Neil Warnock quits Leeds - Football - Sport - London Evening Standard -
http://is.gd/xC0AJ3
Dubai-based investment bank GFH Capital are facing a crash-course in the
minefield of English football this morning as Leeds United, the
Championship club they acquired in December, begin the search for yet
another manager.
Neil Warnock, who was appointed in February last year, walked away from
the Elland Road job six games ahead of schedule last night following a
2-1 home defeat to Derby County. Always destined to retire at the end of
the season, fans anger at a third straight defeat and a sixth game
without a win hastened Warnock’s exit.
“The fans made their feelings clear,” Warnock said after the game. “I
think it’s right that someone takes over until the end of the season
now, and that is what I have told the owners.
“It’s so frustrating. This has been the hardest year in my 33 years as a
manager.”
For GFH Captial, appointing the his successor will be seen as a key
barometer of their ownership.
The investment bank is already facing questions over their long-term
commitment to the club after a quiet January transfer window and the
recent sale of 10% of their stake to another Bahraini bank, IIB, while
rumours still persist that Yorskhire businessman Steve Parkin will buy a
controlling interest in Leeds before the end of the season.
Having to now replace the man GFH Capital publicly heralded in their
first press conference as owners throws this uncertainty into stark relief.
After the match, Leeds United’s chief executive, Shaun Harvey, bought
some time by announcing that Neil Redfearn, manager of the development
squad – effectively the reserve side – will assume control for the
remainder of the season.
In an official statement Harvey said: “We now need to look to the future
and the search for his replacement is underway, for which there is no
fixed timescale as securing the services of the right person is the
primary objective, so as to give us the best chance of promotion next
season.”
With Warnock’s exit widely accepted for much of 2013, a number of names
have already been in circulation. Former Southampton manager Nigel
Adkins was an early favourite, as was Paolo Di Canio, although they have
both since found employment in the Premier League.
Of those actively seeking work, ex-Reading boss Brian McDermott, Martin
O’Neill, recently sacked by Sunderland, and Owen Coyle, unemployed since
leaving Bolton in October, have been installed as favourites. Gus Poyet,
now at Brighton but once an assistant to Dennis Wise at Leeds, has also
been repeatedly linked with the position.
With Leeds facing a tenth season outside the Premier League, however,
it's clear another stop-gap won't appease a frustrated and increasingly
fractious fanbase.
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MARCHING ON TOGETHER
