Festa, Carbone, Zola & Di Canio - The Leeds United Short List!

So it looks like four Italians are in the running to replace Nice Guy Brian. All four, like Mussolini, will be expected to get the Leeds United Feel Good Factor Sleeper Express to the Premiership, Europe, Infinity and Beyond to run on time, but do any have the credentials for success?

Well Uncle Festa knows the club and seems to have been the nominated man when Cellino first arrived. But since then, he has faded into the background with Carbone coming more to the fore. Festa has, of course, next to no management experience and no track record in the British game apart from 136 games for the Smoggies - hardly a great reference - and a further 27 starts for Pompey. Why is he amongst the favourites? Because he is a mate of Cellino's, and Sicilians like to keep it in the family. A strong candidate for appointment certainly, but utterly unqualified for the job.

So to Benito Carbone. Well he has the right first name, is Italian, is a mate of Cellino and is already at the club, so he has to be worth 50 lira of anybody's money! Like Uncle Festa, Carbone has played but never managed in England and, like Festa, his management CV is far from extensive, with appointments limited to lower division teams in Italy. He already has one sacking on his CV and does not have any of the right credentials for such a challenging job. But Cellino likes him so, even though he is a favourite amongst Sheffield Wednesday and Bradford City fans, Carbone must be considered a strong contender to be appointed.

But if Cellino wants to look further afield, there are two other Italians waiting in the wings, both with experience of playing and managing in England.

Zola would be a popular choice because Zola is, well, lovable. As a manager he is pretty crap, of course, but why should that stand in the way of his appointment. He has managed in the Prem, turning Curbishley's mid table West Ham team into a rag bag relegation fighting mess in less than two seasons. And he has also managed in the Championship, taking Udinese Calcio to the brink of the Prem in his first season in charge before the ruote came off big time in his second season at the helm. It seems that, like Nice Guy Brian, Zola is good when the Feel Good Factor is high, but when things start to go wrong, he is utterly clueless. On that basis, he is the very worst man to take over at Leeds Disunited but he is Italian and is desperate for a job, so he can't be ruled out!

Which brings us to Il Duce Di Canio. Now here is a man made for Leeds - he would love to manage a team known as the Whites! And with his fascist salutes, he would have instant appeal for the "force" - as McDermott termed Leeds fans, or the "vile animals" if you prefer Dave Jones' description! Of course, his track record is less than perfect. Yes he guided Swindon to promotion and kept Sunderland up in his first season in charge, but his insane antics made his continued employment impossible. A Brian Clough with knobs on, the unstable Di Canio would be a marvellous appointment for Dirty Dirty Leeds. He's Italian, he's unemployed, he's passionate - so who knows? He would be the perfect last nail in the Leeds Disunited coffin!

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