Conor McGilligan, speaking on the One Leeds Fan YouTube channel, has dismissed owner Andrea Radrizzani’s claim that Leeds are capable of achieving a top-six finish in the Premier League next campaign.
He believes the partnership with the San Francisco 49ers, who recently upped their stake in the club, can be integral in helping Leeds return to the pinnacle of English football.
The 47-year old Italian businessman said (via The Independent): “Now we are partnered with 49ers, this is fundamentally very important because it will be very difficult to stay in the Premier League, but if we stay in it this year I think we can go much more than last year and go into the top six. Start to renovate the stadium and continue to grow the value of this club.”
After hearing about Radrizzani’s claim, McGilligan has dismissed the possibility Leeds are capable of achieving a top-six finish next season, highlighting the quality of the teams encompassed within the top-flight of English football, citing it ‘one of the toughest tasks in football’.
McGilligan said: “For me, it’s not the right thing to be saying now, in terms of the top six, and I understand that he’s excited, I understand that he’s ambitious, but he’s always based stuff on the Wolves model, the Leicester model – but Wolves aren’t going to finish in the top six, and it might be a stretch this season for Leicester to finish in that top six.
“That’s how difficult it is to finish in the top six. It’s not a flash in the pan. This is the most difficult league in the world, with the best teams in the world in this division. And to break that top six, I mean, now more than ever, that is one of the toughest tasks in football.”
TIF Thoughts on Radrizzani’s top-six claim…
Despite the Italian’s bold claim, it seems unlikely they can secure a top-six finish within the near future in the Premier League due to what McGilligan cited – the sheer level of quality the top sides are playing at currently within the top-flight division of English football.
However, with investment and being able to keep hold as star players such as Raphinha, Kalvin Phillips and Patrick Bamford, the Yorkshire outfit are more than capable of mounting a challenge for European football next season, if you consider they were only three points off European football last season.
But they must first prioritise ensuring of a third successive season of top-flight football this season after the side’s difficult start to the campaign, registering just 11 points from their opening 12 Premier League matches as they currently sit in 17th place in the league table.