last-minute stuff and it is hard not to think that the entire summer will follow suit, a close season in which Leeds will have nothing like the luxury of time.

That point was underlined last week by the move to enlist Nick Hammond, the former Reading director of football, to help manage this transfer window. Hammond’s contract is a short one, running for three months, and no one is suggesting that when 49ers Enterprises — a group which, for those with NFL connections, is immersed in the world of data, research and development departments — gets down to deciding how Leeds will attack recruitment in future windows, Hammond will figure in the discussion about who will run the show. For now, though, the club simply have to ignite a rapid flow of players in and out, something Hammond will try to do. A new and full-time sporting director is one for another day.

Leeds, one by one, are going past markers in the road. June 14 was the start of the domestic transfer window. Thursday sees the release of their Championship fixture list. The international window opens on July 1, allowing clubs in England to complete signings from abroad, and the first tranche of Leeds players returning for pre-season will be back on July 2, a week on Sunday. A head coach has to be recruited by then and, after agreeing the terms of a buy-out of Radrizzani on June 10, the projection was that full EFL approval for 49ers Enterprises’ takeover would be secured before the end of this month.Andrea Radrizzani (Photo: David Rogers/Getty Images)

While the club’s chief executive, Angus Kinnear, approached prospective head coach candidates in the background while Radrizzani and 49ers Enterprises attempted to strike their deal, the ongoing set of face-to-face interviews this week is far more weighty.

Kinnear remains prominently involved, but Paraag Marathe, the president of 49ers Enterprises who will shortly become chairman of Leeds, is in England for the discussions, with the intention of knowing who they will appoint by the end of this week. Hammond and others are assisting the work, including background checks, but Marathe and Kinnear — set to retain his role as CEO once 49ers Enterprises officially takes control — will have the major influence on a final call.

Two of those on the interview list are Scott Parker and Daniel Farke, both having twice coached clubs to promotion from the Championship. Farke’s track record is that of winning the Championship title on two different occasions with Norwich City. Both are also free agents, Parker after leaving Bournemouth last season and then embarking on an ill-fated spell in charge of Club Bruges in Belgium, and Farke after his recent dismissal from Borussia Monchengladbach in Germany. Patrick Vieira — out of work since his sacking by Crystal Palace but someone who was interested in the job at Leeds following Jesse Marsch’s dismissal in February — is another who is on the radar.

Leeds also discussed Carlos Corberan initially, a coach they knew well from his time on Bielsa’s staff and who they rated on account of his work at Huddersfield Town and at West Bromwich Albion. Corberan is different to Parker and Farke, though, in that he is under contract at West Brom on a deal signed less than six months ago. The contract includes a release clause, set at around £2.5million ($3.2m), but to this point, Leeds have not approached West Brom about activating that clause or asked the club for permission to formally interview Corberan. It suggests that, for now, the focus is elsewhere.

From the start, Leeds have followed the train of thought that a known quantity would not be a bad thing. Whether their choice excited the fanbase or not, they deduced that it might be advantageous to go with someone who had coached in England before or had shown they could make a success of a marathon in the Championship. Though an extension of Sam Allardyce’s brief stay was never seriously mooted, any temptation to hand him a longer deal was dampened by the question of whether, at 68 and having rarely managed over the past five years, a slog of 46 league games would demand too much of him. But it was always possible that once 49ers Enterprises entered the red zone of having to actually reach a decision, it would be tempted by something more eye-catching.

However the interviews fall, Leeds have reached make-your-mind-up time in a summer where there is so little to spare. The fixture list is almost upon them and pre-season is not far behind. Here is one reality of football club ownership: the responsibility of it comes at you fast.

 

[Cjay]

Best thing about that is they haven't approached Corberan.

Sad thing is it's clearly cheap free agent appointment.

And a candidate list anyone on this forum could have drawn up.

[weasel]

I am not disagreeing, SA is not the right appointment by any means, but then again neither is Farke (IMO) beyond his ability to potentially get us out of the Championship. Would his appointment be the right strategy, perhaps for here and now but I would prefer a more long sighted strategy.

It is a tricky one because so much of the long term planning depends on getting the short term sorted and that is primarily getting back into the prem. We can't do anything with regards to upgrading the stadium, can't sign top players, are vulnerable to losing our best players etc.

If we got Farke and he got us promoted then that is job done and then we can worry about whether to keep him given his premier league record. But it would certainly put us in a better position to be able to get someone like an Iraola type to come in for a long term project.

[Byebyegeegee]

I agree Cjay, it’s the lack of a plan or seemingly any forward thinking that is the worrying aspect in all this.

Of course, they would have been expecting to take over a Premier League team with a manager (Marsch) already in place up until about 3 months ago, since when things took a decided turn for the worse and relegation became a serious possibility. But even so, surely a competent outfit, on the sharp end of such a significant and expensive deal, would have formulated plans and strategies for all possible eventualities including the position we find ourselves in. But, once again, and with time running out, we find ourselves scrabbling around like a monkey with a pin (to use a Kenny type analogy) just to find someone to manage the team let alone sort out the myriad of transfer dealings that need to be undertaken in time for the start of pre-season.

[geronimo]

he said 99 per cent of footballers want to play for man utd and the other 1 per cent are liars a famous quote he made at the time after he signed for them they were easily the biggest pull for players at the time even though Liverpool were
The most successful and winning everything in sight at the time

[geronimo]

I wish we would hurry up as sign a new manager the longer it takes the worse it gets Didn’t Gordon McQueen say something along the lines of I would never leave Leeds & play for scum and then did so a week later ?

That was Alan Smith plenty of Leeds players over the years have gone over there loyalty does not exist in the modern game anymore it's all about money I'm afraid and the quest for trophies

[geronimo]

the demise of the revie era wasn't Jordan and McQueen going to man utd but revie taking the England job and Clough been appointed manager which caused massive upheaval at the club at the time Clough took it upon himself to attack the players and the way they had played throughout the revie era. needless to say the players would not play for him or his methods. glles was the players choice to take over but by then he had gone to west brom as player manager. armfield took over but it was an ageing squad by then and key players needed replacing the defeat to Bayern Munich in Paris signalled the end of the revie era and gradually the tteam disintegrated over time and replaced by inferior players by 75/76 Leeds were no longer the force they once were under revie

[Scoobychief]

Vierra having interview soon according to sky sports

[Scoobychief]

I Think Vierra could be good but i am guessing that he will want a few strong players instead of the crop of crap he is going to be dealt, and that could be a concern

[whiteswan]

That was Alan Smith plenty of Leeds players over the years have gone over there loyalty does not exist in the modern game anymore it's all about money I'm afraid and the quest for trophies

We've got new manager and Gordon McQueen topics already.....

.....however I feel I have to comment here....Alan Smith had no choice. Scum offered 6m I believe, the only offer that came in for him and Ridsdale had to sell him after relegation to try and save Leeds along with every other worthwhile player on our books. Smith waived his transfer fee in the hope of helping out Leeds financially.
Check it out on Wikipedia.

[geronimo]

We've got new manager and Gordon McQueen topics already.....

.....however I feel I have to comment here....Alan Smith had no choice. Scum offered 6m I believe, the only offer that came in for him and Ridsdale had to sell him after relegation to try and save Leeds along with every other worthwhile player on our books. Smith waived his transfer fee in the hope of helping out Leeds financially.
Check it out on Wikipedia.

Barcelona and Newcastle were also in for him at the time but man utd were the only ones who were offering the cash up front which Leeds badly needed at the time

[geronimo]

I Think Vierra could be good but i am guessing that he will want a few strong players instead of the crop of crap he is going to be dealt, and that could be a concern

Viera would also be my choice but can't see him coming here at present this club could not decide whether to whistle or sing Dixie Michael

[Pops64]

I don't want Vieira. Farke, please.

[Scoobychief]

I don't want Vieira. Farke, please.

We're going to get someone and its going to disappointment some and not others. The big questionnaire whoever takes over will have to manage the crap they will be dealt and whether there will be a transfer kitty ot not. But I'm also guessing that will be where kinear will come in say we have £000000 amount of transfer money. Ffs this club is becoming a joke by the day. Nearly 4 weeks since we.got relegated still waiting on a manager still waiting on whis going and how many are going and whats coming in.