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Massimo: Doom Merchant or Dream Catcher?

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Another New Era

The culture at Elland Road is rapidly changing, but has our esteemed new owner gone too far? As I write, Richard Naylor is packing his gleaming promotion medal and blood-spattered captains armband into a cardboard box and leaving Leeds for good. Nayls is the latest casualty of Cellino’s cost-cutting crusade and his departure adds to the bittersweet taste of recent Italian-flavoured events.

Heart and Soul

Richard ‘Bam-Bam’ Naylor wasn’t the most talented Leeds skipper of all time, yet he embodied the words Marching of Together with honourable gusto. From Oldham to O*d Tr****rd, the Leeds-born ginger-nut  led us out of the darkness of League One and into a better, brighter future. Four years down the line and we find ourselves under the stewardship of a new leader, a man who signs one player in the blink of an eye before dismissing another just as quickly. Question is, has Massimo gone too far?

Leeds have always had a proud heritage of looking after their own and today’s departure of Naylor and ex-team mate Leigh Bromby will create plenty of umming and arring. Surely not everything is wrong with the Elland Road fabric. Leeds United Ladies, Dom Matteo, Peter Reaney and countless other friends and employees have been let go from Leeds’ immediate family and it may feel like a little of the old Leeds soul is being lost everyday.

Trust in Cellino?

Imagine for a second that Massimo’s prediction of promotion in 2015/16 comes true. Will some of his changes be seen as unnecessary? Surely our break-off from our female counterparts would be seen as a drop-in-the-ocean if the Premiership big-bucks started flowing into our accounts again. Nevertheless, this is perhaps wishful crystal-ball thinking and it could be that Massimo’s shrewdness turns Leeds into a streamlined, promotion-grabbing machine that’s ready to be filled with old friends once we’re ‘back where we belong’. Leeds Ladies have risen from the ashes before and seem determined to do so again. Dom, Reaney, et. al. will always have a place in the Leeds United collective and promotion would surely see the return of some of our old favourites. If the last ten or so years have been anything to go by, then the culture at Leeds needs a shiny new coat of frugality mixed with hard-work and positivity and Massimo could well be our man.

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  • Jimmy says:

    A good summary of events. If your organisation is leaking cash, and sinking like the football version of the Titanic, you simply cannot afford jobs for the boys or to carry excess baggage in the support staff.

    Massimo’s priorities of squaring the club finances, reducing the wage bill but maintaining enough talent to go forward, buying back Ellend Road and buying out what remains GFH are sound buisness practise. Why should such well paid players get free food and laundry when training, nobody pays for my food etc and l get much less wages.

    The medicine might be bitter at times, but l for one have a good feeling about MC and believe we will be a stronger and promotable club and we near the start of the season.

    • Could’nt have put it better myself.El Presidente has done more in a few months than Master Bates did in years at Elland Road.

      You just have to be positive with how fast the Man is doing things and how transparent he is.
      Eleven mill.for Mac.He must be laughing his pastas off.Four players in already,past hangers on gone,new coaches,new training regime.

      I am very optimistic.Who knows with Leeds,it could all end in tears as in the past a few times,but somehow,I don’t think so this time,I believe we have a Presidente who puts his money where his mouth is.

  • sawfeet says:

    *Paul Reaney

  • Allan says:

    Agree wholeheartedly with you Jimmy.

  • Joe Namath says:

    A proper Businessman is running the Club, for the first time since Leslie Silver. He has to make tough decisions and some of them are going to hurt. That’s business unfortunately. We have no option but to get on board. It does make me feel positive.The future of Leeds United appears to be in the hands of a man with a plan.

  • henryvl says:

    Don Massimo has done really well so far, but it is easy to make cuts to save money.
    Struggling businesses do it all the time.
    The trick is to move forward from the slim and lean set up.
    If he gets the team building wrong then that will not be good.
    He has done the easy bit.
    Now let us see how he can build a team.
    It is funny in this pre-season, as I do not know any of the new recruits, so cannot tell if he is doing well or not.
    Exciting times ahead?

  • ade says:

    give mc sometime he knows his football and got good contacts with luck the players coming in will do the job I know some don’t like to see the old school go but maybe a fresh start all round will be what the doctor ordered we never forget our legends let try and get back to the good old day not just get to finals a lose out lets show the rest that leeds are back and be the team to beat take a little time give mc a chance some of the things he does sound odd but u never know just may work

  • Wayne says:

    Nicely sead mot

  • Oyper says:

    You can’t expect big mass to invest his money,then keep losing it by paying for staff that are not needed, the fault lies with previous owners, ,,,MOT

  • seattlewhite says:

    If I was in Big Mass’s Italian shoes I don’t think I would have done anything different and this is just the start. He realized what was wrong with the club and he is going about changing things for the better.
    We want to get loads of season ticket supporters and 30,000 plus on the first home game and pack out Millwall’s den on the first day – Morrison to score 2!

    • henryvl says:

      I agree we need a good turnout for the first game.
      However Massimo has done nothing yet.
      It is the easiest thing in the world to chop the wage bill at a struggling company.
      Any idiot can do that.
      He now has to build a team worthy of our support.
      The players we have brought in, looking at their history, don’t look exceptional.
      Time will tell, but the star we crave for is not on the horizon.
      He must not underestimate the difficulties of the Championship.
      It is a tough league.
      He says he is using Ross’s money to help buy back the ground!
      He even calls it ‘our ground’!
      It is his ground and a vintage Bates manoeuvre, to improve his own investment.
      You turn up at the ground on the first home game, without a ticket, and tell them it is your ground,
      You won’t get in.
      He has even mentioned a war Chest of £20/£30 million!
      Bates never opened his!!
      Let us wait until the season starts before declaring Cellino as the next Pope! After Adam, of course.

  • JamesW says:

    The Don is undoubtedly clever at business. Sadly in his position he doesn’t get to be everyone’s friend, he gets to make the hard decisions that will influence the future of one of the biggest football clubs of all time. So far I believe he’s made all the right moves and I get the feeling he does care for Leeds United in some sort of fashion. I choose to reserve judgement until the season is in full swing, at which point I’ll either call for his head or kneel down and kiss his ring, either way I think The Don represents a clear and optimistic future for our club.

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