Leeds United and 49ers Enterprises takeover: Why is it taking so long? What now? - The Athletic 23/6/23

By Phil Hay

Squeaky-bum time, despite the incarnation of the phrase, is not just reserved for the last few weeks of a season. The summer can generate involuntary rumblings too — look to Leeds United for an example of a fanbase who are awaiting news and getting twitchy.

Leeds are the club with everything to do, so much to sort out and so many boxes to tick. The first is a change of ownership, something which is very close but not yet sealed, but close behind is the recruitment of a new head coach, the glaring vacancy at Elland Road. It is June 23 and the club stand out as one of very few in England’s top four leagues who need a main man.

The task of finding one entered its final phase this week with a spate of interviews, leaving soon-to-be owners 49ers Enterprises on the brink of reaching a decision. Here, The Athletic provides an explainer to outline the events of the past few weeks and answer the key questions…

Why has the head coach appointment taken so long?

There are a couple of reasons. The first is that it is only two weeks since 49ers Enterprises agreed a takeover in principle with Andrea Radrizzani and even now, that deal is awaiting EFL approval. Full ratification is not far away and there is a serious chance that it could come from the EFL next week, at which point ownership switches immediately from Radrizzani holding a majority stake to 49ers Enterprises securing 100 per cent control.

The delay on that front has been a frustration because had Leeds remained in the Premier League, a takeover was ready to proceed immediately. The paperwork and approval for that original top-flight buy-out was already in place, the benefit of finalising terms well in advance of the season’s end. But as a result of neither 49ers Enterprises nor Radrizzani negotiating a contingency takeover plan in the event of relegation, the club’s descent into the Championship on the final day forced 49ers Enterprises to devote the first fortnight of the summer to drawing up a fresh proposal almost from scratch.

In that period, the hunt for a new head coach had to take a back seat — which is not to suggest Leeds did not pay any attention to it. But for as long as 49ers Enterprises and Radrizzani were at the negotiating table, conversations with prospective managers could only be speculative. Confirmation of a deal in principle with Radrizzani on June 9 — a fortnight ago to the day — was therefore significant, allowing more serious attention to be paid to finding the next head coach and taking Leeds to a point where they could stage final face-to-face interviews this week.

What has the process been?

Any knowledge of the San Francisco 49ers, and Paraag Marathe in particular, will tell you that their approach to recruitment is patient and methodical. They are not in the habit of being swayed quickly by old connections or specific agents and appointing a head coach or a general manager in NFL is generally a very formal process.

Much of the work done at Leeds in the days after the end of the season was carried out by CEO Angus Kinnear but Marathe has involved himself heavily too and, unsurprisingly given his NFL background, data was used to help with analysis of the first list of prospective candidates. Consideration was given to their past performance, especially when it came to prior managerial roles in the Championship. More than two dozen names were assessed at the outset but whittled down on the basis of how well they met the criteria set by Marathe and the club.

From there, initial Zoom calls were held with around 10 possibles, the next step in cutting the pool down to a shortlist. Again, Marathe participated in those conversations. By the end of last week, Leeds were in a position where they were able to schedule formal interviews in London and Marathe flew in from the US to take part in them, with plans to travel up Elland Road and speak to club staff once the head coach meetings were done.

Those interviews took place as planned and are now essentially complete, although Leeds’ new hierarchy is continuing to deliberate over a final decision. The key date in this was always July 2, the day when the first batch of players who are not involved in international football return for pre-season (the rest are scheduled to reappear on July 10). July 2 was the date by which a head coach simply has to be in place and ready to go.

How much is the wait for the takeover affecting the head coach confirmation?

The sale by Radrizzani to 49ers Enterprises won’t be official until the EFL grants permission for the buy-out to proceed. That involves putting all relevant parties, including those like Marathe’s 49ers colleague Collin Meador who will join the board at Elland Road, through its Owners’ and Directors’ Test.

Even though 49ers Enterprises had already effectively secured Premier League approval for a buy-out in the top flight, the EFL’s test is not exactly the same as the Premier League’s, involving different questions, so securing approval from the EFL has to be done separately. The paperwork is in and awaiting the thumbs up.

This is not stopping 49ers Enterprises actively working on things like finding a new head coach or deciding who it wants but it does leave a grey area on authority because, technically speaking, Leeds are still Radrizzani’s club until the buy-out goes through. Marathe will become Leeds chairman as soon as it does but at this moment, Radrizzani is head of the board with Marathe as vice-chairman. So while Radrizzani has comprehensively checked out of Elland Road and will resign as a director imminently, 49ers Enterprises has to be slightly careful in what it announces publicly.

The hope is that in the next seven days, the EFL will confirm 49ers Enterprises’ purchase. Leeds had always hoped they would be able to confirm the takeover prior to publicly announcing a head coach and while there is nothing stopping them settling on the candidate they want and getting their ducks in a row with contracts and backroom staff, it is very possible they will hold off on formally breaking cover until they are able to announce the takeover too.

Who is in the running for the job?

Scott Parker and Daniel Farke both made the interview process, partly on the strength of winning promotion from the Championship twice before. Patrick Vieira came strongly into the reckoning latterly and Leeds knew he might be keen because they had been made aware of his interest in the job at Elland Road back when Jesse Marsch was sacked in February. Though Vieira was still at Crystal Palace at the time, his relationship with Palace was close to running its course and the thought of taking charge at Leeds appealed to him. He is said to have presented very strongly this week, although Leeds were pleased with the interviews as a whole.

Prior to those interviews taking place, time was spent discussing West Brom’s Carlos Corberan. Leeds had seen good things from him in his prior role as their development-squad coach and as part of Marcelo Bielsa’s first-team staff and they were impressed by his impact at Huddersfield and West Brom. But unlike many of the other candidates involved, Corberan was not a free agent and was subject to a release clause at The Hawthorns, thought to be set in excess of £2million ($2.5m). As of the early part of this week, Leeds had not contacted West Brom about activating his release — but he is never one to discount because he is held in high regard at Elland Road.

Is the delay over the head coach a problem?

Not necessarily, although it is clear firm decisions on recruitment — which players Leeds target in the market, which they allow to leave or actively try to move on — cannot be reached until they know who is in charge in the dug-out. One of the messages given to interviewees was that they would have a firm say in what happens with the squad this summer. Former Reading director of football Nick Hammond has arrived in an interim role to help with transfers.

At present, Leeds’ senior squad are on holiday or away on international duty. There will be no one to actually coach at Thorp Arch until the end of next week. And in the meantime, it goes without saying the main contenders for the position will have thought at length about how they intend to structure the month or so of training before Leeds start the Championship season at home to Cardiff City on August 6.

There is no denying, though, that Leeds have used up most of the time they could afford to devote to finding a head coach, partly by design but partly by circumstance. The season finishing unusually late because of the long break for the World Cup squeezed this summer more than usual and takeover talks were a late hindrance. This is a scenario where the proof will be in the pudding — which is to say that if next season goes well, and 49ers Enterprises plans to be aggressive with its budget and wage bill, the new ownership will be able to say they were justified in giving the appointment so much consideration.