Leeds United: Graham Smyth shares ‘no sense’ 49ers admission amid Paul Bell exit
Graham Smyth has had no sense that Paul Bell was removed from his position as executive director at Leeds United.
Speaking on the Yorkshire Evening Post’s Inside Elland Road podcast on Thursday (19 October, 43:28), the journalist said he believes the departure on Wednesday (18 October) was a “natural consequence” of the new owners doing a “fulsome review of the club and how it operates”.
He added that there will be changes at Elland Road over the coming years as the US firm looks to build a “Premier League-worthy” operation off the field.
“Once you own the place, then you have full license to really dig into what is in your football club, what it does, how it looks, how it functions on matchday, how it functions in every sense,” said Smyth.
“I get absolutely no sense that Paul Bell has been removed from his position, but I do get a sense that the 49ers have been looking really intently at every aspect and doing a really fulsome review of the club and how it operates.
“So I would imagine this is just a fairly natural consequence of that and the change that I think we’ll see over the next months and years. It’s going to take them time to build a Premier League-worthy operation off the field.”
Shaping the club
There are going to be changes over the next few years and that is always the case when a takeover happens, particularly at a club of Leeds’ stature.
The Whites announced that Bell has decided to “pursue new opportunities” having previously led the commercial operations for nine years at Elland Road.
It probably is a natural step that has been taken as the new owners will have been assessing over the past months where improvements could be made.
The club added in their statement that he will continue his association in West Yorkshire by acting as a consultant during a transitionary period, suggesting there is no bad blood on anyone’s part.
After the previous ownership failed to keep the Whites in the Premier League, the focus for the 49ers will be on putting the club in a better position for when they do return to the top flight again.
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