Simon Jordan shares what he’s heard behind the scenes about Leeds-linked manager Patrick Vieira
Simon Jordan said he did not hear “the greatest things” about Patrick Vieira’s time at Crystal Palace following rumours he is in the frame to take over at Leeds United.
The Arsenal and France great was surprisingly dismissed by the Eagles in March and is reportedly on a shortlist of names including Scott Parker and Daniel Farke to replace Sam Allardyce, whose ill-fated four-game stint yielded no wins and resulted in relegation.
While many would feel Vieira deserves another crack at management in England, talkSPORT pundit Jordan said he was surprised to hear his name mentioned.
“A little bit [surprised].” Jordan told talkSPORT in quotes reported by Leeds Live after being asked about Vieira’s links to Leeds.
“With all due respect to Patrick I’m not sure I heard the greatest things going on behind the scenes at Palace.
“Football is like a colander all the news falls out the bottom of it so we’ll see how good his agents are. Get him in front of the American ownership and spin them a yarn.”
Vieira deserves a shot
Vieira had admittedly not won a game in 2023 when Palace wielded the axe a few months back and brought back Roy Hodgson, who oversaw a turnaround in fortunes and earned Premier League survival.
That being said, Palace were sat 12th and had faced a seriously tricky run of games at the time he was sacked.
The general consensus was that Vieira was somewhat unfortunate to be leaving Selhurst Park, and you do get the sense Palace would have survived under his tutelage in a generally poor top-flight class in 2022-23.
Leeds are a side in transition having dropped into the Championship, with a change in the boardroom the first issue to solve.
The Whites could do a lot worse than putting their faith in Vieira to lead a new project and a new era at Elland Road.
In other Leeds United news, Victor Orta wants a reunion with £30m ace at Sevilla.