Leeds United have become a parody of a football club following the dismissal of Uwe Rosler.
In his place comes former Rotherham boss Steve Evans, who during a visit to Elland Road as manager of The Millers wore a sombrero and t-shirt. A farcical sight that befits the notion Massimo Cellino is justified making his sixth managerial appointment since April 2014.
Cellino is going through managers quicker than he can evade tax and Football League suspensions. At the same time it was announced Rosler had been pushed, the Football League announced the Leeds chairman was again suspended relating to a guilty finding in a Sardinian court. He has until 28th October to appeal the ban, doing so would extend his ability to oversee the club. If it’s upheld he’ll be banned until June 2016.
The general consensus is that Cellino has little chance of having any decision overturned. The court found him guilty of importing a Land Rover without paying the VAT, the vehicle has already been seized. This constitutes a failing of the fit and proper persons’ test. In his defence it must be difficult to make tax payments when severance packages are being made for managers every couple of months.
The frequency of the sacking almost negates the need to examine the records of the men involved. Rosler had only won two games but in fairness he had only taken charge of 12, which happens to be double or more than three of his predecessors managed. Never has the ‘managers should be given more time’ drum been banged louder than for those at Elland Road.
Uwe Rosler has twice been the victim of knee-jerk reactions by chairmen now. After a successful period as Brentford boss, which lead to their promotion to the Championship, he was axed by Wigan Athletic when they suffered bad form. His dismissal didn’t prevent their relegation nor did it fairly acknowledge the previous campaign’s semi-final appearances in the play-offs and FA Cup run. For Leeds to release him now, before November, shows any man coming into the club has a small chance of pleasing the owner.
What’s worse for Leeds fans is how a credible promising manager has been replaced with a pantomime version of Steve Kean. Any hope Cellino’s poisonous touch will diminish during his ban will prove wasted. The Football League didn’t strongly enforce it last time he was suspended. He may not visit the stadium but he’ll continue to pull the strings.
His final sign off act in the public domain is to limit away tickets to 2,000 for his travelling fans. He has complained that televised games should be shared equally among the league teams. There is a valid point to be made here but spitting his dummy at the Football League over the matter will only further punish fans.
Massimo Cellino should be careful what he wishes for. Leeds fans should be making protests of their own for the rest of season by reducing the money going into his pocket. That might make him think twice about dodging tax, sacking managers and turning Leeds United into a bad joke.
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