It was long mooted, argued about over on Twitter as happening/not happening/maybe happening but finally it did come to fruition and Andrea Radrizzani came in to Leeds United alongside fellow Italian Massimo Cellino as a 50% investor.
Upon arriving, the media-savvy Radrizzani made it clear that he had definite plans for the Whites in moving them forward from the club they are now into a club for the future. In his first press conference, as reported by the Yorkshire Evening Post’s (YEP’s) Phil Hay, Radrizzani stressed that his immediated aim was to bring “more stability” to the club, a club he said had gone through a series of “roller coaster experiences.”
For Radrizzani, it was all about melding the elements that are a part of Leeds United into something that, whilst being different, retains that sense of a link to tradition so that it remains recognisable to the Leeds United terrace faithful.
On the above, Radrizzani said: “I’ll bring this club (forward) gradually to be a modern structure, a modern club and be ready for when we are back in the top league.” It seems a long time since Leeds United have had the kind of stability that they are experiencing at the moment, stability that some say has led the Whites into a strong play-off position.
Since his arrival at the club, Leeds united fans have taken to @tagging him in their tweets in an attempt to elicit a response from the club’s co-owner – many of these going unanswered. One such tweet from earlier today (below) actually got a response from Radrizzani which seemed to promise two things.
it s on my agenda (as well as other top priority for the club as ER)
— Andrea Radrizzani (@andrearadri) March 27, 2017
The women’s team at Leeds United was disbanded upon Massimo Cellino’s arrival and is currently run outside the confines of the club and with no club affiliation. Yet in response to Alan’s tagging of the Leeds co-owner Radrizzani, it seems that the Italian has this firmly tucked into his in-tray and under consideration.
However, what is more interesting, if a little more cryptic, is what he places in parenthesis. Radrizzani says that he has the re-affiliation of a women’s team at Elland Road on his “agenda” and then states “as well as other top priority for the club as ER.”
Could this be Radrizzani’s way of saying that another thing on his ‘agenda’ is the repurchase of Elland Road? If this is the case, if this is what his cryptic statement meant, then he will be lauded by Whites fans as the man who returned the Church to their ownership.
