Leeds United fans direct fury at the board amid defeat at Everton, find kindred spirits in Toffees supporters
Leeds United and Everton fans were joined in their mutual dissatisfaction with the club’s respective boards at Goodison Park, Graham Smyth reports.
After Seamus Coleman put the home side 1-0 up with what proved to be the only goal of the game in the crucial relegation six-pointer on Saturday (18 February), the Whites fans reacted by chanting for their board to be sacked, with Victor Orta and Angus Kinnear in attendance at the game.
And according to Yorkshire Evening Post journalist Smyth they were joined by Toffees supporters who are no strangers to the exact same sentiment, amid ongoing distrust of owner Farhad Moshiri and chairman Bill Kenwright.
That led to the unique situation of both sets of fans chanting for the same thing as the relegation battle took another turn.
Posting on his personal Twitter account during the game at Goodison Smyth wrote: “‘Sack the board’ coming from the away end. Sounded like home fans joined in. 1-0.”
Turmoil
The mismanagement at Everton is well-documented, but on a day where they climbed out of the relegation zone at the expense of Leeds United the spotlight now shines unforgivingly on Andrea Radrizzani and his hierarchy.
Having sacked Marcelo Bielsa a year ago as the club slid towards relegation, Jesse Marsch was brought in as the chosen one to succeed the legendary Argentine.
After almost a year in charge, and backing in the transfer market to bring in players specifically suited to his ideas, the Whites were in almost the exact same position and the American was himself fired on 6 February.
But having waited through the World Cup break and the January transfer window to remove him it has since transpired there was no succession plan in place.
That has left Michael Skubala in caretaker charge for a draw and a defeat by Manchester United, and now the thoroughly disappointing loss at Everton, as one candidate after another turned Leeds down.
The January transfer window that had injected significant positivity into the season with what appeared to be a well-calculated set of moves with the playing staff, but has been quickly been followed by a botched managerial change that has undercut anything positive from last month.
The club is now 19th in the Premier League, without a win in 10 Premier League games, and without a manager in place.
Radrizzani claimed on Twitter a new man could be appointed a day after Marsch left (7 February), and yet 11 days after that post it appears a successor is now only further away, so the handling of the situation has put the board and the club under major pressure.
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