Breaking down the new structure at Leeds United

It’s been a long time since Leeds have had such a professional structure in place and it’s quite confusing to say the least. So I’m going to give it my best go at breaking the structure down, stick with us.

Owner/Chairman – Andrea Radrizzani – If you don’t know who this is, maybe seek help? Radrizzani has been in 100% control since the latter stages of May. He had a rough start with Monk resigning out of the blue but he seems to have bounced back pretty well. It’s still too soon to see whether he’ll be a success or not, but the signs are good.

Executive Director – Paul Bell – Bell returned to Elland Road in January 2016, he was Director of Commercial Affairs for four-and-a-half years but now holds the role of Executive Director. He focuses mainly on the commercial side of things, which has really improved at Leeds over the past year or so.

Managing Director – Angus Kinnear – Kinnear was the third man at the press conference on Monday, he was previously at West Ham and before that, Arsenal. Kinnear’s main task at West Ham was to oversee the move to the Olympic Stadium and prior to that, Arsenal’s move to the Emirates. I don’t see Leeds moving stadium any time soon, but there is the possibility of renovating Elland Road, which it really does need. Work has already started on improving the West Stand, including the changing rooms.

Director – Ivan Bravo – A key director appointment was Ivan Bravo, he was Director of Strategy at Real Madrid for seven years, working on both the football and commercial sides of the game. He has a lot of contacts within the game and has links to the Aspire academy in Qatar, which is very interesting.

Director of Football – Victor Orta – We saw Orta properly for the first time at the press conference and it’s safe to say there were mixed views. I personally thought he was very impressive, no stupid promises like we’ve heard before, he just spoke straight sense. Obviously, we need to see the calibre of players he brings in first, but it was also good to hear that the head coach will get the last say on transfers.

Scouts – Radrizzani has brought both Dani Salas and Gaby Ruiz to Leeds so far. Ruiz is the head of European recruitment and Salas has a similar role for South America. It’s actually quite amazing that Leeds are building such an in-depth scouting structure, after relying on Willie Mckay and the furniture salesman for the last few years.

Head Coach – Thomas Christiansen – It’s fair to say nobody really knew who he was when his name suddenly rose to the top of the betting. After listening to many interviews and doing one of our own with an APOEL fan, I’m pretty confident we’re in good hands. His presentation he gave to Radrizzani where he tore apart Monk’s flaws sounded very intriguing and it’s good to see how flexible he is with formations.

Coaches – Christiansen brings with him Julio Banuelos, Ivan Torres and Marcus Abad. I cannot claim to know much about any of them, other than the fact Abad has his own app.

So for anyone confused about the whole setup, there you go, you’re probably more confused now.