Leeds United: Three more exits expected after Victor Orta and Javi Gracia sackings – Phil Hay
Javi Gracia’s backroom trio of Zigor Aranalde, Mikel Antia and Juan Solla are all expected to follow him and Victor Orta out of Leeds United, Phil Hay reports for The Athletic.
The five Spaniards are ultimately the ones left counting the cost of a dreadful run of form from the Whites, with Sam Allardyce to take over for the final four games of the season.
Director of football Orta’s decisions haven’t paid off over a chaotic season and the club announced his departure “by mutual consent” on Tuesday (2 May).
The managerial switch is expected a day later, with the three members of the coaching staff set to follow former Watford boss Gracia out of Elland Road.
Short and not so sweet
Perhaps turning to Big Sam in May will prove to be a masterstroke but it is difficult to see it as anything other than an act of desperation all the same.
The glorious 3-0 win over Thomas Tuchel’s Chelsea under Jesse Marsch back on 21 August feels like a lifetime ago, as the end of a campaign approaches that will see both sides finish on their fourth managers.
Since that high point there has been precious little to cheer about for Whites fans, as even the apparent boosts have turned out to be false alarms.
A pair of wins just before the World Cup break only served to keep Marsch in a job that he would lose anyway through the most sensible time to make a change, the January transfer business was quickly undermined when the American was sacked a week later, and the recent wins under Gracia gave way shockingly fast to four defeats in five while shipping 18 goals.
Leeds United therefore head into a summer clouded in uncertainty, with only last-gasp survival set to provide any clarity as the sale from Andrea Radrizzani to 49ers Enterprises will likely go ahead.
A return to the Championship will throw that deal into the air, while Allardyce is sure to not stick around, and Orta needs replacing anyway and numerous players would move on.
If the Chelsea win seems a long time ago the Marcelo Bielsa era, which only came to an end barely 14 months ago, feels all the further away now.
