Scott Wootton opens up on ‘crazy’ meeting Cellino held at Leeds

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Scott Wootton has provided a further insight into what life was like at Leeds United while Massimo Cellino ran the show at Elland Road, telling Optus Sport about an incredible meeting one summer while the club were without a manager.

It is remarkable to look back at the state Leeds seemed to be in around the time Cellino took over from GFH Capital, and then again, when Andrea Radrizzani came in a few years later.

In fact, it is almost baffling that Leeds were able to remain in the Championship throughout that period. There were few moments when the Whites flirted with promotion. Instead, they spent the large majority of their time languishing in the bottom-half of the table.

It was clear from the outside that things were not normal at Elland Road while the Italian was there. There were seven different managers in his time in Yorkshire. And there were a raft of awful signings.

The fans do not remember Wootton particularly fondly. The defender did not have a great spell, despite making 74 appearances for the club in all competitions.

‘Telling us what formation we were going to play’

It is difficult to be too critical of some of the players from that time however. Wootton confirmed that Cellino decided that the training ground would stop serving food.

And he went on to reveal that there was one bizarre meeting Cellino called where he detailed the plans for the season ahead. But, as Wootton explains, there was one incredibly important figure missing.

“We had to go back for a meeting halfway through the summer, so lads are cancelling their holidays, changing flights – we only got about a week’s notice,” he told Optus Sport.

“We didn’t have a manager at the time, but we had to go and have a meeting with him. We had to just hand him a piece of paper with our name and weight on it and he had all the wages of everybody and everyone’s contract and you got given your name tag.

“We didn’t have a manager and he was drawing down on a piece of paper telling us what formation we were going to play. How can the owner be picking the formation in the offseason when we don’t even have a manager? It was a bit crazy.”

Memories of Cellino tenure may help Leeds fans reflect on current regime more positively

Current owner Radrizzani has come in for some criticism during his time. There have been some real own goals from him. The decision to sack Marcelo Bielsa in the last few days has also angered many.

However, Wootton’s story highlights how different everything is now. Leeds are now a Premier League club with the potential to have some really exciting times ahead.

Radrizzani certainly does not get everything right in the fans’ eyes. But the days of GFH and Cellino are long gone now. So the Italian still deserves enormous credit.