Massimo Cellino has seemingly calmed down and decided to continue with David Hockaday for the time being.


Leeds United’s owner admitted he was planning to sack Hockaday, but has changed his mind following a meeting with Hockaday.


“Maybe he’s not a good coach but I can’t say yet” added Cellino, saying he’ll decided Hockaday’s future once the squad is complete.

Original article. 

David ‘Pressure’ Hockaday’s spell as Leeds United boss is to be brought to an end by Massimo Cellino following another humiliating display away to Watford.

The Leeds United owner is said to be furious with a 4-1 defeat at Vicarage Road yesterday and only a shortage of staff able to step-up and take control of the first team is delaying what now appears to be inevitable.

Hockaday has managed just 1 win from Leeds’ four Championship fixtures so far, a somewhat fortuitous victory against Middlesbrough who fell to pieces following a harshly disallowed goal.

It was always going to be a difficult task for David Hockaday and most fans will agree that any blame falls on Massimo Cellino for the poor judgment he demonstrated in appointing a failed Conference manager to lead Leeds United.

While some still argue that his coaching experience at Championship level made him a suitable candidate, coaches operate in the background largely free from the pressure and scrutiny the man occupying the top spot is subjected to.

Elland Road isn’t the place to experiment with unknowns, the pressure and expectations here are unlike most other clubs and the man at the top needs to be able to manage that. That doesn’t necessarily rule out an inexperienced manager, but they have to be something special and a man who failed at the lowest professional level of English football wasn’t ticking many boxes.

It’s fair to say the fans never had much faith in Hockaday and that hasn’t made his life easier, but that’s something Massimo Cellino has to consider before making an appointment. Leeds United fans demand success and when you give them someone they believe is reducing that chance, a frosty reaction is to be expected.

There are other factors to consider in Leeds United’s poor start to the season of course, not least of which is the club’s failure to get players signed in time for pre-season to be more effective. But eleven players have now been added to a core of the same squad which was performing reasonably well before the chaos took hold midway through last season, and while this Leeds United side remain nowhere near good enough to win the league, the dreadful start and poor performances we’ve witnessed suggest no signs of improvement.

With the Hock experiment now coming to an end, attention turns to his replacement who’ll hopefully be someone the fans, media and players believe can take the club forward because getting everyone on the same page has always been half the battle at Elland Road. Leeds United isn’t a small town club in Italy, it’s an enormous club from England’s third largest city with a fanbase stretching to all corners of the world. This isn’t the place for bizarre experiments.

Is Cellino right to fire Hockaday?

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