Cellino To Buy Back Elland Road after Leeds Takeover

Massimo Cellino expects to complete his purchase of Leeds United next week.In an interview with The Financial Times he stated that he was confident he would be approved as a suitable owner by the Football League, despite a past conviction for false accounting. Mr Cellino blamed the “jealousy” in Italian football for the 2001 false accounting case. He was also convicted of fraud in 1996 but cleared on appeal. He said he was selling his Serie A club Cagliari because he was “tired and fed up” of Italian football and he did not have the energy to run two clubs. “It is not going to be a problem,” he said of the League test because standards in Italy were high. “I have owned a club for 22 years. I have a lot of experience.”


Cellino went on to say  he had the money necessary to buy and invest in the club and would meet the Football League on Wednesday. “On Thursday I am going to the bank and I will buy our stadium. I have the funds to buy Leeds and to run Leeds.” He pledged to return the club to the Premier League in his first full season in charge and keep it there. “A club like Leeds has big potential. I want to see Leeds United versus Manchester United like it used to be. I want to make the fans happy. I know what it means to be a fan.”

Leeds United set for bumper crowd on Saturday

Leeds United are hoping for a bumper Elland Road crowd when they face promotion rivals Norwich City on Saturday in the npower Championship.The two clubs were promoted together last May, and with the Canaries just two points above sixth-placed United, there is an opportunity for Simon Grayson’s men to climb above their visitors, who are currently third.When Norwich visited Elland Road last season, the crowd fell short of 20,000 but with home attendances averaging over 26,000 this term there should be a much bigger turnout on this occasion.United’s visit to Carrow Road in November attracted a gate of 26,315 – a record for an all-seater crowd at the ground.With his side beaten only once in their last 18 matches, Grayson is already relishing Saturday’s promotion six-pointer and says: “My main focus now is to get the players ready for the task against Norwich. It’s going to be a fantastic, hard game for us against a team we know a lot about.”The teams drew 1-1 at Carrow Road where Max Gradel gave United the lead after only 13 minutes and Leon Barnett equalised 20 minutes into the second half.

United’s youngsters take on Aston Villa in the FA Youth Cup fifth round tonight (7.00).