I believe Cellino has been under scrutiny from the FL to demonstrate that he is not exerting an influence at ER and this has led to him divesting his 'personal' shares to Eleonora in an attempt to persuade the FL that he is not involved with things.
With his sons as directors, his business associates as directors and a company of which he is the director owning Leeds, its very hard to build a case saying he's not exerting an influence and if he is found to have been doing so then it's a further case for FL to throw at him along with the existing misconduct one.
He repeatedly says if he's not wanted or found guilty he will walk away, or not appeal, but he keeps doing exactly the opposite and this is costing Leeds huge amounts in legal fees. It's already been stated that legal fees are costing more than transfers. One can only hope that Leeds are not funding his latest challenge.
I believe he is now going down this route as he realises that the FL have set a precedent with disqualifying him via the fit and proper test and he has a number of further cases to be heard which could well prevent him ever really having the chance to officially run Leeds.
He is going down the FA rule 4 route to try to undo this precedent. However that takes a long time to process and this will just get messier and messier.
My fear is that players like Cook, who are stalling on signing contracts until they see the situation resolved will be up for sale or wish to leave in the summer.
There is also potential for GFH to resume control if Cellino does not adhere to the SPA, remember GFH refused to invest their money until Cellino's situation is resolved.
Meanwhile arrest warrants have been issued against GFH executives by Haigh and the whole ownership thing is becoming a huge distraction for the club as well as a huge cost.
Neil Redfearn was doing a good job at getting results despite this backdrop and a bunch of loanees that Pope and Hay see in dev matches and say just aren't up to the task.
Mission priority is to retain Championship status this season, its been made easier by last month of matches but still some work to do there, and also make sure this off the field circus stops otherwise good players will want to move on and any decent targets just won't see us as an attractive destination.
Got to see this sorted by the summer.
The future
posted on 27/2/15
comment by Jonty (U4614)
posted 14 minutes ago
Are they wrong if they say he's lying?
Are they wrong if they say this isn't what Cook thinks?
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I don't know. How can I?
If they think he's lying its up to them...I don't know 100% that Phil Hay is telling the truth even though I believe him.
And even though people believe that is what Cook thinks, If others don't believe it, who the feck am I to tell them they are wrong?
Cook isn't directly (from his own mouth) quoted as saying this is what he is doing, his agent or a source at the club has passed this information on to a journalist who reported it.
I believe it, you believe it...that doesn't make us right.
It is not inconceivable that the agent of a promising young England under 18 international, European Champion and Championship regular would start a rumour in order to make people more aware of his client...it happens all the time.
People have the right to believe & interpret things however they want without being made to look & feel like they are an idiot.
When other people from the club make statements, some people refuse to believe what they are saying and others like to believe every word...that's how the world works.
posted on 27/2/15
"He’s unlikely to commit until Massimo Cellino completes his sabbatical from Elland Road"
As you say Jud, it's down to interpretations
at the moment. Not hard facts. Or words directly from the mouth of Cook.
The above quote, to me suggests Cook's people only want to talk to Cellino re contracts. Why? Because he's the top dog and ultimately makes the decisions. Makes sense. It almost reads "when Massimo gets back off his hols, we'll roll up our sleeves and get this done."
It does not say "we're waiting for the turnoil at the club to end before contract talks begin."
Not suggesting that things aren't iffy re Cook. There could well be other quotes out there. But the above quote is open to interpretation.
posted on 27/2/15
Read again Jonty.
posted on 27/2/15
Jud, Hay isn't stupid, he doesn't make stuff up, he's put, as diplomatically as he can what he has found out.
Unfortunately, rather than hear what's out there, some people shut their ears to it because they think all is rosy at the club.
posted on 27/2/15
comment by Jonty (U4614)
posted 1 minute ago
Jud, Hay isn't stupid, he doesn't make stuff up, he's put, as diplomatically as he can what he has found out.
Unfortunately, rather than hear what's out there, some people shut their ears to it because they think all is rosy at the club.
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I'm just looking at it from both angles mate.
Personally I think the truth is somewhere between Cook being worried about the ownership & wanting his new contract offer improved.
Do you think there has been any instances, where a football agent has purposely spoken to the media in order to get their players name in the minds of other clubs chairmen/managers with the sole purpose of getting their current club to improve their contract offer...or to get a better offer from elsewhere.
The answer is yes.
Is this what has happened at Leeds with Cook?
The answer is, we don't know.
I know you understand where I'm coming from, but regardless of what you say nobody on this board knows with 100% certainty what a player/owner/agent etc is thinking.
Unless Cook is actually filmed whilst being interviewed saying "I am not signing a new contract just yet because....."
Then unfortunately, no matter how hard or often you bang the drum you cannot be 100% certain....97/98% maybe....but not 100% its impossible.
posted on 27/2/15
If something is 98% possible would you argue against it unless you had some evidence to the contrary?
People want to be contrarian as they don't want to accept the issues around the club at present.
posted on 27/2/15
No not if I was 98% certain of something.
I would hazard a guess that the people you are referencing have a lower %, in which case I would.
That is what I am saying, they are interpreting that the issues around the club at present as being less than others using the information we have available....which is the Phil Hay of the YEP & Twitter.
And they are quite within their rights to do so without fear of people trying to make them look stupid just for having a differing opinion/interpretation of a situation.
posted on 27/2/15
People want to be contrarian as they don't want to accept the issues around the club at present.
..............
How do you know that there's more to Hay's quote than what Hay states? You're reading into what he said just like everyone else. Difference is, you're taking an extremely negative stance on it all. Who's being contrarian? You don't want to accept that maybe MC doesn't quite fit the picture you paint.
posted on 27/2/15
See what I mean!
posted on 27/2/15
Frankly all I see is a miserable feck.