Rabid Leeds United fan and filmic slayer of the Germanic tribes and Marcus Aurelius, Russell Crowe, as today reaffirmed his love for all the is the Whites of Leeds United. In an interview promoting his new film, Crowe let out his emotions on being a lifelong Leeds supporter and how he is desperate to see them back in English football’s top flight. After causing a veritable conniption in the Twittersphere recently when he hinted that he might be interested in taking over the reins at Elland Road, it seems that this question just won’t go away.
Crowe has a reputation of late of turning around lumbering, sleeping giants in what he has done for rugby league side the South Sydney Rabbitohs since buying them nine years ago. Once languishing, they are now a phoenix transformed and sit proudly as World Club Champions after a whitewash of Saint Helens recently. Speaking of this, in an interview quoted in the Daily Mirror, Crowe set out his modus operandi for achieving success saying [of buying the Rabbitohs],
“Then they’d fallen in to a state of disarray and they were perennial losers. So, nine years ago, I put my cheque book where my mouth is and bought the club…Step-by-step, by changing the culture, changing the merchandise, changing the player rosta, changing the coaching staff, changing the administrative staff and changing our connection to our community – we have risen from being perennial losers to being competitive, to being dominant – and now we’re champions.” Daily Mirror Online – article by David Anderson.
Leeds have been out of the top flight in English football since their demotion from the Premier League in 2004 and have, indeed, suffered the ignominy of enforced relegation after going into administration and suffering a 15 point deduction leaving them playing in League 1.
The news that Crowe ‘might’ have an interest in purchasing Leeds United comes bundled together with previous rumours of interest from global brand ‘Red Bull’ and a fans’ initiative called ‘Together Leeds’ and sits firmly in the rumour bag until proven otherwise.
Tell you what though, dressed as the famed ‘Commander of the Northern Armies’, Russell Crowe’d give Delia Smith a run for her money in “Let’s ‘ave yer” half-time team talks.
