Leeds unite. The town has a new sheriff

From today's yep
Shooting from the lip: Leeds United’s colourful owner Massimo Cellino talks to Phil Hay about his first 101 days in charge of the Elland Road club.

This is Leeds and in the words of Massimo Cellino, it’s his town now. Leeds United’s owner is buying a house in the north of the city and his wife intends to move in from Miami. His daughter has chosen to leave university in New York to continue her studies in the north of England.

“The town has a new sheriff,” Cellino says, and in the case of Leeds United he’s right. It is months and years since the city’s only professional football club was run with the authority the Italian exerts. Cellino’s way has shed tears and jobs, deconstructing the business he bought in April, but this way is his and his alone.

And so, 101 days on from his takeover, Cellino thinks he can see “light coming from the sky.” The relief is understandable. Of all the cost-cutting carried out through the summer, no saving mattered more than the deal reached in the past few weeks with Gulf Finance House, the Bahraini bank who sold Leeds to Cellino shortly before the end of last season.

On top of a purchase price of £11m, Cellino agreed to service a debt of £24m built up during GFH’s time as majority shareholder at Elland Road. Much of the money was owed to GFH itself or associates of the bank. Cellino took issue with that debt when the state of the club became clear and his message to the bank’s officials was simple – either compromise or prepare for a fight.

Under the terms of a new agreement between them, GFH is understood to be willing to wipe out half of the debt immediately and take repayment of the remaining money if and when Leeds are promoted to the Premier League. It effectively frees United and Cellino of scheduled lump sums originally due to be paid by December 2017, one as high as £6.5m. GFH remains as a minority shareholder with Cellino’s blessing, a potential point of conflict resolved for now.

“We’ve fixed the past with GFH,” Cellino says. “They understand now that their 25 per cent is worth something and they understand too that they have to do something here.

“I told them: ‘I don’t want to fight with you but are we partners or not?’ They’ve realised that we’re partners. I’ll take my money, they take theirs, we start again. I’m very happy.

“With GFH I was ready to fight them but they didn’t want to fight because they’re happy with my work. We found a way to get peace and we’ll work for Leeds. There’s no issue.”

They said at Cagliari, the Serie A club which Cellino owned for 22 years, that he always got his way in the end. Or more truthfully, he always followed his own mind. Leeds have seen the same attitude and the same single-mindedness.

Cellino was briefly rattled by the reaction to his attempt to sack former manager Brian McDermott in January – “supporters wanted to kick my arse but we were going down and I wanted to shake the place up” – but he has rarely allowed himself to be swayed since: dismissing staff, temporarily closing United’s training ground, appointing the little-known David Hockaday as head coach (an appointment made in the face of fierce scepticism) and looking to the continent for most of his signings.

In all it amounts to major procedural change at a club where Cellino felt change was essential. At the time of his buy-out, he says Leeds were costing £125,000 a day to run, of which £70,000 was essentially losses. A reduced wage bill and substantial cuts are starting to reign the expenditure in.

“This club is going to have more quiet time and less problems now,” Cellino says. “And the people who used to rip the club off, they’re going to stop. I’ll protect the club from everyone – including myself.

“For the first time in 12 years, this club wants to go to the Premier League but it doesn’t need to go to the Premier League. That’s my message. We might have to suffer a little bit but in my life I never saw anything good or important without hard work.

“We have to work hard and face pain to get to the Premier League but we don’t need to go there to pay wages or debts. We’re not plagued with that desperation. The debts are paid, or they’re going to be paid.”

Over the weeks, Cellino has counted his victories. In only one situation has he been forced to concede defeat – the sale of club captain Ross McCormack – and even then he succeeded in pulling in a huge sum from Fulham. Cellino says the fee for McCormack was £10.75m and will be put towards the repurchase of Elland Road, rather than new players for a Championship season which starts on August 9.

“We already had our budget for players,” he says. “We had a £15m budget to buy players and we’re doing that. The money from Ross is not for that. It’s for Elland Road. McCormack’s money, we mustn’t waste. If we buy a few players more because I suddenly feel rich then I can’t buy the stadium anymore. No – we buy the stadium. I’ll buy players anyway.”

Cellino maintains that McCormack was an asset he wanted to keep. At the very least, he wanted to avoid selling him to another Championship club – “15 goals a season to one of our competitors.”

“I’m still p***ed off about McCormack,” Cellino says. “If I was working just for Massimo Cellino, believe me, I would not have sold for one billion pounds.

“For a while I was keeping him for my satisfaction, to show him I was stronger than him. Then someone asked me ‘are you not selling him for the good of Leeds or just to show that you’re stronger than him?’ I had to do what was right for Leeds. So I told Fulham ‘okay, you say £10m, I say £11m.’ And we sold.”

The fee raised from McCormack’s departure, minus 15 per cent owed to Cardiff through a sell-on clause, equates to around two thirds of the cost of repurchasing Elland Road. The buy-back clause which Leeds hold over the stadium – and which increases annually – currently stands at £16m. Cellino says he will exercise the clause by November, via a mortgage if a bank will lend to him or in straight cash if not.

“If we have a mortgage, instead of paying £1.6m a year in rent we pay £600,000 on the mortgage,” he says. “But there is no bank in Leeds that will give us a mortgage. What’s the risk? If we’re paying £1.6m in rent, how can we not afford £600,000 a year?

“The money we have we might need to renovate the stadium, to make a new stand, to clean it up or do something else nice. But by November, we’ll buy the stadium. If we have to pay cash then we will. The money is there. And I won’t go to the city of Manchester for a mortgage. I won’t give them the money. I’d prefer to pay cash. Because I’m Leeds, Leeds, Leeds.”

His commitment to owning Elland Road is not shared with Thorp Arch, United’s training ground near Wetherby. Cellino says he has spoken to the local council in Leeds about two or three different pieces of land which could house a new complex in future.

He is rumoured to be looking at an area on Kirkstall Road, a stone’s throw from Elland Road. On one hand, he wants the players closer to home. On the other, he wants to free the club of the £600,000 rent United pay each year to use Thorp Arch. To sit with Cellino is to watch a man juggling countless balls. He has advisors around him – financier Andrew Umbers and Graham Bean, formerly of the FA but no chief executive or managing director. Besides core business matters, he is in the thick of United’s transfer dealings and keenly aware of Hockaday’s day-to-day work. He went to Italy last week to watch the second game of United’s pre-season tour – a game which was cancelled at short notice – and has sharp, personal views on each of head coach Hockaday’s first team players.

“I didn’t buy a big club here,” Cellino says. “I bought the biggest club in England. You understand? This club has been 12 years in the s**t but I have this chance to do something good. I’m going to die but I’m going to do something good as well. You know how many people have come here asking to buy this club in the last 40 days? Four. Big companies. I told them I wouldn’t sell for 100 billion. They said ‘for 1 billion, you will.’

 

Mmmm he was already going to buy Elland Road and a budget of £15m for players, I wonder when he is going to start spending it.

 

Wont matter Ristac anyway, hell have his knockers like mighty anyway

 

He does need to learn quickly that everything he says will be scrutinised by the fans. The money for Ross means we will have a £5m mortgage but I state again he said originally that he will go and write a cheque to buy back the ground and Thorpe Arch. Also in this piece he says he can't buy any extra players or he can't afford to buy back the ground.

The article is loaded with contradictions, he will have knockers because he feeds into their hands

 

The drearies will find as many negatives in his interview as they can and twist positives to suit their agenda.

 

Massimo does things his way, he is a successful and stubborn business man. The fans have no say or power despite what people think. It will be the usual minority who scrutinise as they always know better. The majority of fans will do what fans do.....support the club.

 

Not at all, which part of my last post do you disagree with? Didn't he always promise to buy the ground back, why talk about a mortgage on it, why say a budget of £15m and why say if he uses some of the Ross money he can't afford to buy back the ground?

When the season starts we won't have even 10m of new signings, I will be happy to see us buy back ER and to see progress I just wish Cellino would stop saying what the fans want to hear unless he really means it

 

Yep. wouldn't matter if we win cl, they'll whinge they're weren't enough Brits on the team Thankfully he's not influenced by anyone anyway, hell do it his way with his money

 

I think we should change our song from MOT to a certain tune by pharrell williams. It would suit most on here more.

 

Sorry folks, I didn't realise you were not allowed to have a differing opinion. Any I have I give reasons as to why, I don't have to revert to one liner sarcastic comments. Oh and I also never realised you were not allowed to comment or question an article full of contradictions.

 

Morning all. We have a chunk of new players arriving, some less than satisfactory players going, and a chunk of change from Ross's sale to either buy back ER or spend on more players depending on how the new crop pan out. Either way, we are in a significantly better position prior to the start of the new season than we've been in for years.

As some woman once said, rejoice in that fact.

 

Cellino does shoot from the hip which sometimes leads him to contradict himself. But I like him and I can see what he is trying to do here. Sometimes its better to say nothing than try and boost your ego with half promises. I'm thankful he is here but the media and fans in England aren’t like anything he has dealt with before and they will scrutinise everything that has been said and demand answers rather than just going along with the fact that he owns the club and calls the shots. Grateful for everything so far but time to back that ego up and splash the cash on the playing field so we can all start believe in the great Italian revolution

 

There are more reasons Ristac - sacking hundreds of loyal staff that have been with the club for years and with the money he saved, he gave his 2 sons directorships, sold your best if not only player and replaced with Italian 3rd teir - released lots of experienced players that were probably the heart of your dressing room, replaced an experienced manager with one that failed in the Conference. Orchestrated a transfer embargo through needless court cases. Hasn't bought the ground back like he promised. Hasn't bought Thorpe Arch back - in fact he feels it an unnessassary cost @ £600k per season - without it you would not meet the cat2 grade and receive the £500k per year that comes with it.
Deserted the Leeds ladies team - infact told them they can no longer use the Leeds United brand. Charging 10% interest on all monies invested which he has mortgaged on your club - now doing geals with GFH but not giving the details despite saying he would be transparent.

How some people are happy with him is mind blowing!!

 

When you off to Guilfest mate? Hopefully thats the storms over and done with or you may need Wellies!

Waved my best pals off this morning as I was getting in the car to go to work. Gutted

 

This proves that cellino is better at PR than GFH/Haigh or even PR Pete.

“ And I won’t go to the city of Manchester for a mortgage. I won’t give them the money. I’d prefer to pay cash. Because I’m Leeds, Leeds, Leeds.”

 

Not going till after work tonight mate as I'm going with Pursey and they are not on till 10pm - pretty boring till this evening anyway - the silly ****ers have Sham69 and the Boomtown Rats on at the same time FFS. Will be there all day tomorrow though - Kool and the Gang, The Farm, Buzzcocks, Ms Dynamite, Shakin Stevens - and best of all Bermondsey joyriders - should be a craic

 

Its easy if you are a possitive person you have 3 months of thinking this is good........your happy......then the season starts and turns to s**t you have 9 months unhappy.

The other way is you are always looking at the negative.........unhappy for 12 months.

Its a no brainer.............each to their own.

 

I'm in neither camp Yorkie, but surely both camps twist things to suit their argument...we will find out soon enough when the season starts...