The boardroom relations between Leeds United and Swansea will be “lively” for the Championship clash between the two clubs later this month, according to Henry Winter.
The Times’ football correspondent was withering in his condemnation of the American owners of the Welsh club and urged them not to “damage the club” after their late U-turn on Daniel James’ deadline-day transfer to Elland Road.
Writing on his personal Twitter account, Winter claimed the Leeds-Swansea clash at Elland Road on 13 February “could be lively, especially in the boardroom”.
#lufc v #Swans on Feb 13 could be lively, especially in the board-room. And you have to feel sympathy for Daniel James, young Swansea winger, passed medical but denied move to Elland Road when Swansea made that late U-turn.
— Henry Winter (@henrywinter) February 1, 2019
OPINION
The Elland Road boardroom could be heated for the mouthwatering showdown between the Championship rivals in 12 days’ time. Or, alternatively, relations could be ice-cold, and it may need the gritters to restore something close to normality in an atmosphere that is likely to require a bread knife to slice through it. English reserve tends to dictate politeness and the stiff upper lip in such matters, but one of the clubs is owned by Americans and the other by an Italian who is not afraid of using Twitter to make his PR points, as Andrea Radrizzani did in the wake of the collapse of the transfer on Thursday night. Given Winter’s neutrality and general conservatism when it comes to his analysis of the English game, Swansea should be concerned at how their club has come across, and what the after-effects could be in terms of how James performs in the second half of the season after being denied the transfer.