A total lack of respect

I’ve not put pen to paper yet on Cellino’s rant about Redfearn in the Mirror, mainly because I was too busy arguing with people on Twitter. But with the rumours that Cellino wants to make a decision on the new manager tonight it looks as though Redfearn only has hours left as head coach. I’m not going to suggest for one minute that Neil Redfearn is the best coach in the world, he’s not. With a win rate at just 33% for his last spell in charge he ranks alongside Hockaday and his success rate in terms of points from points available puts him behind Brian McDermott and Neil Warnock. But that isn’t the point is it? The point is that Cellino has shown a total lack of respect to Redfearn. I’m sure everyone has read the comments but just to reiterate them;

“He thinks that he’s so strong that he can put me in the s**t because I’m worrying about the fans. He tried to play the fans against me to keep his place. Do you think that Neil Redfearn loves Leeds more than me? Tell me why I am in Leeds, why am I so involved with the club? Why am I putting in a lot of money, killing myself? Because I fell in love with this club. But to love this club is to do something for this club. Neil Redfearn does salute. He challenged me. If you are good I can accept the challenge. But not if you are a bad coach. He wins two games and he disappears. He loses five games and he comes to me to ask my advice. Then he wins and disappears again. He has to respect the chairman. He has to respect the club. He’s like a baby. He’s been badly advised and used by someone. He is not a bad person but he has a weak personality.”

Since Cellino returned from his ban he has not picked up the phone to speak with his head coach. Instead he makes these comments to a national newspaper. Any coach Cellino hires isn't going to get great odds on lasting long in football betting at bonus.org.uk. Whatever his reasons for wanting Redfearn gone it would have been the respectful thing to speak to him, either by phone or in person and clarify the situation. To go behind someone’s back and make comments such as those to a national newspaper is without justification or class. But that’s Cellino’s style. He came with a reputation for sacking managers but in reality he seems to always get someone to do his dirty work for him. Chris Farnell, Nicola Salerno, Andrew Umbers; it’s always someone else who has to deliver the news, never Cellino himself.

Whatever your views on Redfearn he does deserve respect. In six years at the club as youth coach, academy manager and head coach he has put his all into Leeds United. He has overseen the development of a talented bunch of young players and nurtured them into first team regulars. His results at the start of this year secured our safety following the sticky patch under Darko Milanic. Likewise McDermott, Hockaday and Milanic were shown little respect. As Cellino said; “With managers I fall in love. And when I fall in love I give love. And then they try to take advantage. It’s much better if you don’t fall in love with your coach”, and then he screws them over.

Three candidates are rumoured to be in the frame for the job including Uwe Rosler, but why would anyone want the job now? Why would anyone want to work for Cellino. They may naïvely think they will be the one to buck the trend but I don’t think Cellino will ever change. If you don’t get the results you are sacked for not performing, if you get the results you are sacked for taking the focus away from Cellino and “trying to take advantage”. It’s a no win situation. Redfearn had time whilst Cellino was away from the club to bring in the youth players and develop the team the way he wanted, the minute Cellino is back, he’s out the door. I fear we will never be stable, never have time to develop whilst our Chairman shows his coaches and staff such a total lack of respect.

So, with it looking like Redfearn’s future will be sealed tonight I wish him many thanks for all he has done and all the best for his future career. Whoever is next in the dugout, I wish you luck, you are going to need every bit you can get with this mad man in charge.