I am old enough to remember there being outrage when Leeds United sacked Brian Clough after just 44 days in charge. ‘Cloughie’ had gone into Elland Road determined to erase the legacy and playing style of the much-loved Don Revie but was ousted by player power. Ironically, that great Leeds team of the Seventies broke up shortly after and, though staging a revival in the Nineties, the West Yorkshire club seem to have found their natural level again in the Championship, though not one United fan would agree with that statement.
Nowadays, it’s more likely the club’s owner, rather than the players, will swing the axe and that’s just what Andrea Radrizzani has done to Thomas Christiansen. The Dane only signed a two-year contract last June but he’s become the seventh coach in four years to lose his job. Leeds were top of the table at the start of the season but have lost five of their seven matches since winning on Boxing Day and have slipped out of play-off contention. Heaven forbid, an experienced manager should be given time to turn things around, instead the owner will look for a quick appointment in the hope that a new face can spark a revival.
Ironically, former manager Simon Grayson is believed to be on the Leeds’ short-list. He was in charge for four years until 2012 and there have been 10 different rear ends in the hot seat since. Grayson, sacked by Sunderland in October after a successful spell at Preston, is 5/1 with BetVictor to be Next Leeds Manager but it may be significant that Steve McClaren was in the VIP box at Elland Road on Saturday to watch the death throes of Christiansen in a 4-1 defeat by Cardiff.
McClaren’s managerial career hasn’t had many highlights since he was sacked by England, however, and United’s directors might wish for a younger coach. Paul Heckingbottom (8/1 with BetVictor) has done a sterling job on limited resources at Barnsley and may fancy his chances of more success with a bigger budget. But he’s just signed a new rolling contract at Oakwell so wouldn’t come cheap.
Gordon Strachan would be a popular choice given he’s now out of work after ending his association with the Scotland squad. He’s a club legend and is now only a best 2/1, at the time of writing, to return to Elland Road. But, realistically, he’d be performing miracles if he could get United back into the top six before the end of the season and who knows if that would be construed as failure by the club’s eccentric hierarchy.
Next Leeds Manager BetVictor Odds
Steve McClaren Evens, Gordon Strachan 2/1, Simon Grayson 5/1, Marco Silva 7/1, Paul Heckingbottom and Paul Clement 8/1, Jaap Stam 10/1, Nigel Pearson and Juande Ramos 16/1, Fernando Hierro, Frank De Boer and Mick McCarthy 25/1
