Leeds: We Really Can't Afford Any More Cellino Balls-Ups

Sabotage Times 26/10/14
by Paul Sherman
Darko days are over, time for Cellino to stick with Redfearn and give him time and support.
Darko Milanic lasted 32 days at Leeds United under Massimo Cellino. His CV was littered with trophies, albeit in Slovenia, his reputation as a pragmatist should have rung alarm bells but we fans, desperate for success, clung to the hope that this time the president’s choice, suggested by the trusty Salerno was the right man. He appeared calm, professional and much better looking than his horrific predecessor Hockaday who, with the hapless Junior Lewis, lasted a remarkable 70 days. Before them a marriage made in hell that had no chance of longevity was terminated when Brian McDermott finally left the club not too long after his erroneous sacking and reinstatement in January.
All three ex Leeds managers were decent blokes with varying degrees of experience, all three of them were eaten up by the size of the club, the expectation of the fans and most of all the voracious appetite for success emanating from our esteemed owner. The current score is Mangiaallenatori 3:0 Allenatori, this has got to be the full time score for this season at least. No more outsiders, the good uns won’t come anyway, it’s time for one of our own.
Cellino’s famous watermelon comments are bizarre, in no business do you employ a senior manager without absolute knowledge of their personality, suitability and total confidence is their ability. He has now made two monumental mistakes with Hock & Darko, that must be the end of it.
Massimo was as gutted as we were on Saturday night and has admitted both times that he made wrong appointments, bottom line is the buck stops with him, the next appointment must put the club into a strong, stable position to achieve his target of promotion in two years.
The only run of success where the team have shown steady improvement was under the caretaker change of Neil Redfearn, a proper Leeds man, steeped in 9 years experience at the club and responsible for the hugely successful academy. Tellingly, Redfearn is the only coach who has had the balls to call the boss Massimo and the two of them appear to have serious mutual respect, speak of each other in glowing terms and genuinely like each other.
Cellino wants progressive, exciting, passing football, solid at the back, creative in midfield with a touch of magic in the last third, along with sporting director Director Salerno he has added new players to a core of home grown youngsters who are capable of delivering exactly what he and the fans crave. The watching masses want to see a group of players who show pride in the shirt, play with passion, want success and care about the results.
Off the field Cellino has done an awesome job on the debt, running costs and ugly relationship with GFH, there is still major concern regarding the strength of the administrative side of the business and the ability and leadership available to potentialise commercial revenues. His promise to buy back Elland Road by the end of November is seen as a litmus test of his intentions by a good sized chunk of the fan base.
Right now the club needs stability like never before. We boast global support who have stuck with the club through thin and thinner over the last dozen years but the cynicism is deep rooted. Leeds fans are amongst the most passionate in the world and social media provides a perfect platform for myriad viewpoints, all felt from the heart, all strongly stated, diverse but all springing from the fountain of hope that we will see a team we can be proud of.
Cellino has announced that Neil Redfearn is the new head coach, he needs to take care of him financially, give him a proper term contract, assurances about his future and plug the gap in the academy, the highly rated Richard Naylor and Leigh Bromby should be enticed back into the fold.
The sheriff is at the last chance saloon to stop this season being wasted, he must give Redfearn time and support and back him, not sack him.

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