Journalisten, Amitai Winehouse, var Squareball-skribent inntil avisene anerkjente skriveegenskapene hans såpass at de ansatte ham.
Is the Leeds United sleeping giant finally ready to awaken under owner Andrea Radrizzani? Qatar are interested, the club rakes in more money than most of the Premier League and they are no longer a crisis-ridden laughing stock* Leeds United have impressed on the pitch over the last season and a half
* But they have also performed well behind the scenes under Andrea Radrizzani
* The old days of being the laughing stock seem to be behind the club
* They now seem to be in a better position than at any point this millennium
By Amitai Winehouse For Mailonline Published: 08:34 BST, 25 October 2019 | Updated: 12:25 BST, 25 October 2019
When Andrea Radrizzani decided to buy Leeds United, he was the only serious horse in the race.
Massimo Cellino had run the club in his own unique way and it is fair to say, beyond the concept of some ill-defined potential, that it was not a particularly appealing prospect. Wars had been waged with the Football League, Sky Sports and many others. The past pockmarked anything good that went on.
Media rights entrepreneur Radrizzani had a clear run at it. Compare and contrast that situation in 2016 to today and the difference could not be clearer.
While Radrizzani is the majority owner, a chunk of Leeds is also owned by the investment arm of the San Francisco 49ers. Radrizzani has held talks with QSI - the arm of the Qatar government that owns PSG - a wealthy US-based Leeds fan and the owner of an Italian club about further potential investment.
All of that is more likely to happen if Leeds reach the Premier League, given the FFP rules in the Championship.
But it just shows how what was once a shambles of a club now resembles the sleeping giant it is meant to be. If said giant has not quite woken up yet, at the very least it has snoozed the alarm for the last time.
As a source once told Sportsmail, when it came to Leeds' questionable owners since their spectacular financial collapse, 'cowboys only attract other cowboys'.
When Radrizzani wanted to buy Leeds, he was the only serious bidder involved in the process
Radrizzani has changed that situation entirely.
The differences he has made behind the scenes are huge. Shortly after he took full control he bought Elland Road back through one of his companies.
The club are also exploring building a new training complex closer to the ground, in part because their Thorp Arch base is north of the city and difficult to reach for young talent.
Even while that goes on, they have made the adjustments manager Marcelo Bielsa wants. In the summer they built a new 1km running track at his request.
Marcelo Bielsa has turned Leeds into an impressive side on the pitch over the last two seasons
Under Cellino, they instead decommissioned the pool at Thorp Arch and had players bring their own sandwiches in for lunch.
Leeds have also hugely improved the commercial side of the club. It is understood that they could top £50million in revenue on that front in this, their centenary year. That is larger than 12 Premier League clubs managed in 2017-18 and well beyond any team in the Championship without parachute payments.
Outside of the shop at Elland Road, it used to be impossible to buy the shirt anywhere in the city. They now have three stores in Leeds and are adding a fourth.
Under managing director Angus Kinnear, they renewed their partnership with 32Red in the summer — one of the biggest shirt sponsorship deals in the Football League.
There have been successful commercial tie-ups, with Wish sponsoring Bielsa's blue bucket
Partnerships with the likes of Amazon, Wish and Deliveroo have also been a success — Deliveroo even partnered up for the reveal video for £15m signing Helder Costa. Wish sponsor Bielsa's bucket.
Amazon's documentary of last season has brought Leeds to the forefront again. Cameras have already been spotted at Elland Road ahead of a potential second series.
Radrizzani has had a part to play in that. He is well connected from his other enterprises.
Bielsa's success on the pitch has also helped, shining a spotlight on an organisation that no longer lurches from crisis to crisis. Enquiries over branding the bucket started within a few days of his first game.
Director of football Victor Orta (second left) and Angus Kinnear (centre) have had a part to play
An easy example of the on-pitch and off-pitch symbiosis for Leeds is their goalscorer on Tuesday night.
Eddie Nketiah was the biggest loan prize for Championship sides this summer. Arsenal see huge potential in him, Ian Wright acts as his personal fan club and everyone in the second tier wanted him.
Premier League sides were once loath to send players to Leeds because it felt like absolutely anything could be hiding around the corner.
Director of football Victor Orta provided a presentation in a Dragon's Den-style setting that won Arsenal over. They then entrusted their baby to Leeds.
Tuesday's goalscorer Eddie Nketiah was signed after Leeds sold Arsenal on the loan move
Orta has had significant work to do behind the scenes. Before he arrived with Radrizzani, Leeds did not have a scouting network at all. Now they can be found at matches across the UK, the continent and beyond.
That has allowed Leeds to find value where others might not.
They tracked Brighton youngster Ben White across loan spells with Newport and Peterborough in the lower leagues before bringing him in this summer. He has been the breakout star of a season that sees them currently second in the Championship table.
Tyler Roberts, another player who has impressed since Leeds nabbed him from West Brom for around £2.5m, was spotted while on loan at Walsall.
Tyler Roberts impressed for Leeds since being spotted while playing on loan at Walsall
Even the situation around Kalvin Phillips speaks for the different position Leeds are in. Where other academy graduates like Lewis Cook, Sam Byram and Charlie Taylor all took Premier League moves when they cropped up, Phillips chose to sign a new deal despite serious bids from Aston Villa.
It's easy to see why staying would appeal. On Saturday, there were 35,731 fans at Elland Road to toast the centenary.
That would be the 11th highest average attendance in the Premier League and explains why plans were mentioned last week to expand the ground to 50,000 if Leeds hit the top flight.
Leeds plan to expand Elland Road to 50,000 seats if they are promoted to the Premier League
Tickets have been so hard to come by this season that a weeknight League Cup game against Stoke City, with both sides populated by reserves, had more than 30,000 in attendance.
Leeds often talk about the cultural shift that appointing Bielsa caused. They now feel like a team on the fringes of the Premier League, one that will challenge no matter what.
But behind the scenes there is a sense the same has taken place. Radrizzani is demanding and Leeds are now a reflection of that.
Leeds seem to be in a better position behind the scenes than at any point this millennium
So much has been made of Bielsa's genius. While he has it in bucket loads, the club also had to convince him to spend two years sleeping in a bedsit above a shop — his choice — nearly 7,000km from where his family lives, to manage a second division side.
Leeds may not go up this season but for the same reason that Bielsa decided to join, it feels inevitable that it will happen soon.
The structure, expertise and, in a nod to previous owners, sanity behind the scenes means Leeds seem to be in a better position than at any point in this millennium.
https://www.dailymail.co.uk/sport/football/article-7604255/Is-Leeds-United-sleeping-giant-finally-ready-awaken-owner-Andrea-Radrizzani.html