Simon Jordan sends Leeds United warning after Sam Allardyce appointment confirmed
Simon Jordan has sent Leeds United a word of warning after they confirmed the appointment of Sam Allardyce for the final four games of the season.
Allardyce has replaced Javi Gracia to become the fourth manager at Elland Road this season, and he’s been tasked with the job of keeping the team in the Premier League as they sit outside the relegation zone on goal difference alone.
But writing in his Daily Mail column (3 May) Jordan shared his thoughts on the clause that would see the former England boss earn £3m if he saves the club from the drop for just four games of work, labelling it “ludicrous”.
“Football really is the gift that keeps on giving for Sam Allardyce,” he wrote (3 May).
“Fireman Sam will ride off into the sunset in a Brink’s-Mat van with £500,000 for nothing or £3million for saving the day for Leeds.
“The fact they are prepared to pay him so much for four games can be seen two ways – money well spent or yet another example of how ludicrous and ineffective football can be given his reward for keeping them up equates to three per cent of their income from domestic broadcasting rights.
“A word of warning though: Sam’s last voyage at West Brom ended in relegation.”
Crazy money
If this doesn’t show you the desperation of Leeds right now then nothing will, because this is simply crazy money.
Allardyce has been given a near impossible task, that much is fair to say, but he’s been brought in because he and the board believe he is capable of doing it.
Being given £500,000 for four games is mental enough considering we could end up in the Championship anyway, but the promise of another £2.5m in bonuses if we stay up shows just how important survival is financially.
The fact that we know survival means we can hand him that cash and not think twice shows how important it is to Andrea Radrizzani too, who will know he has a mega-money payday coming from the 49ers too.
Allardyce will have earned every penny if he keeps us up, there’s no arguing with that. But the money in football now is just beyond mental.
In other Leeds news, Kinnear convinced one coach to join the club after a 9am call on the day of his arrival.