Leeds United fans might have had a lingering hope that Massimo Cellino taking over the reins at Elland Road from failed Bahraini bank GFH Capital would be a shining light. It wasn’t; it led to many darkened corridors. Now Cellino is threatening an English comeback with Charlton firmly in his sights according to Italian site TUTTOmercatoWEB (TMW).
When the ‘King of Corn’, Massimo Cellino, took over the ownership of Leeds United from bungling bankers GFH Capital, there was fan hope. That hope rested in the fact that the Whites were being rescued from a run of ne’er-do-wells in GFH and Ken Bates. Instead, the Italian led Whites fans into what was like some Orwellian nightmare and near-future dystopia.
Fans were blocking his taxi in at Elland Road, players were having to bring their own packed lunches, players were being chased by teammates around car parks and managers were being sacked off after six games in charge.
That is, thankfully for Leeds United fans, old news and yesterday’s chip paper. However, TMW is saying that fresh chips could be unwrapped as Cellino has eyes for a return to English football. Firmly in his sights are London side Charlton Athletic.
TMW writer Marco Conterio writes that London is calling for Cellino and that “the first possibility is called Charlton Athletic.” Cellino is said to be thinking in terms of an initial first-phase purchase of an English club and the Addicks are seen as his favoured choice.
As this video shows, Charlton fans have some previous with Cellino when he confronted Addicks fans protesting against the way that Roland Duchatelet and Katrien Meire were running the club back in 2015.
YouTube: Charlton fans protest before Leeds home game – 12th December 2015
In an article written about it at the time on The72, Cellino can be heard to more than plainly tell Charlton fans what they should be doing rather than protesting. Since Duchatelet, the Addicks are still in a state of turmoil with Tahnoon Nimer and his East Street Investments vehicle not bringing the stability that fans of the London club would like.
Two other Sky Bet Championship sides, Birmingham City and Reading, are mentioned as options that Cellino is willing to explore if a potential move for Charlton does not materialise.
Tired of tilting at the windmills of Italian football, Cellino is thought ready to come back to England wit Charlton as his favoured option. The question is, are English football and Charlton ready and willing for such a return?
