Helt ubegripelig for meg at et flertall(?) her syns Cellino er en bra ide. Pinlig å være norsk Leeds-supporter.
Updated TOMA FAQ
Who actually owns Leeds now?
Amidst all the noise, the basics are really not that complicated. For the moment Bahrain investment bank GFH still own Leeds, however they have agreed to sell the club to Massimo Cellino as soon as the Football League approves his ownership.
Someone said all the papers are not signed yet, does that meen the deal is not done?
If all the papers were signed, ownership would already have changed hands. But ownership cannot change hands until the Football Leauge has given its approval. That is what “pending approval†means. As soon as FL give the go, the final papers will be signed and ownership will be transferred from GFH to Cellino.
But as long as the final papers are not signed, GFH could still change their mind, right?
Until the final papers are signed and the money transferred either party can always pull out of any deal, but rarely without cost. Negotiations progress in stages, each stage increasing the mutual commitment of the parties. This deal is at the final stage before execution, meaning there is a lot of commitment from both parties. On Friday afternoon, Salah Nooruddin sent a text to Cellino confirming he would be the new owner. Nooruddin is the most senior official at Leeds United, one of the genuine big dogs. He is the boss of people like David Haigh and Salem Patel, when he tells them to jump, they will ask how high? When he speaks, he speaks for the company. Next morning the same agreement was announced on the club’s webpage. Amidst all the “rumors about rumorsâ€, I’m surprised how little heed has been paid to the actual public statement from GFH, because it is crystal clear. GFH “confirm that they have agreed to sell†to “a company owned by the Cellino familyâ€. There are no ifs and buts, no “talksâ€, no “clausesâ€, no “exclusivity†and certainly no other interested party. GFH have agreed to sell Leeds to Cellino and that is confirmed. The statement is still on the website and there has not been anything coming out of GFH since to put even a slight dent in it. It’s a done deal.
So why are GFH meeting the “mega consortium†today?
Out of courtesy? When people of consequence insist on talking to you it would be rude to turn down a mere meeting. Especially when one of those people represent one of your major sponsors. Or maybe GHF want to muddy the waters a bit to fend off a fan and media backlash until the Cellino-deal is finalized? Or maybe Haigh and Patel genuinely believe they can convince their Bahrain bosses they would be better served with the other lot? Though that is surely a long-shot.
So what happens now?
Not much really, formalities are getting sorted. The Football League is dealing with the request for approval from Cellino. They will look at the information provided and if it’s insufficient they will ask for elaboration. This is purely a matter between Cellino and the FL, GFH are not involved. As soon as the FL gives it approval, Cellino and GFH will sign the final papers and Cellino will own Leeds. The actual transfer of ownership will probably be sometime next week.
Will David Haigh and Salem Patel remain at Leeds?
Haigh, definitely not. Patel, probably not.
Will Brian McDermott still be our manager after Cellino takes over?
No, he will be sacked. Probably within hours or at least days. There is the off chance that Cellino will want to keep him around for a while, to appease the fans or merely on lawyers advice. But he will definitely not last the season. Maybe Cellino will try a chicken race like Vincent Tan did with Mackay?
McDermott has shown a lot of class in all this, but in reality he had very little choice other than to report for work on Monday. He’ll be looking at a massive payout whenever Cellino gives him the boot. He has 2,5 years on his contract and Cellino must expect to honor that in full. On recent events, he should even have a decent case for extra compensation for unlawful dismissal. But that will only be after he is sacked by Cellino. For all legal purposes he was never fired. Only his employers could fire him and they never did. And since he was still employed, if he had failed to turn up for work when his employers asked him to, suddenly HE would be in breach of contract and they could cancel him without compensation. So not going back to work could have cost him millions.
When McDermott goes, will Festa be our new manager?
For most practical purposes Massimo Cellino will be our new manager, in as much as he alone will decide who to buy and sell and he will have a considerable say in who is playing. Remember Friday night when he tried to bring five players in on a couple of hours’ notice without conferring with a single member of the sporting staff? Like that. Then he will bring in a head coach to handle training and sit on the bench. That could well be Festa, at least for a while.
So Cellino will bring players in then?
Yes, loads.
What will Cellino taking over mean for me as a Leeds supporter?
That depends on why you are a Leeds-fan in the first place. If your goal is to support a Premiership side then you’ll just have to wait and see if he can buy that for you. If you in any way take pride in supporting a club that conducts its business with honesty, class and dignity… Well, then I’m afraid you’re f**ked. Cellino will be an embarrassment whatever division we’re in.
So you would rather have Bates back then?
I genuinely don’t understand why so many people find that relevant. If you are diagnosed with tuberculosis, would that not be so bad if you’ve just recovered from lung cancer? Fact is: Cancer might be worse, but the tubs could still end you.