CRAIG HOPE: Sam Allardyce might have precipitated Leeds’ troubles – accusing the players of ‘professional suicide’ on his way out – but Victor Orta must also be given scorn for the club’s sad relegation
- Leeds were relegated in appalling conditions despite Sam Allardyce’s spell
- Allardyce needed six points from four games, but took only one in that time
- Former sporting director Victor Orta must also be confronted with contempt for his role at the club
He was the firefighter who came to the scene with a jerry can full of petrol. Perhaps Sam Allardyce is more accelerator than savior now.
In sifting through the ashes of Leeds United’s relegation, there are others who deserve far greater disdain. Sporting director Victor Orta was given too much power for too long.
But Allardyce needed six points from four games to hold them, and he took just one. He has won four of his last 34 games as Premier League manager.
Did he walk into the impossible job? Damn hard, but not impossible. Not when they should have beaten a Newcastle below their best on a day when Elland Road turned their fury into furious support. Not when, with their fate still at their feet, they came to play a West Ham, distracted by Europe and defended as if their own minds were elsewhere. And not when the last game brought the promise of Tottenham, a team that last won in January.
By then, however, Leeds were all but done. Confirmation came after 90 seconds when Harry Kane scored for Spurs. So much for Big Sam’s teams keeping it tight. Here he chose a side with six defenders and none of them came close to England’s best striker.
Sam Allardyce was given the difficult task of keeping Leeds United safe, and failed
Victor Orta (C) must take the blame for the fate of Leeds, as a former director of football
Perhaps it was that the players Allardyce inherited were broken beyond repair. But at the end of his short tenure, Leeds was getting worse, not better.
Elland Road was mean on Sunday, but those worthy of the biggest batter weren’t there. Orta, sources at some of his former clubs will tell you, is a myth. He spent a lot of money trying to weaken Leeds, and owner Andrea Radrizzani should have sacked him much earlier than the beginning of this month.
Take the signing of striker Georginio Rutter in January, a club record £36 million. At West Ham, a game in which Patrick Bamford was injured after half an hour and Rodrigo hobbled around in the second half, Rutter was left on the bench, limited to handing tape to those who would fill in.
On Sunday, a supporter threw the 21-year-old’s shirt back at him after full-time. That was impossible, because it was soaked with sweat. Rutter’s season ended with zero goals from one start and 10 sub appearances.
But just about every acquisition has failed to improve Leeds. Orta replaced Kalvin Phillips and Raphinha with Marc Roca and Brenden Aaronson last summer. The former plays a lot but rarely plays well, while the latter has not scored a goal since August.
Club record signing Georginio Rutter scored no goals and was not well liked by the fans
Allardyce struck after Leeds’ 4-1 defeat, accusing the players of ‘professional suicide’
Orta insisted that they also stay with Jesse Marsch, an extremely likeable man, just not a very good manager. Then came Javi Gracia, another charming fellow. His team was charmless. And so, with a final roll of the dice, they went for Allardyce.
To travel from Marcelo Bielsa to Allardyce in just 14 months felt like trading your librarian wife for Bet Gilroy. It wasn’t just recruiting on the field that Leeds got it all wrong.
Fireman Sam used Sunday’s 4-1 defeat to empty that jerry can, accusing the players of ‘professional suicide’. He said, “We messed up again. We gave them goals with huge, unforced errors. That probably says it all for Leeds this season. I wanted to go out today with a sense of pride, but unfortunately I didn’t see that.’
No pride. No idea. That pretty much sums up Leeds United’s season, and most of those involved.