re: 2021/22 Leeds United szn long thread: Gracias Marcelo

quote:

---

“Luke Ayling, Patrick Bamford and Robin Koch will remain unavailable this weekend.

“On Junior Firpo and Jamie Shackleton, from here on now until Sunday, I will have a more clearer vision.

“Adam Forshaw is healthy, he has been training, and now he has to assimilate a succession of games.”

---

quote:

---

Pat and Ayling playing in the 23s today

---

quote:

---

It is significant, too, that the option held by 49ers Enterprises includes Elland Road. The stadium is technically under Leeds’ control but it is owned by Radrizzani via a company based in Singapore. At face value, the deal means 49ers Enterprises would get the whole package — stadium and all.

---

quote:

---

To maximise their potential, Leeds need substantial investment over a sustained period. There are clubs in the Premier League who try to operate a break-even model, but an approach like that tends to lead to little more than survival year on year — and although avoiding relegation was the only priority in their first two seasons back in the top flight, Leeds know their fanbase will expect a more ambitious approach as time goes on.

Radrizzani has spoken openly about chasing European football, but building a squad good enough to qualify for the Europa League will mean spending in future transfer windows. Financially, Leeds are on a completely different planet to the Championship — and even in that league, Radrizzani was forced to put up more than £1 million a month (some of it in loans) to pay the wage bill. If Leeds are to become more competitive, expenditure will only increase.

---

quote:

---

That does not mean the running of Leeds would change drastically overnight, though. Marathe and his investors have been around the table for a few years and Radrizzani has been making decisions with their input. However, the club might find itself moving from the chairman-owner model to what is increasingly the Premier League’s new norm: an ownership syndicate. There have been changes in the ownership structures at seven of the league’s 20 clubs in the past 12 months and all, bar one, have seen the ownership groups at those clubs get bigger.

---

quote:

---

This brings us to the final reason so many Americans like football, and European football at that. They have seen enough now to know that our football is the global game and attracts eyeballs — and therefore broadcasters and sponsors — in places the NFL, MLB, NHL and even the NBA can only dream of reaching. The trick is to monetise those fanbases so owners actually make money and unlock profits in the future.

---

quote:

---

Radrizzani could continue to have some involvement at Leeds, even if that meant no more than retaining a small shareholding. Keeping a low-level stake would make sense. If the Americans take over as expected, Leeds’ value will have grown by more than 10 fold in half a decade. What’s not to like about that?

Equally, the cash he earns might give him the chance to head off and buy another club. He has spoken more than once about trying to create a network of teams and he has been linked with several sides in Italy, including Genoa and Sampdoria. But unless you have bills to pay or need all of the money for another venture, Plan A would surely be to keep a piece of Leeds — and a foothold in the Premier League — while strapping in for another rollercoaster ride elsewhere.

---

quote:

---

It is natural to wonder if Radrizzani’s wallet has taken Leeds as far as it can. Why else did he start selling stakes in 2018? The Italian is a self-made man but he’s a millionaire in a land of billionaires, oligarchs and sovereign wealth funds.

If Leeds are going to become a club that can take Premier League status for granted, they need a bigger stadium, better players, a trophy. Put simply, they need money.

---