Man Utd legend criticises ‘naive’ Leeds United owners as defender ‘ruled out’ for weeks

Leeds United find themselves in the Premier League’s relegation zone after their disappointing defeat to Everton at the weekend. The clash at Goodison Park was a six-pointer but Seamus Coleman’s second half goal proved to be the nail in the coffin for the Whites.

Leeds United have a number of important matches coming up including fixtures againts Southampton and Wolves, which they must win if they are to avoid the drop this season. However, they remain without a manager and will be hoping they can bring someone in over the next couple of weeks.

Here is the latest news from Elland Road...

Gary Neville on Leeds Utd’s manager search

Gary Neville has suggested that Leeds United have been naive and potentially arrogant in their search for a new manager. It has been two weeks since the club sacked Jesse Marsch following their loss againt Nottingham Forest.

It was expected, like after Marcelo Bielsa’s dismissal, that a replacement would be brought straight in. However, the Whites don’t look much closer to finding an appointment and have already been turned down by a number of potential managers. Michael Skubala has remained in interim charge for games against Manchester United and Everton but has only helped the team pick up one point.

When speaking on The Gary Neville Podcast, Neville was asked his thoughts on the current situation at Elland Road and criticised the board for their lack of preparation for life after Marsch. The former Man United defender said: “Sometimes, it can be poor planning, it can sometimes be a little bit of arrogance. Both, probably, that you think you can sack your manager and ‘don’t worry, we’ll get one of the ones that we want’. And all of a sudden, they all turn you down or they all aren’t available. That can happen. And that’s usually naivety that causes that, where you sort of get above your station and think you can just bring anybody in you want. No. It will be a worry for Leeds.

“You think about yesterday, it was such a big game for them. From Leeds’ point of view, you have to say, you have to look above the players and you have to look above the interim manager and say that it isn’t looking particularly great on their part at this moment in time in terms of how they’ve dealt with the sacking of a manager. You need a seamless transition to settle a changing room down, settle the fanbase down, and I suppose, keep us off your back as well.”

Marsch’s sacking came just days after the January transfer window closed after a month of impressive backing for the 49-year-old. During his stint at the club he had already welcomed fellow Americans Tyler Adams and Brenden Aaronson and had now pulled off a huge coup in bringing Weston McKennie to the top flight.

Max Wober injury latest

Leeds United were handed a huge blow at the weekend when Max Wober was forced off after suffering a dislocated shoulder against Everton. The centre-back was replaced by Rasmus Kristensen with the Toffees yet to open the scoring.

Wober now looks set for a spell on the sidelines, with The Mirror reporting that the 25-year-old could be out of action for two to three weeks. That would see him miss out on clashes against Southampton and the FA Cup clash with Fulham, while he could also potentially be unavailable for a trip to Chelea and a home fixture against Brighton.

The club are yet to confirm how long Wober will be out for. Following the defeat to Everton, Skubala said: Yeah, we lost Max at half-time to his shoulder. He carried on but he’s really hurting. I think he popped his shoulder out which was a big move for us because we lost our left foot on that side.”

Wober has been an ever-present figure in Leeds United’s team since joining from RB Leipzig and has been one of their better players in a difficult start to 2023. Liam Cooper could now come in for the injured Swiss and partner up alongside Robin Koch after making only three appearances since the turn of the year.