Good Morning. It's Friday 1st May, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road...
Could Leeds be crowned Champions without kicking another ball?
Multiple media sources, including the Yorkshire Evening Post have strongly suggested that the only season with a realistic chance of being completed is the Premier League! The vast amount of obstacles in the way of fulfilling the fixtures in the lower divisions apparently does not make it a viable option, and the football hierarchy want to solely concentrate on ensuring the remaining 92 games in the Premiership are completed.
This is great news for Whites fans. It means three clubs from the top tier must be relegated. If three clubs go down, three clubs from the Championship must go up! Leeds are a point clear of West Brom at the summit of the Championship table on 71 points, and 7 points clear of third place Fulham. What model will the EFL use to determine the final Championship table?
To be honest, unless its rock, paper, scissors it doesn't matter. Every possibility has been explored, and it's good news for the Whites. The Athletic's Phil Hay has also written a similar article this morning. He believes that the Championship will be decided on a points per game basis. When you work this out, Leeds would finish the season on 88 points, with West Brom on 87 and Fulham third on 80 points. Nottingham Forest and Brentford are a further five points behind on 75 points.
Kinnear still keen to complete fixtures
Leeds Utd Managing Director Angus Kinnear took part in a private conference call, along with his fellow Championship Directors and it seems that they all share the same goal - completing the season!
The Championship clubs, along with the Premier League and EFL are working hard in tandem. I know that they are benchmarking the strategies of leagues across Europe and how they intend to return to play. I know they want to put a testing programme in place. I don’t think it has been costed yet, but I know they feel confident that is something they can deliver.
We have to rely on the commitment of all of the clubs to do the right thing and to try and finish the league, which I have to say, collectively, certainly in the Championship, there is a real belief that is the right thing to do. So, I’m hoping, in these exceptional circumstances, clubs and leagues, and UEFA will be prepared to take some exceptional measures and rely on the commitment of players as well to put football first.
Kinnear reveals how they persuaded Bielsa to join Leeds
In another interview; this time with Sky Sports, Angus Kinnear has been speaking to Sky Sports about how they managed to persuade Bielsa to take the Elland Road hot seat.
It was really the brainchild of our director of football, Victor Orta, who was asked by our owner, Andrea Radrizzani, if he could appoint anybody in the world, who would he appoint? When he said the name, I just smiled to myself, but our owner is nothing if not lacking in ambition.
And when we went to Buenos Aires to speak to Marcelo, I thought we would have to do a really big sell in terms of the potential, the project and what Leeds United could become, and the part he could play. But in fact, he had already done his research and committed to the cause.
So, we actually spent the 24 hours in Buenos Aires just talking about the players and systems, and how he wanted to play. I left knowing he would be the manager of Leeds United, but not having the contract that I went over to get signed.
prefer we get there by winning the Championship but I wish they’d make a final decision soon as the constant speculation is doing my head in
