Leeds United CEO on Victor Orta crowd surfing, Fulham clappers, government hope and ultracrepidarian pundits

The YEP exclusively carries Leeds United chief executive Angus Kinnear's weekly programme notes.
HANGOVER FREE: Leeds United chief Angus Kinnear lamented the lack of promotion hangover on Sunday morningHANGOVER FREE: Leeds United chief Angus Kinnear lamented the lack of promotion hangover on Sunday morning
HANGOVER FREE: Leeds United chief Angus Kinnear lamented the lack of promotion hangover on Sunday morning

Sunday morning was unusual in that, like many Leeds United supporters, I woke up disappointed not to have a hangover.

The day before should have been our final home game against Charlton Athletic and I know many of us had dared to dream as to the scenes that we could have enjoyed had we clinched promotion.

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However, despite us all missing the opportunity to see Victor Orta crowd surf down the Cheese Wedge, we should remain confident that Marcelo Bielsa and the squad remain resolute in their focus and ambition to achieve our ultimate objective.

We are hopeful that as the government announce their plan to relax the lockdown and restart our economy we will be able to agree a league-wide protocol to return to training and set a firm date to return to play.

With no matches to report on, the football media has nothing to cover other than speculation as to if, and when, competitive matches can resume.

The true picture has become increasingly clouded by a combination of ultracrepidarian football pundits with homespun epidemiological theories and clubs whose objections to the practicalities of a return to play are closely correlated to the jeopardy of their current league positions.

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Questions have rightly been raised around how the return to play might impact the integrity of the competition and I believe all parties will need to be more accepting that the new normal will require comprises.

Playing without crowds, at neutral venues or against opponents that field stronger teams by including players who have used the enforced break to recover from long-term injuries are all likely to be part of the ‘new normal’.

But these are the type of concessions that we are likely to have to make for the greater good of getting our national game back on its feet.

Our mid-season defeat at Craven Cottage was played against the acoustic backdrop of the cacophony of a handful of paper clappers and we will just have to accept that this is not an annoyance that we will be able to recreate for the return fixture at a locked-down Elland Road.

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The Crystal Palace owner, Steve Parish, has been one of the most positive and objective voices within the game.

He rightly asserted that caring about the terrible situation around us and caring about our clubs and industry are not mutually exclusive.

He also judges that, whilst the current proposals to protect players are not without their challenges, they would still render Premier League Football one of the safest places in society to co-exist and certainly safer than all of our weekly journey’s to the supermarket.

Earlier this week, EFL chairman, Rick Parry spoke to the Department of Digital Culture, Media and Sport committee on the plans for football to return, and confidently reasserted both the EFL and Premier Leagues position that relegation and promotion was the shared expectation however the leagues are destined to be finished.

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We believe that this principle is immutable and have confidence in both leagues and the FA governance to uphold its integrity.

Finally, I would like to thank all the fans who have used their hour’s daily exercise to come and leave tributes for Norman Hunter and Trevor Cherry at Billy’s Statue and particular thanks to the supporters who have dedicated their time to clean the individual stones within Bremner Square.

At a time when Elland Road is at risk of feeling soulless it great that supporters are still taking pride in our home.

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