FA Cup: What Peterborough United owner said about Leeds United, 49ers, Orta, Spygate and promotion

Sunday's draw came as no real shock to Leeds supporters, given the sheer length of their run of away fixtures in the knockout competition. Peterborough United, away, in January will be the 13th consecutive away draw, a statistical improbability and an FA Cup record. As draws go, it could easily have been worse and at the very least it represents greater interest for supporters than a trip to a Premier League or Championship side. Leeds and Posh have met just 10 times previously in their history and the last one came more than 10 years ago. And then there's the chairman.

Darragh MacAnthony took over Peterborough in 2006 at the age of 29, becoming the EFL's youngest chairman and since then has built a reputation as one of the English game's most outspoken owners. His podcast, The Hard Truth, has been somewhat of a dream for headline writers, and because he is not usually backwards in coming forwards it has been no surprise to see him become a regular guest on talkSPORT.

But MacAnthony's use of social media is what first brought him to the attention of Leeds fans, with whom he has had numerous interactions on the platform formerly known as Twitter. When asked for an opinion, he would give it, warts and all. Sometimes it met with unanimous Elland Road approval.

On Spygate, he Tweeted: "Storm in a teacup which will blow over. But obviously don’t agree with any spying etc and I’m sure it won’t be repeated. And watching game last night, not sure Leeds need it. They will be 100% promoted imo [in my opinion]. Love that Clarke kid, Liverpool should be buying him & loaning back wow."

On Marcelo Bielsa's decision to gift Aston Villa a goal, a decision that earned him a FIFA Fair Play award, MacAnthony said: "Didn't see the game but loved the Leeds manager's class allowing that goal. Proper manager. Not enough of them in our leagues. Daft from Bamford who could miss the plays-offs from that play acting. Play-offs will be fun."

The play-offs, of course, were not fun, not for Leeds United but MacAnthony was back with an even more on-the-nose prediction in January 2020. "All day long, said to my barber this morning (big Leeds fan) that it's finally time. Put money on them winning the league and top 12 next season in prem [Premier League] imo [in my opinion]," he Tweeted, correctly forecasting Bielsa's Leeds lifting the Championship title and going on to finish in the top half of the Premier League.

There have been Leeds related transfer insights, too. MacAnthony revealed that his director of football, Barry Fry, had been in talks with Leeds' former director of football Victor Orta over a pair of players in the summer of 2018: "Baz spoke to Victor last summer re MM [Marcus Maddison] and JM [Jack Marriott] but was intimated Leeds going down different route in those positions. Convo [sic] happened when negotiations ongoing over Loan player we took on great terms from Leeds. Good to do business with to be fair. Victor a good guy."

Speaking on talkSPORT earlier this year, MacAnthony did not appear to still be so struck on Orta but he offered a balanced view on Andrea Radrizzani in the wake of the Elland Road loan collateral saga and in the Italian's acrimonious final days in charge of Leeds. He said: "This guy came in and got them promoted. Peterborough United beat them at our place in League One. We got promoted to the Championship over Leeds. That was the history of Leeds under my ownership of Peterborough. This guy came in and shifted the needle. Yes, they got relegated because they signed half the US Men's National Team who weren't very good, and the director of football who was there prior, if he was made of chocolate he'd eat himself, lots of things have probably happened that Andrea would regret but I don't think he's the worst owner out there. I've seen some horrible owners."

MacAnthony was not so kind on his own podcast when it came to the summer exodus Leeds were faced with, thanks to relegation release clauses in the contracts of numerous players: "Whoever put a [bleep] loan clause in for relegation needs to be lined up, shot, and never allowed to work in football again. I don’t know who did those deals – the guy that was there before? I’m sure it’s not the current ownership [49ers Enterprises].

"The idea that…yes, [I understand] a relegation [transfer] clause, you sign a premium young player from Europe, their agent is going to go ‘well Leeds are going to go down, if Leeds go down, £25m’, so [Leeds] get their money back and a profit. But to allow a clause that states that said player can go out on loan if his wages are paid for the season, where you get none of your fee back…the player can go on loan, have a [bleep] season wherever they go on loan and then completely lose their value – and worse than that, your team is weakened. Sell clause, fine for relegation, but a loan close…[bleep] move on to another player. So that was just bad business from the previous hierarchy, allowing that to happen, and I feel for the Leeds fans.

“I feel sorry for the people that have now taken over fully that that’s happened, and I feel sorry for the manager, because they’ve lost some [bleep] key players, they’re going to continue to lose players – they lost Harrison last week, one of the strikers doesn’t want to play – and the worst part is they haven’t really done any business."

Leeds, of course, did go on to do business in the transfer market before the deadline and how that will ultimately work out remains to be seen but even prior to the signings of Ethan Ampadu, Joel Piroe, Joe Rodon et al, Peterborough's owner expressed a view that Leeds fans hope will become just as prescient as his last promotion prediction. “Leeds will be a force," he said on talkSPORT. "If the fans are listening, don’t panic. You will be back in the Premier League, and once you get back again within the next 24 months, you won’t leave it.”