Ten things the new owners need to sort out with Leeds United right now. What needs to be done to see Leeds United not only promoted back to the Premier League next season but to keep us there.
- Appoint a long term competent manager.
We need a manager that will get Leeds United both promoted in the first season in the Championship and then have a plan with new players coming in to keep us through the next three seasons. As we have seen last season this is not as easy as it sounds and needs a director to support him with players coming in. Farke may be able to get Leeds United promoted but he is unproven at keeping a club in the top tier.
- Appoint a director of football
Orta got some things right – Bielsa, for instance. But he still managed to bring in the wrong type of players or not competent enough leaving Leeds United with an unbalanced squad. For Leeds United to go straight back up next season we need a director who brings in the right players this summer and again next summer when we need strengthen the team in the Premier league.
- Solve the problem of the leaky Leeds defence.
At the end of Bielsa’s reign and again under Marsch Leeds United went through publicly damaging periods of serial heavy defeats, so much so that the cloud still lingers. If Leeds United are to be promoted then the coaching team will need target this weakness.
- Make Leeds worth hating again.
Leeds United are a proud club with an intensely loyal fan base. The poor defence record at Elland Road is tough to bear. The manager needs to bring back the chaos and confidence of the early Bielsa era that made Leeds so feared.
- Bring back the Bielsa scoring machine.
Bielsa had a team early on that peppered the opposition goal with shots. We lost that, last season and our scoring record dminished to a dangerously low level.
- Get a balance of young and experienced players in the first team.
Our academy is a feeder of quality players like Kalvin Phillips. We need to continue to grow our own – Summerville, Gyiabi, Joseph, Monteiro et al are all players for the future that can play a greater role in the firs team next season.
- Hold onto talent.
Leeds have quality players in the squad that can help the club to get promoted – Gnonto, and Adams – the new manager needs to convince them to stay.
- Let go of the failures and championship standard players.
The other side of the coin is about building the squad by selling off players that have not met expectations – McKennie and have struggled to convince at Premier League level – Ayling. We also need to move on from the long term injuries that have left holes in the squad all season – Forshaw and Bamford.
- We have a balanced squad
Orta’s players coming in led to an unbalanced squad. What was the point of Rutter when we needed an experienced striker to go straight in to the first team? We also need depth in the substitutes. Leeds cannot compete with the likes of Manchester City but it can punch above its weight and mix with Brentford FC and Brighton HA.
- Have a long term plan for Elland Road.
Are 49ers looking to invest in the ground in the long term? Elland Road is becoming the old lady in the premier league – if we get promoted we will need the 49ers to invest in a bigger Elland Road to fit the fan base.
