Former Leeds United Immortal Must Be Turning In His Grave

So it's 25 years since Don Revie's death and 37 years since he walked out on England, selling his soul to the oil rich United Arab Emirates and his story to the Daily Mail. Its also 34 years since he took control of footballing giants Al Nasr and exactly thirty years since accepting the position as manager of Al-Ahly - not quite Real Madrid or Barcelona, or Manchester United or even West Ham United for that matter, but outside of Leeds, Revie was, of course, as welcome as a dose of syphilis in European football after he had betrayed his own nation and its football fans.

But even Revie, a man without a conscience if ever there was one, would be appalled by the on-going chaos at Leeds Disunited. Next season will see the once mighty Whites rubbing shoulders with Rotherham, Bournemouth, Brentford and Wigan (who were a non League club when Leeds were winning titles). The club doesn't own its own ground and, if Cellino has his way, will soon be training in the local park, using jumpers as goal posts no doubt.

Of course the Heads Up Their Arses brigade still talk as if the Leeds Disunited of 2014 is the same club as the Leeds United of the Revie era, but that's as daft as thinking that Chelsea under Abramovich are the same as Sexton's heroes who dumped Revie's boys on their arses in that epic FA Cup Final replay, or that Unreal City are the same Manchester City that pipped Manchester United, Liverpool & Leeds to the title in 1968. The game moves on.

But sadly, the new Leeds, formed after administration, are stuck in Groundhog Day, unable to break free of the chains of debt tying the club to the second tier of English Football. GFH Capital thought they could turn a fast buck when Master Bates wanted out, but the Arab Bank Built on Sand quickly became the Arab Bank Sunk in Quicksand. Now Cellino has arrived and has been shocked by the way the club is haemorrhaging money. Forget team building, Cellino is desperately trying to tie a tourniquet in the hope of stopping the sick parrot nailed to its Championship perch from pushing up the daisies on the disused Thorp Arch training ground!

So 25 years after the Don's death, and with a  real  Sardinian Don now owning the club, Leeds and Revie are as close to being reunited as at any time since the man who betrayed his own country walked out on the club that he fleetingly made great. Because if the Cellino era ends in abject failure, God knows where the club will turn to next. You can't fool all of the people all of the time.

Still, spare a thought for the fans of Al Nasr and Al-Ahly today, 25 years after the Don's death they must be feeling the hurt!