Good Luck, Simon Grayson.
We knew it was coming, but just not when. “It” is the sacking of Leeds United’s statistically most-successful manager, Simon Grayson, by the chairman Ken Bates, an intensely dislikeable man widely reviled by supporters whose most charitable assessment of him is “villainous”.
The official excuses for firing Grayson have emanated from 3 sources: Bates himself, Leeds United’s chief executive Shaun Harvey, and the Fans’ Representative on the Elland Road club’s Board, Don Revie era hero Peter Lorimer now seen sadly as a caricature for the views he expresses on events at Leeds United in his weekly column for the Yorkshire Evening Post.
According to Bates, speaking on Yorkshire Radio, the loss-making public relations arm he created for Leeds United:
"…Contrary to some of the nutters on twitter we backed him all the way. The first time I said no to a player that Simon wanted to buy was last Thursday when he wanted to sign a player who was going to cost us £600,000 a year. I said, 'you`ve already got six centre backs` all of whom he has signed.
…At 30, we have probably got one of the largest squads in the championship and a bigger squad than many clubs in the Premiership. Our wage budget was £9.5 million this year and we have spent over £12 million. Every penny we have made from transfer fees has gone back into team on transfer fees or wages…
...He is the manager and he decides who he wanted to buy. We as a club and me as chairman just authorize it. We just pay for it…
… I am a little bit disappointed what Simon said after last night, when he said he was working within financial constraints, Jesus, he has spent nearly 30% over budget on players wages. Some people are banging on about loan players. Who scored the winner against us when played at the Emirates? It was a loan player wasn`t it. Thierry Henry.
It is not a question of money we spend on transfer fees, it is the quality of player you get. He is a free player, free transfer. … money itself doesn`t mean anything. The important thing is the quality and value for money. What I do not understand is why we are where we are with what we have spent…"
(See for full interview http://www.leeds.vitalfootball.co.uk/ar … z1lA4snBby)
CEO Harvey said on the club’s website:
We have 18 games to go this season and are still within touching distance of the Play-Offs, but felt with the transfer window now closed we needed to make the change at this time in the belief that a new managerial team will be able to get more out of the existing squad of players and make the difference.
(See http://www.leedsunited.com/news/20120201/simon-grayson-a-club-statement_2247585_2596550)
And Peter Lorimer wrote today:
“…I ..worked out that there’s a full team of his players who are hardly involved, either as starters or substitutes – Paul Rachubka, Paul Connolly, Leigh Bromby, Andy O’Brien, Alex Bruce, Michael Brown, Ramon Nunez, Lloyd Sam, Billy Paynter, Mikael Forssell and Mika Vayrynen.
To anyone who thinks Leeds United don’t invest or failed to back Grayson, look at that list. You’ve got 11 experienced lads there, many of whom have been in and out at best. Whether that’s their fault or his fault I can’t be certain but there was enough for him to work with at Elland Road and whatever’s gone wrong, it’s not down to investment.
Whenever a manager comes under pressure, as Simon did, you always hear rumours and comments about him losing the dressing room. I’ve no evidence to prove that it was true in this instance but I do struggle to see how a training ground where so many proven lads are on the fringes can have a happy atmosphere…
…The truth is that he haven’t moved forward from last season. Our results and performances in the main have been poorer than they were during our first year in the Championship and there’s been no real sign of things changing or improving…
It’s not that the players currently in the starting line-up deserve to be dropped but there is more to be made of the squad as a whole. I’ve got no doubt about that. Take Bruce as an example – he was nothing short of outstanding in our FA Cup game at Arsenal last season. For many months it’s been impossible for him to even get on the bench…
(See for full article, http://www.yorkshireeveningpost.co.uk/sport/leeds-united/latest-whites-news/leeds_united_a_fresh_start_is_just_what_we_need_lorimer_1_4211954)
Bates is a trigger-happy chairman with a dismal record of sacking a manager every 2 or 3 years, dating back from his days at Chelsea. From his takeover in 1982 until being bought out by Roman Abramovich in 2004, Bates has dealt with John Neal (lasted 3 seasons under Bates), John Hollins (3 seasons), Bobby Campbell (3 seasons), Ian Porterfield (2 seasons), David Webb (4 months), Glenn Hoddle (3 seasons), Ruud Gullit (2 seasons), Gianluca Vialli (2 seasons), Graham Rix (2 weeks) and Claudio Ranieri (3 seasons under Bates).
At Leeds during the past 7 years as chairman, his managerial turnover record has seen Kevin Blackwell lasting all of 20 months under Bates. John Carver lasted 1 month. David Geddis lasted 1 day. Dennis Wise lasted 15 months, and, unlike those before him, left of his own accord. Appointed on January 30 2008, former Elland Road favorite Gary McAllister was dismissed 4 days before Christmas, December 21 2008. His successor Simon Grayson came on board 2 days later and was dismissed 3 years and approximately 2 months afterwards, on February 1 2012, the longest serving Leeds United manager of the Bates regime. It harks back to the sort of unthinking, knee-jerk instability that ultimately ended the standing of Leeds United as English football’s premier football club in the years immediately following Don Revie’s departure to take over the England team in July 1974 as a confused Board with Manny Cussins as chairman hired and fired a rapid succession of managers (including Revie era heroes Allan Clarke, Eddie Gray and Billy Bremner) culminating in relegation to the old Second Division 8 years later. The madness only ceased when Leslie Silver’s Board of Directors installed Howard Wilkinson as manager in October 1988.
While chairmen do retain the prerogative of dismissing underperforming managers, it helps our argument that the reasons advanced for Grayson’s dismissal are largely a combination of mischievous spin and Bates’s own cheapness. Both are, in the view of many Leeds United fans, par for the course for the Ken Bates regime. For example, Bates states that the wages budget is £9.5 million; but in earlier interviews on his Yorkshire Radio, he has told the world that everything –wages budget and transfer fees—goes into one consolidated account known as “Simon’s pot”.
Bates also mentions the size of the squad –30—while in fact it is 28 and clubs like Crystal Palace (37) Reading (37) and even Doncaster Rovers (36) have larger squads.
Let’s address Bates:
1. On having “backed Simon Grayson all the way”:
During the past 3 summers and several transfer windows in between, we have read Bates crowing --as if it were an accomplishment-- about turning back players (and their agents) whom Grayson wanted, at least 3 or 4 each transfer period. What this was doing to promote or keep on track, Grayson’s team-building plans is anybody’s guess. Clearly however if you are not able to get your first choice or even your second choice but are only eventually able to sign your least-preferred players near the close of the window when desperation invariably will drive both the player needing employment and the club needing to plug gaps in its squad to enter into contractual relations, you are signing the “leftovers”, players whom other clubs have passed over. This means a drop in quality.
In terms of “backing Simon Grayson all the way” to bring in the specific players and the quality of players he has needed to translate his Leeds United dream into reality, no, Bates and Harvey have not backed this talented young manager all the way. Not even in the free agent market.
What I would be interested in now is what the percentage of the financial backing for the manager is as part of overall revenue. During the summer, fans howled with anger and derision as Bates sank over £7,000,000 into improvements to an Elland Road stadium he claims that the club doesn’t own while Grayson was left scrapping around the basement for free quality reinforcements to bolster a squad that had just lost half of its spine: the critical central midfield core –Neil Kilkenny (26) and Bradley Johnson (24) —and a very solid goalkeeper in Kasper Schmeichel (25). As we all know now, Shaun Harvey failed to agree contract renewal terms with Kilkenny and Johnson, both of whom departed on Bosman frees while Schmeichel was sold to Championship rivals Leicester City for £1,500,000. Their replacements: Michael Brown (35), on a free; and Andy Lonnergan (28) for an undisclosed sum believed to have been £300,000. The other midfield vacancy was taken up by Adam Clayton (now 23), an undisclosed fee signing from the previous season.
2. On Grayson having power to decide who he wants to buy:
It is true that managers generally have power to decide who they want to buy but that’s where it ends. The actual negotiations and purchase is the province of the CEO and the Technical Director, in this case Shaun Harvey and Gwyn Williams. The relevant question is, how often have Harvey and Williams delivered to Grayson, his first choice players? What is the input of Williams in the process? As TD, Williams is also involved in scouting and identifying players. Williams is said to be a disciple of Charles Hughes, the arch-purveyor of the long ball (aka kick and rush) game, which Grayson hardly espouses. So right there, is a disconnect between the manager and the TD.
The modern manager’s job is simply to identify the players he wants, option A, option B, option C, and so on, and as Bates succinctly put it, the important thing is quality and value for money. The CEO, Harvey, goes out and tries to get these quality players and that value for money. Time and again, Shaun Harvey has proven himself unable to bring the players Grayson wants to Leeds, as evidenced by the summertime crowing about how they refused to sign certain players and “sent greedy agents packing”. The manager has the power to decide who he wants to buy, but not the power of being able actually to buy them.
3. On Grayson complaining about working with financial constraints
This complaint appears legitimate. The disparity between net income and net spend is glaring. There are various income streams including but not limited to season ticket sales, match-day ticket sales, gameday concessions, stadium tours, conference and event hosting, executive boxes and suites, Billy’s Bar and Howard’s Restaurant, club shop sales, shirt-front advertising, pitch side advertising, television revenue, stand sponsorship, the Leeds United MasterCard, etc. Altogether, these revenue streams produce income in excess of £27,000,000 per annum, but for the purpose of this specific complaint, let’s limit ourselves to income from player sales during the period of Grayson’s managership.
Income from player sales:
*£6,000,000 from Aston Villa for Fabian Delph
£5,000,000 from Chelsea for Tom Taiwo and Michael Woods
£2,000,000 from Norwich City for Jonathan Howson
£1,000,000 from Tottenham Hotspur for Danny Rose
£800,000 from Manchester City for Louis Hutton and George Swann
**£600,000 from Everton for Luke Garbutt
£250,000 from Bolton Wanderers for Danny Ward
£1,750,000 from St. Etienne for Max Gradel
£1,500,000 from Leicester City for Kasper Schmeichel
£30,000 from Doncaster Rovers for Tomi Ameobi
£160,000 from Crewe Alexandria for Anthony Elding
Disclosed Total Net Income: £20,900,000
Additionally, United are expected to receive £500,000 in compensation from Atletico Madrid for teenage prospect Elliott Kebbie. This would bring actual and expected income to United during Grayson’s term to £21,400,000.
Some sales such as that of Neill Collins to Sheffield United have been for undisclosed sums. Not included in this figure, are contingency payments from Sheffield United for the sales of Matthew Kilgallon, Rob Hulse and Ian Bennett.
Total disclosed and estimated expenditure by Shaun Harvey purchasing players for Simon Grayson during same period:
Max Gradel for £100,000 from Leicester City
Leigh Bromby for £250,000 from Sheffield United
Neill Collins for £500,000 from Preston North End
Ross McCormack for £300,000 from Cardiff City
Alex Bruce for £300,000 from Ipswich Town
Andy Lonergan for £300,000 from Preston North End
Danny Pugh for £500,000 from Stoke City
Disclosed Total Gross Spend: £2,250,000
The rest: Undisclosed.
If that isn’t operating with financial constraints, I don’t know what is …!
4. On loan players.
The complaint about too many loan players is also legitimate. Too often during the Bates-Harvey-Williams regime, there is a failure to secure the player Grayson has wanted, and with transfer windows shutting, Grayson is then compelled to turn to the emergency loan market. This is no way to build a team to challenge for promotion or, come to that, fight a relegation battle. During the season we lost our Premiership status, the side Peter Reid often turned out was loaded with loanees, the likes of Raul Bravo, Lamine Sakho, Roque Junior, Didier Domi, Salomon Olembe, Jermaine Pennant, Cyril Chapuis, and Zoumana Camara. It wasn’t unusual to see a Leeds side loaded with 5 loanees slumping to defeat. The belief is not unfounded that a loanee has no community of interest versus players who are permanently wedded to the club through long-term contracts. Plus it is rather disingenuous to make comparison between the accomplished if aging Thierry Henry and a rising, relatively anonymous youngster still learning his trade.
Upgrading My Team versus Making Improvements to a Stadium we don’t own …
There are questions as to what percentage of revenue is dedicated to player salaries and what percentage is made available for transfer fees, but the explanation regarding “Simon’s pot” is that salaries and transfer fees are part of the same account. Consequently if Simon wanted Shaun Harvey to buy him a player, a great deal depends on what is available in “Simon’s pot” to be spent on a transfer fee plus salary. But if, and this is plausible, our total turnover –regular and matchday income, income from player sales plus income from all other revenue streams—is in the region of £30,000,000, then the reported size of “Simon’s pot” from the mouth of the horse Bates himself, £9.5,000,000, is paltry as salaries for a playing squad of 28, plus transfer fees. Bates intends to sink more money into Elland Road (which we don’t own), building the stadium brick by brick each summer – executive boxes, a hotel, a museum and so on—at the expense of investing in players of genuine quality who can take Leeds United to another plain. But in following this strategy, he puts the cart before the horse because Premiership football would bring in considerably more revenue and help accelerate the completion of his harebrained ground-development schemes.
Yes, Simon Grayson is correct: throughout his years at Leeds, he did not receive the levels of support he needed, and operated within tight financial constraints, but by dint of astutely scouring the free agent markets of League One, Major League Soccer (MLS) in the US, and The Championship while blooding his talented youngsters on loan to lower league teams before integrating them into his Leeds side, he assembled a team which produced the shock result of the decade in the 2010 FA Cup 3rd round, battled Premiership heavyweights Liverpool, Tottenham and Arsenal to near-standstills in successive seasons, won promotion to the Championship and barely missed the playoffs in its first season back in that division.
Let’s address Lorimer:
1. On a team of frozen-out players
There is absolutely no club with players who are happy when they’re not playing. You would expect players to be unhappy if they’re out of the team and the squad, so this argument is kind of specious. Moreover it doesn’t require genius to justify the exclusion of Paul Rachubka. Of the rest, some will come good but others will be a bust, which isn’t unique among clubs as even the greatest managers also sign flops. Your risk of signing flops however increases exponentially when you contend with the Chief Executive’s inability to sign your option A, B and C players for you as a result of which you have to make do with what you can find in MLS (Davide Somma and Robbie Rogers), the US College circuit (Mike Grella) or a free agent market rapidly denuded of quality by clubs prepared to compensate their acquisitions better than Ken Bates’s Leeds United.
2. On Bates’ and Harvey’s investment in the squad
It is and ever shall be all about QUALITY not quantity! During our first season back in the Championship, we watched as Grayson loaded his squad up with 9 free transfers, plus 2 “undisclosed fee” signings at the back end of the transfer window when the majority of clubs had already reloaded. They included busts like Federico Bessone, Billy Paynter, Amdy Faye and Tony Warner. The impression was that these were mostly players who other ambitious clubs had passed over. Not all of these players were Championship quality or even the quality needed to achieve promotion to the Premiership but they served the need of the moment for bodies in the squad. Yes, there has been backing to bring players to Leeds, but not players of the quality Grayson would have wanted. Not his first choice players at any rate. And that is hardly his fault.
Conversely, it is difficult to fault Grayson’s spending on players during the same period: Neill Collins, Adam Clayton, Alex Bruce, Ross McCormack, and Andy O’Brien.
3. On failure to move forward
That is a sad fact. Lorimer himself knows from his experience as a United superstar that you must replace quality players with quality players – replacing Joe Jordan with John Hawley, as happened in his playing days, is like getting rid of your Mercedes for a Peugeot. Barcelona have probably settled the system over the years since they had a certain star man named Ladislao Kubala; the star man’s position has been occupied by a long line of phenomenal players: Johan Cruyff, Alan Simonsen, Diego Maradona, Michael Laudrup, Romario, Rivaldo, Ronaldinho, and now Messi. These have been complemented by accomplished midfield artists like Xavi and Iniesta today, but, before them, the likes of Bernd Schuster, Guillermo Amor, Josep Guardiola himself, Luis Enrique, Deco, Luis Figo and many others.
When you sell your better players like Gradel and Howson and fail to enable the manager to replace them with players of similar or better ability because of your penny-wise-pound-foolish policy, you cannot move forward. When you ignore the need for a center-half and a midfield enforcer because you prefer them to come for free and fit within your restrictive wage structure and thus miss the opportunity to finish within a playoff position, you cannot move forward. You cannot lay all the blame on the manager’s door. Sometimes money has to be spent.
Simon leaves Leeds United one position higher than they were in when Ken Bates took over the club 7 years ago, and with a very good record and the pride of winning promotion. His sole undoing was his inability to tighten a frail defense. But I have no doubt whatsoever that he will be a success elsewhere with a chairman who backs him properly.
Good luck to you, Simon.
*Rising to £8,000,000 million with variables
** Rising to £1,550,000 with variables, plus 20% of any sell-on fee
