EXCLUSIVE: Leeds fans furious with Massimo Cellino over his plans to sack club legends
Daily Star 9/5/14
LEEDS owner Massimo Cellino is facing the wrath of fans after deciding to axe club legends Peter Lorimer, Eddie Gray and Dominic Matteo.
By Jeremy Cross
Controversial Italian Cellino is set to release more than 70 members of staff at Elland Road, as exclusively revealed by Starsport this week.
Now it has emerged club ambassadors Lorimer, Gray and Matteo will be among those who are told they will be leaving the Championship club.
But the decision will anger supporters, who regard the trio as Leeds legends.
Gray and Lorimer were key members of the most successful Leeds side in history in the 1970s under former boss Don Revie.
Gray went on to manage the club and is still heavily involved at the Yorkshire outfit alongside Lorimer, while Matteo is also popular with fans after helping Leeds reach the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2000.
A club source said: "He doesn't seem to understand how important these people are to the club and their relationship with supporters.
"All three of them know Leeds United inside out and getting rid of them would be a huge mistake. But he is the owner now and he doesn't seem afraid to make unpopular decisions."
Cellino took charge of Leeds last month in a deal that saw him purchase a 75 per cent stake in the club from GFH Capital.
Cellino won his appeal to seize control after the Football League had rejected his initial bid due to his recent conviction for fraud and tax evasion back in his homeland.
He has spent the last few weeks conducting a thorough investigation into the running of the club before he arrived.
He has decided he needs to release a huge number of staff who work at both Elland Road and the club's Thorp Arch training complex.
But it remains to be seen if Cellino is planning to axe current boss Brian McDermott.
Cellino will hold talks with McDermott next week before making a decision, with the former Reading boss due £2m in compensation if he is sacked.
LEEDS owner Massimo Cellino is facing the wrath of fans after deciding to axe club legends Peter Lorimer, Eddie Gray and Dominic Matteo.
By Jeremy Cross
Controversial Italian Cellino is set to release more than 70 members of staff at Elland Road, as exclusively revealed by Starsport this week.
Now it has emerged club ambassadors Lorimer, Gray and Matteo will be among those who are told they will be leaving the Championship club.
But the decision will anger supporters, who regard the trio as Leeds legends.
Gray and Lorimer were key members of the most successful Leeds side in history in the 1970s under former boss Don Revie.
Gray went on to manage the club and is still heavily involved at the Yorkshire outfit alongside Lorimer, while Matteo is also popular with fans after helping Leeds reach the semi-finals of the Champions League in 2000.
A club source said: "He doesn't seem to understand how important these people are to the club and their relationship with supporters.
"All three of them know Leeds United inside out and getting rid of them would be a huge mistake. But he is the owner now and he doesn't seem afraid to make unpopular decisions."
Cellino took charge of Leeds last month in a deal that saw him purchase a 75 per cent stake in the club from GFH Capital.
Cellino won his appeal to seize control after the Football League had rejected his initial bid due to his recent conviction for fraud and tax evasion back in his homeland.
He has spent the last few weeks conducting a thorough investigation into the running of the club before he arrived.
He has decided he needs to release a huge number of staff who work at both Elland Road and the club's Thorp Arch training complex.
But it remains to be seen if Cellino is planning to axe current boss Brian McDermott.
Cellino will hold talks with McDermott next week before making a decision, with the former Reading boss due £2m in compensation if he is sacked.