By Keith Ingham
After no wins in six Championship fixtures Darko Milanic went the way of his predecessor David Hockaday, he was sacked. Much was said about Massimo Cellino before he actually took over at Leeds United FC. His record of sacking managers at his previous club was over thirty in twenty two years and we really shouldn't be surprised that happened. After the disappointment that after ten points in four games under 'Redders' he was to be overlooked and left doing a commendable job with the youngsters at the club, his ambitions of taking over the duties of a club must have crossed the mind of the likeable man from Dewsbury. He was respected by players and supporters and the fear was another team would come along and offer him a 'top' job before Leeds sacked another 'coach' and we would loose him. There is little doubt he was the fans favourite for the job straight after the Hockaday dismissal. Without doubt Darko Milanic had the experience in European leagues and major success with Mirabor but this is the Championship and it literally 'eats' managers by the plateful. This most competitive of competition feasts on them, so far six have lost their jobs and Halloween has only just passed. A nightmare of a division. That saying this job is already a hard one, getting Leeds back into the second tier was hard but achieving the larger goal of the Premiership has not been forthcoming with some of the most successful of managers. Neil Warnock was never going to be a favourite but nobody really can question his record when it comes to getting teams to the promised land, it didn't work because the players he brought in weren't good enough to do the job and his tactics were outdated and the man who replaced him Brian McDermott was just the right man in a totally wrong time. The GFH fiasco was the thing that brought 'that nice man Brian' to his final, ultimate departure. I liked him even though most of his signings, like Warnock failed to live up to expectations. He was a good man in a cesspit of a sport. You cannot and should not continue to hire and fire professional people on the whim of just one man. Let's hope Neil Redfearn at least gets till the New Year to prove his worth and hopefully take this once mighty club forward. Good luck Neil, I fear you might need it.
8 Comments
Tony Currie
1/11/2014 05:23:21 pm
You dismiss Darko's ability to coach without qualification and you afford "Redders" conditions you had not to Darko. Neil has a 23.9% win record! Citing his four games in charge is unqualified. Shockaday can also claim some of those??
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Keith
1/11/2014 06:06:32 pm
I didn't dismiss Darko's qualifications if you read it again I mention his merits at his other posts and Cellino dismissed him on 6 games without a win and playing negative. Are you another that jumps on the back of anyone with a less than perfect record. Redfearn has the club at heart and deserves everybody to back him or would you rather have another 'nobody' as coach ?
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Henry
1/11/2014 05:39:21 pm
You can focus on the coaches for as long as you like, but it is the team that is lacking.
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Keith
1/11/2014 06:10:19 pm
Agree Henry with such a large squad you would think we have all the players we need but far too many are 'getting money for old rope'. A mass clear out is needed ASAP
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Cellinon can now see the demands and quality of the Championship. There is a distance is of a country mile between the quality and experience of LEEDS and the best teams in this league. We are work in progress, but not a team in contention, not by a long walk! Cellini is an intelligent man and he can't fail to recognise the situation. The task is a lot bigger than he thought it would be. Pew can only achieve our aims by showing consistency with the coach and buying top players. Redfern needs 3 years and inward investment to make the PL
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Sprake
1/11/2014 06:47:44 pm
Wide man? How about taking Aron Lennon on loan from Spurs for a while?
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The key here is stability. I am a Cellino fan but, he is culpable for the current malaise because of his chopping and changing. From the very off he should have hired a proven and experienced British coach to form & gel the team. Another big problem we have is that so many new players have arrived so quickly and the bulk of them have no experience of the English leagues. I don't buy all of this forum hysteria that the players are poor. I've seen enough of most of the new recruits to suggest that they can be successful here but, they will need time and that key word STABILITY.If you look at Spurs & Liverpool who have both spent huge sums of money on almost new playing squads both appear to have gone backwards. Is it because all of the new players are duds? Granted, they might appear to be so but, they need time and stability around them to flourish else it is likely to fail. I think Redders needs until the end of the season to show whether he can form & gel this side into something that has potential & real promise. I would suggest we add some real width to the team along with a quality overlapping LB and a commanding CB/DM to help form the spine. We must remember that Redders has also been trying to integrate the youth which has shown promise but, the championship is an unforgiving league so they need careful introduction and management along the way.Whilst I am not convinced that Cellino is picking the team if he starts to meddle & continues to hire & fire then there is only one way this is all likely to end. Back the manager & stabilise the playing structure like he has with the finances and the club will move forward. Remember, Rome was not built in a day & even Cellino must be aware of that?!
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Ev
2/11/2014 01:00:35 am
top comment
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