Post by Neko Bazu on Mar 30, 2007 13:27:33 GMT -1
www.timesonline.co.uk/tol/sport/football/championship/article1577185.ece
Oooh 'eck
Not sure we could do with things like this right now, and especially not talk of an incoming board rehiring Newell (and so presumably firing Blackwell) - can't be good for the dressing room at all. Couldn't it have waited for summer?
That said, a new board is what this club needs right now. The muppets in charge at the moment are just...
I don't even dare say it, in case I have MI5 on my tail
Mike Newell talked himself out of a job two weeks ago, but the former Luton Town manager could return to Kenilworth Road if the club changes hands, despite Kevin Blackwell’s appointment as his replacement yesterday afternoon.
Three rival bidders have expressed an interest in buying the struggling Coca-Cola Championship club in the summer, but only one believes that Blackwell, the 48-year-old former Leeds United manager, is the right man for the job.
Luton are next to bottom of the Championship, have one of the worst grounds in the second tier and are losing about £2 million a year, but that has not dampened speculation that the Bedfordshire club could soon have new owners.
Bill Tomlins, the chairman, would prefer to sell the club to an unnamed wealthy local businessman who would honour Blackwell’s new four-year contract, but a consortium led by Martin King, a former Luton director who resigned in protest at Newell’s dismissal, and a group of City investors who want to buy the club would show Blackwell the door and invite Newell to return.
Newell was dismissed after he questioned the integrity of his employers during a press conference and he has been replaced by Blackwell, who lost his job at Leeds last September for “gross misconduct on the grounds of negative comments made in the press about the club’s finances”. Newell is close to announcing that he is suing his former employers for unfair dismissal while Blackwell launched a similar action against Leeds last November.
Blackwell, who met the Luton players for the first time at training yesterday morning, has seven games to save the club from relegation back to League One after two seasons in the Championship, starting with a trip to Burnley on Saturday.
“The board have already told me nothing will change if we get relegated,” Blackwell said. “We have a long-term plan and the future of this club is very bright. It is not just about beating relegation this season although, obviously, that would be tremendous and it is something I will be doing all I can to achieve.”
Luton supporters will be impressed that Blackwell was born in the town and that he used to be a fan when he was young, but it is his reputation as a coach and his record of guiding Leeds through some of the darkest days in the club’s history that will have raised eyebrows in the Kenilworth Road boardroom.
When Blackwell took over at Elland Road in June 2004, he knew that players had to be sold and that money was tight but he stabilised the club and promotion to the Barclays Premiership appeared to be on the cards until his side lost to Watford in the play-offs final last May. He left under a cloud four months later after a poor start to this season and has turned down offers to manage Brondby, the Danish club, Swansea City and Huddersfield Town since his departure from Elland Road.
“I’ve really missed it being out of the game,” Blackwell said. “I was only in charge for seven matches at Leeds this season and had several offers elsewhere but I wanted to wait for the right offer to come along and I am convinced this is it.”
Three rival bidders have expressed an interest in buying the struggling Coca-Cola Championship club in the summer, but only one believes that Blackwell, the 48-year-old former Leeds United manager, is the right man for the job.
Luton are next to bottom of the Championship, have one of the worst grounds in the second tier and are losing about £2 million a year, but that has not dampened speculation that the Bedfordshire club could soon have new owners.
Bill Tomlins, the chairman, would prefer to sell the club to an unnamed wealthy local businessman who would honour Blackwell’s new four-year contract, but a consortium led by Martin King, a former Luton director who resigned in protest at Newell’s dismissal, and a group of City investors who want to buy the club would show Blackwell the door and invite Newell to return.
Newell was dismissed after he questioned the integrity of his employers during a press conference and he has been replaced by Blackwell, who lost his job at Leeds last September for “gross misconduct on the grounds of negative comments made in the press about the club’s finances”. Newell is close to announcing that he is suing his former employers for unfair dismissal while Blackwell launched a similar action against Leeds last November.
Blackwell, who met the Luton players for the first time at training yesterday morning, has seven games to save the club from relegation back to League One after two seasons in the Championship, starting with a trip to Burnley on Saturday.
“The board have already told me nothing will change if we get relegated,” Blackwell said. “We have a long-term plan and the future of this club is very bright. It is not just about beating relegation this season although, obviously, that would be tremendous and it is something I will be doing all I can to achieve.”
Luton supporters will be impressed that Blackwell was born in the town and that he used to be a fan when he was young, but it is his reputation as a coach and his record of guiding Leeds through some of the darkest days in the club’s history that will have raised eyebrows in the Kenilworth Road boardroom.
When Blackwell took over at Elland Road in June 2004, he knew that players had to be sold and that money was tight but he stabilised the club and promotion to the Barclays Premiership appeared to be on the cards until his side lost to Watford in the play-offs final last May. He left under a cloud four months later after a poor start to this season and has turned down offers to manage Brondby, the Danish club, Swansea City and Huddersfield Town since his departure from Elland Road.
“I’ve really missed it being out of the game,” Blackwell said. “I was only in charge for seven matches at Leeds this season and had several offers elsewhere but I wanted to wait for the right offer to come along and I am convinced this is it.”
Oooh 'eck
Not sure we could do with things like this right now, and especially not talk of an incoming board rehiring Newell (and so presumably firing Blackwell) - can't be good for the dressing room at all. Couldn't it have waited for summer?That said, a new board is what this club needs right now. The muppets in charge at the moment are just...
I don't even dare say it, in case I have MI5 on my tail
