Massimo Cellino's £20m Leeds United investment is a heartbreaker
Here is the City 3/12/14
Dan Coombs
Massimo Cellino has secured a £20 million investment for Leeds United, but the galling aspect is it won't be going towards their promotion push.
A financial transgression from a previous era relating to a yacht is causing disruption to Massimo Cellino's plans for Leeds United, but he is not the type of individual to let this hold him back.
Cellino intends to fight the Football League's ruling requiring him to step down until March.
On the day the news was announced, the Italian was in Bahrain securing a £20 million financial investment to safeguard the club's future.
Leeds have been starved of success over the last decade, and Cellino while not perfect, is paying and working tirelessly to set the club back on course to the Premier League.
In football terms this year the target could be beyond them, and what is tragic is that the club's finances are in such a mess that the £20 million is unlikely to be spent on the team.
Leeds have debt which needs to be repaid, while Cellino still has one of his own promises to buy back Elland Road hanging over his head. He also insists the club are losing money renting their own training ground and academy, and intends to fund a new facility.
All of these cost money, and are necessary, and shows just what a mess the club was in before he arrived.
Passed between various owners and assets sold on and off the pitch, success has been nearly impossible and the team continue to be held back.
While the team are in a positive moment, on the back of a 2-0 win over Derby, they remain outside the play-off spots, and have a tough run of games coming up against teams competing for similar positions.
To consider the impact £20 million could make on the team, is quite something if spent wisely, and could propel the club into the Premier League, which thanks to a new television deal has become the richest competition in the world by a considerable distance.
Even the bottom team in England's top division is guaranteed £60 million in revenue. On the field it would be a gamble worth taking, but Cellino's hands are tied at present with the repayments and infrastructure which has been left so badly broken over the past decade.
Had the club been run in a more sensible manner, not only would Leeds probably not be in this position, but arguments against Cellino from the Football League would carry more weight.
Unlike previous owners he appears to have passion for the club to succeed, and it's a heartbreaker that so much money has to be spent to keep them on an even keel and set the foundations for the future, before the team can benefit from the millions of pounds he is able to finance.
Dan Coombs
Massimo Cellino has secured a £20 million investment for Leeds United, but the galling aspect is it won't be going towards their promotion push.
A financial transgression from a previous era relating to a yacht is causing disruption to Massimo Cellino's plans for Leeds United, but he is not the type of individual to let this hold him back.
Cellino intends to fight the Football League's ruling requiring him to step down until March.
On the day the news was announced, the Italian was in Bahrain securing a £20 million financial investment to safeguard the club's future.
Leeds have been starved of success over the last decade, and Cellino while not perfect, is paying and working tirelessly to set the club back on course to the Premier League.
In football terms this year the target could be beyond them, and what is tragic is that the club's finances are in such a mess that the £20 million is unlikely to be spent on the team.
Leeds have debt which needs to be repaid, while Cellino still has one of his own promises to buy back Elland Road hanging over his head. He also insists the club are losing money renting their own training ground and academy, and intends to fund a new facility.
All of these cost money, and are necessary, and shows just what a mess the club was in before he arrived.
Passed between various owners and assets sold on and off the pitch, success has been nearly impossible and the team continue to be held back.
While the team are in a positive moment, on the back of a 2-0 win over Derby, they remain outside the play-off spots, and have a tough run of games coming up against teams competing for similar positions.
To consider the impact £20 million could make on the team, is quite something if spent wisely, and could propel the club into the Premier League, which thanks to a new television deal has become the richest competition in the world by a considerable distance.
Even the bottom team in England's top division is guaranteed £60 million in revenue. On the field it would be a gamble worth taking, but Cellino's hands are tied at present with the repayments and infrastructure which has been left so badly broken over the past decade.
Had the club been run in a more sensible manner, not only would Leeds probably not be in this position, but arguments against Cellino from the Football League would carry more weight.
Unlike previous owners he appears to have passion for the club to succeed, and it's a heartbreaker that so much money has to be spent to keep them on an even keel and set the foundations for the future, before the team can benefit from the millions of pounds he is able to finance.