In order to gain the approval of a loyal fanbase, owners need to demonstrate ambition, financial aptitude, and an understanding of the club’s history and the fans themselves. Ambition comes in many forms in the modern game.
When it comes to global connections, grand plans for European football, and a shiny new Elland Road, there is ambition aplenty. Teaming up with a sporting juggernaut like San Francisco 49ers brings many interesting ideas and connections, but can officials so firmly rooted in a different kind of football really offer any input when it comes to the English version?
Personally, I have a lot of time for the NFL, they do a lot of things well and by that I mean they rake in the dollars! Money talks at the end of the day and if the 49ers can monetise our stadium in the way Tottenham Hotspur have done so impressively with theirs and boost the club’s profile stateside (an American coach and players help) then all that income could serve us well on the pitch.
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In terms of ambition in the transfer window, it’s been a tale of three summers. In our first season back in the big time, the ambition was impressive.
Spanish and German international players, loan players secured permanently and a sparkly new Brazilian as the Cachaca soaked cherry on top. The fireworks and excitement of that summer were in stark contrast to the penny-pinching feeling associated with the following year.
Angus Kinnear can outline the plan until he’s blue in the face, but when you stand still in this league, you’re most certainly going backwards. Treading water in the transfer market that summer almost led to Leeds submerging in the deep end, and eventually, the captain ended up going down with the ship.
This summer, the call for change hasn’t been a wishful one, but a necessary one. Surviving relegation by the skin of your teeth brings buckets of relief and celebration, but also a stark slap in the face and a warning of what could have been.
The board, with Victor Orta at the wheel, had to act quickly to try and appease the fans, because let’s be honest, the football at the end of the season was shocking and we were lucky to survive on the last day. So, change was needed, positive reinforcements and some fresh legs to boost an injury-prone and exhausted-looking squad.
Losing your best two players is not ideal, but for a growing club trying to establish itself amongst the elite once more, it’s an essential evil. And it feels like on the whole, the club has done a good job with incomings, even if at the time of writing we’re still a left-back and striker short.
To prove yourself financially at Leeds United, you just need to be more prudent than Peter Ridsdale, less superstitious than Massimo Cellino and unwilling to sell your soul to Lucifer like Ken Bates. For all the criticism and questionable Tweets, Andrea Radrizzani is the best, most sane owner we have had in some time.
That may not be saying much, but essentially, he saved us and that is something often lost in the bright lights of the Premier League. Following the Leicester City model may not be pretty and will upset some fans who think we are “too big” to be selling our best players, but it’s a reality check of where we currently sit.
Eventually, the aim must be to fade that model as we grow, develop and establish ourselves back in the elite, but that is years away. For now, we must be calm, and Radrizzani has shown plenty of patience in that regard.
Understanding a following like the Elland Road faithful, especially if you’re not “Leeds”, is a pretty thankless task. Every announcement and every decision will be scrutinised to the nth degree and torn to pieces, loved by many and despised by even more.
I imagine it’s a very tough job to try and get things right every time. There have been some pretty glaring errors. Ticketing and loyalty issues (I’m still not entirely sure what the benefit of membership really is), a potential new club badge lifted from Pro Evolution Soccer and failure to recognise key events such as the deaths of Chris Loftus and Kevin Speight.
However, there have also been some touching and meaningful contributions too. Centenary Square is a triumph (my late grandfather will be so proud to have his name on Billy’s plinth), remembering the club legends lost so tragically these last few years and Elland Road becoming a beacon of relief in the same awful pandemic.
This seems like a very long way of saying that on the whole, I do approve of our owners. Do they get everything right? Not at all, but honestly who does? Radrizzani is the calm, Orta the storm and Kinnear I guess sits somewhere in between.
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In terms of the atmosphere at Elland Road, and at the risk of sounding a little like Dorothy here, there’s no place like home. Bias will play a huge part in this, but Elland Road brings a very special closeness to the pitch which is hard to find elsewhere.
Maybe it’s the years in the wilderness, the single team city mentality and the us vs them approach to any opposition. The old-school jigsaw that is our stadium, held together by Yorkshire grit and more than a little bit of duct tape no doubt.
The worst burgers in the league, but the best support. No leg room to be seen, but sitting is for wimps.
The upward trajectory of the club has probably encouraged a more positive outlook, Marcelo Bielsa reminding us how to enjoy football again and teaching us a new way to view a game. To not panic every time the ball goes backwards, to not moan at every lost ball and to encourage, not berate our heroes.
Elland Road used to be the best and worst of us. The collective groans and unrelenting pressure from the stands destroyed many lesser characters and more often than not benefited the opposition rather than ourselves.
Now the vibe has changed, minds have opened to a new way of thinking and this has brought with it, patience and understanding (on the whole), but patience only wears so thin.
The end of last season was frankly awful, with very little to enjoy or take encouragement from until that glorious last day stand. And while the joyous scenes at Brentford are still fresh in the mind’s eye, so are the social media bombardments of Raphinha and KP’s new employers.
While it’s exciting to see the new faces rocking up and showing the right spirit and resolve we all love to see in our players, the season hasn’t even begun yet. What happens if the opening day doesn’t go well?
What if we don’t find a left-back? What if we continue to struggle to score goals? What happens if the players continue to run into each other in the middle of the park, with acres of space out wide begging to be used? Does the patience hold?
For years we just wanted something to believe in, to be proud of. We’re always proud to be Leeds, but I mean REALLY proud of. Marcelo gave us that, but that dream has gone. Now, the American dream is here and for the most part, I think we’re ready for it.
The passion has never been an issue, the hard yards will still be run. It’s the creative side we need to see. It has to be more than what we saw last season. It has to be.
They say it’s the hope that kills you. And an Elland Road without hope will be the death of you too.
Now it's over to you, how much on a scale of 0-100 rate your happiness with the ownership and Elland Road atmosphere. Use the sliders below to record your score on that question and six other key talking points. Click HERE if the form doesn't load properly
