The Diary

11 November 2003: Bye-Bye Reidy, Bye-Bye Megson?

Here I am again, two days after the ?Hammers Horror ? (for them, that was, not us!), and penning what will probably be my last column for a few days. Unless things happen on the ?Megson For Leeds? front, of course, but of that, more later. This morning I spent in ?delivery-mode?, dropping off fanzines direct to Steino?s market stall in West Bromwich. A very genial man is Mine Host of that sports goods and Albion-related clobber emporium, and when I showed up bearing gifts of Dicks in quantity I was greeted with an ear-splitting grin from the mouth of the lad himself. Oh, and a strictly-tongue-in-cheek admonishment from him for not letting him have his fanzine supplies first thing last Saturday ? the cheeky little money reckoned he?d had complaints from Baggie punters concerning the absence of the latest issue of our tumescent organ from his counter. ?A bit difficult, that one,? I chuckled, ?While you were opening your flaming stall, we were bombing along the southbound carriageway of the M6, and heading for the Smoke at a bloody rate of knots. If you?d wanted ?em that desperately, why didn?t you follow Sauce?s coach in your wagon, and catch up with us on the services, or something??

All that, plus an impassioned request for a blow-by-blow account of what happened on Saturday! Difficult, that one, because even though I was there and saw what happened with my own two (bespectacled) eyes, I?m still having great difficulty coming to terms with the enormity of what I?d seen! Even now, it all seems like a dream. Anyway, a few more exchanges of pleasantries later, I finally wrenched myself away from the borough?s answer to Arthur Daley, and a few more quid in Dick takings to the good. That only left Cradley Market to sort out stockist-wise, which we did tonight courtesy of 'Im Indoors?s mum?s beloved, but not before we?d gone to a local Chinese buffet and scoffed ourselves silly. In fact, it?s fair to say that this column is coming to you tonight courtesy of a well-satisfied ?burp? or three, so if a quantity of gas bubbles appear on your screen while you?re reading this, blame me. Most people do anyway, irrespective of the gaseous content of what I?ve eaten recently.

Back to Albion-related matters, then. We had to wait until this afternoon for confirmation of the worst-kept secret in football, but by then, we?d all pretty-much anticipated the club?s announcement that Leeds had finally reacquainted Peter Reid with his P45. Speculation has been running rampant throughout the media all weekend about who would be the Chosen One, but now it?s been made official, the grinding-wheels of the old rumour-mill are now well and truly in churning-mode. As things stand, Paul Hart of Forest is the man tipped as most likely to inherit the poisoned chalice; all the Sunday publications, both broadsheet and tabloid, seemed to veer that way, but now it appears that our manager?s name has entered the frame once more. In fact, I had a mail this very afternoon from Steve Sant; he has a mate who is a bookie, and it appears that Meggo is now 2-1 favourite for the job, along with Forest?s Paul Hart.

I can?t say the news greatly surprises me; two (or was it three?) Leeds managerial sackings ago, our gaffer?s name was in lights even then as being a possibility to land the job, and, as I recall, when the news finally broke, I listed in this very same column several excellent reasons as to why it couldn?t and wouldn?t happen. Here we are again, several years down the line, and the reasons negating Megson?s appointment then doubly-apply now. Sure, Gary lives fairly locally (Sheffield), so a daily-commute to Elland Road wouldn?t be a problem, he?s accustomed to working with little or no financial resources, he?s managed in the Prem, albeit for one season with us, also part of a season with Norwich (both clubs were subsequently relegated, mind), and he has experience of turning clubs (us!) right around when in a seemingly hopeless position. That?s the evidence for the prosecution, then; what about the defence?

The overwhelming issue surrounding this whole business is the almighty financial mess that Leeds have got themselves into. ?78 million in debt, as I understand it; not exactly a sum you can find by grubbing around in the old biscuit-tin for small change, is it? With the sacking of Peter Reid, they?ll now have to find an additional ?800K to pay him off; were they to lure our manager to Elland Road, they?d then have to compensate our club in turn, and whatever he may think about Gary in private, I can?t see Jeremy Peace settling for peanuts by way of recompense. Can you?

Tie this in with the fact that next season, they will have to find a way of repaying their main creditor in full (at the moment, they?re merely paying interest on that stonking ?60 million loan), plus the distinct possibility that by then, they?ll be in our division (swopping places with us?). Chuck into the mixer the near-certainty that the loss of Premiership revenue will mean they?ll have to go into administration or worse, which incurs a possible 11-point sanction, as per recently revised Nationwide League rules, and without even trying, I?ve already lobbed in your direction a host of eminently-sensible reasons why Gary Megson would be best advised to leave Leeds United well alone. In fact, given that Peter Reid is a good mate of his, I?m in absolutely no doubt that The Sacked One has already whispered words to that effect into his shell-like lughole.

That apart, while Gary?s incumbent in the Hawthorns hot-seat, he?s well and truly there with his feet firmly established right underneath the table. My views on our manager and his motivational methods are very well-known to the readership of this column by now, but looking at the situation objectively, why on earth would he want to move now? Here he is, in charge of a side top of the Nationwide League, with the backing of a club with a financial infrastructure currently light-years in front of the Elland Road set-up. As things stand, provided we keep our heads, we have an excellent chance of regaining our Premiership status come May, and because of the depressed transfer market right now, should we wish to make forays elsewhere for new players, theoretically, we should be able to pick and choose from the bunch, and, moreover, get a bargain price for any thus acquired.

That?s the financial pros and cons of both clubs discussed, then, but what about the playing side? At Albion, we really do have some honest, hard-grafting professionals in our ranks, all of them a credit to the club. Even Hughsie, a lad well known to enjoy both working and playing hard, seems to have veered towards the old ?pipe-and-slippers? routine, of late. Say whatever you like about Gary, but our players know precisely where they stand with him as far as discipline goes; incur his wrath for any reason, and they?re out, and very few are given second chances.

Leeds? Oh brother, do they have a problem. They still have players on their books who are costing them a fortune, and although I haven?t seen them in action much this season, it would seem to me that the attitude and workrate of some would have Megson in apoplectic fits within milliseconds of entering the dug-out. I remember seeing Peter Reid?s post-match press conference thoughts this Sunday, and they sounded despairing, almost, not like him at all. Someone in the media today described Leeds as ?another West Ham? and the similarities are certainly there. There?s also all those legal problems with players off the pitch, which are still ongoing; I can just see Megson?s face lighting up at all that lot, should he be so rash as to accept inheritance of the managerial mantle.

Having read those preceding paragraphs at your leisure, now perform an exercise, which, during my miss-spent schooldays, used to be known as ?Compare And Contrast?. In other words, look at what our manager has now, and run that alongside what Leeds might have to offer in the way of career-advancement for any new incumbent, then weigh one off against the other. As I see it, it?s what our American cousins might call a ?no-brainer?. If Megson did go there, as my old mum would have said, he?d want his bloody head looking. No, like it or not, we?re stuck with him. My money?s still on Hart, for the simple reason that although he lacks experience in the top-flight, he?s managed to get Forest playing superb football on little or nothing by way of resources, and as they?re currently going backwards, he might well feel he?s taken them as far as he can on what he?s had to work with.

There?s also the consideration that Leeds, lacking sufficient ackers to buy themselves out of a mess, might well want to go down the road of ?growing their own? instead, and the current Forest gaffer has an excellent track-record in that respect. Sure, the compensation considerations I mentioned previously would still apply, but there is a strong Leeds connection there, and the Yorkshire club might well feel constrained to go with what they already know. Either that, or resort to possibilities that don?t have that awful millstone of compensation hanging around their necks. Bryan Robson? Surely they can?t be that desperate?

And that?s it for tonight. I?ll be back on Thursday night with some gleanings from the next stop on the Jeremy Peace Roadshow?. Unless, as I said, Megson does do a ?runner? to Leeds, in which case, I?ll be in full production mode once more. One way or another, until then, tara.

And finally?.. I make no apologies for returning to last Saturday?s triumph once more; because this column?s mission-statement is to milk it for all it?s worth, here?s a further offering from my old friend Anc. Apparently, he and his mate Hi-Tech decided to park their car on the outskirts of the capital, and make their way to Upton Park by Tube. The journey involved a couple of changes of train, but as they finally neared their destination, a sprinkling of claret-and-blue attired locals gradually began to accrete in their carriage. Being of a convivial nature, both our heroes struck up conversation with some of them, but not being sure of what they were dealing with at first, kept the Albion connection firmly under wraps. Not for long though; when one of them quite innocently asked Anc, ?Where are you going, mate?? although somewhat impulsive, his reply ? ?The Premiership!? - was whiz-bang instantaneous!

 - Glynis Wright

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