Leeds United need improvement… and fast.
Leeds United’s terrible 2018 has supporters growing restless, and owner Andrea Radrizzani has a lot of work to do.
Radrizzani spoke earlier this month about targeting high quality players and trying to emulate Wolves’ model, but there is one ingredient missing – a top quality manager.
Wolves were able to call on Nuno Santo, whose previous job was at Porto, and before that Valencia.
Santo was used to dealing with players on big money and with big reputations, and it is paying off for the league leaders.
Leeds United’s current manager Paul Heckingbottom does not have the same experience, although he does have a League One promotion with Barnsley on his CV.
That experience of domestic success was part of the reason he was hired as a replacement for Thomas Christiansen, but there has been scant improvement.
Leeds have won just one game since Heckingbottom’s appointment, and lost four of eight.
His spell in charge has overseen some of the most turgid displays of Leeds’ season, and there does not appear to be much improvement, if any.
So this has to be a concern for Radrizzani, especially if he is planning to make ambitious transfer moves this summer.
To use a different analogy, it is all well and good buying a fancy car, but if the driver is not experienced to drive it, the vehicle could break down.
Heckingbottom had a poor record at Barnsley this season before his appointment at Leeds, and he must to more to earn Radrizzani’s trust this summer.
Leeds’ project is at risk of being delayed if Radrizzani has to make another managerial change, and Heckingbottom cannot afford to give him reason to.
Heckingbottom will argue he deserves his own transfer window to bring in his own players, but he cannot afford for this form to continue.
Radrizzani is unlikely to want invest big this summer but still have doubts over his recent appointment.
It may make sense to rip it up and start again this summer rather than wait for the middle of next season, but in doing so, unless there is a clear plan, the rebuild project will be delayed and Radrizzani will have to admit a second successive failure in his quest to find the right manager for Leeds United.
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