Andrea Radrizzani sets Leeds United precedent for 49ers Enterprises as investor reveals himself - YEP 7/6/23

Leeds United are nearing the dawn of a new era that will and must look different to the last one, but not everything should change.

By Graham Smyth

Since relegation was confirmed, 49ers Enterprises have been closing in on a deal for the 56 per cent of Leeds United owned by Andrea Radrizzani. We know it's not done because if it was Leeds United would be saying so. We know it's close because talks have been ongoing, progressing and in the midst of that at least one investor in the prospective new ownership group has decided it is time to reveal himself on social media. That it was an NBA star who generously threw £2.5k into the fundraising pot of a group of Leeds fans and made clear his part in the new project is useful, insofar as it illustrates just how diverse or random, even, the collection of investors could be.

The question of who exactly owns Leeds United, if Radrizzani no longer does, will be an object of fascination until such a time as supporters are told, or discover through various means in dribs and drabs, the identities of the various money men and women putting the cash in. Some may never reveal themselves, of course. What will arguably matter far more to Whites fans than the who is the what - what will they do with this famous old club and its famous old stadium?

For those under the 49ers Enterprises umbrella with first-hand experience of Elland Road, both its boardroom and matchday experience, the past couple of years have been a rough ride but a highly educational apprenticeship. Paraag Marathe, while sticking very much to a background profile, has had enough of a front-row view to have picked up a handy understanding of the culture, the dos and don'ts, what to say and what not to say. Chief among all that is the need to say something when you speak to Leeds fans, for they will not long suffer soundbites if specifics are requested.

Marathe and co know that change is needed. If this is the new sound it cannot be just like the old sound. Mistakes made once - and that ground has been raked over in painstaking detail in recent weeks and months - cannot be repeated, not if Leeds are to go back up at the first attempt. Recruitment has to be spot on. It has to make sense. It has to address the needs of the team in the here and now because although building for the future is important, the present is where future joy or pain will be forged. Should the Whites spend longer than they ought in the Championship, the enthusiasm and passion that has sold out Elland Road, cleared shelves of merchandise and attracted record commercial revenue, could start to dwindle. Apathy did not kill this club, nothing could, but it took a revolution to cure the rot that had set in.

And this is where 49ers Enterprises can learn a hugely valuable lesson from the regime they are attempting to follow. Radrizzani and his project will be remembered for a wide variety of reasons, actions, decisions and utterances, some of which cannot go down in the books as anything other than mistakes, but what he and Victor Orta got right that can never be argued or forgotten, is when they got the right man to manage the football team.

Marathe, as a man already entrenched in team sport, would likely already have known prior to his Leeds involvement that fans do not love and cherish owners. They love strikers who score goals. They love defenders who tackle everything that moves. Midfielders who thread the needle. Wingers who leave full-backs in a frazzled, graceless heap. And they love managers who win games. What they really, really love is a manager who wins games and plays football that turns rival supporters green with envy.

Marcelo Bielsa and the promotion he masterminded will be Radrizzani's crowning glory at Elland Road, regardless of what has transpired since, because the goal was always the Premier League. Not only that, what Bielsa did and how he did it lit a fire under the club. The goal was achieved in the most brilliant way, albeit in the most heart wrenching of circumstances amid a global pandemic.

And what it was that allowed Leeds to have Bielsa, El Loco himself, sat atop an upturned blue bucket in the Elland Road technical area, was ambition that bordered on madness. Leeds shot for the moon and Bielsa made them see stars.

Following that example is admittedly a nightmarish task for the club's potential new owners. There is only one Bielsa and despite a recent attempt to bring him back he manages Uruguay now. Perhaps the next best thing would be a Bielsa disciple. Andoni Iraola is considered to be one of those. Perhaps relegation has taken him even further off the table than he was when Leeds made their first pass at him when Jesse Marsch was sacked. If Leeds in the second tier was good enough for Bielsa, though, then the question should at least be asked of the departing Rayo Vallecano boss. This is a massive club and an attractive project. Why not?

Another man who learned from Bielsa, Carlos Corberan, is liked. He's being considered and his Championship win rate has stuck out to the club during their deliberations. Among the other names currently being discussed and linked to the club, like Steven Gerrard, Scott Parker or Brendan Rodgers, the Northern Irishman appears the most ambitious target of the lot.

There's nothing to say that a sensible appointment won't get the job done and a safe bet might be understandable in the circumstances given the urgency of Leeds' promotion desire, but the biggest early win of all for an incoming owner would be a manager who excites and unifies the fanbase. That's why Sam Allardyce, for all his experience, was never likely to stay on permanently. Once supporters have had rabid pressing and free flowing, one-touch football, anything else has its job cut out to match up.

Speed will be of the essence, a manager must be in place before the players return on July 2, and there are separate arguments to be had over whether a head coach should be in place before a chief recruiter, or indeed if the decision-making structure is the correct one.

But if Radrizzani does leave the building, so to speak, in the next couple of days then he leaves behind a set precedent for the new regime as they quickly set about the task of installing a manager. Leeds United went big in 2018 and it worked in a big way. Who says it cannot again?