ENGLISH football's managerial blood letting continued yesterday with the dismissal of Howard Wilkinson by Leeds United.
Wilkinson's eight year spell in charge at Elland Road ended in mid morning just five games into the new Premiership season but, more significantly, less than 48 hours after Leeds suffered the indignity of a 4-0 home defeat by Manchester United.
In an effort to stabilise a club which has been drifting towards a crisis for some months, it seems probably that the former Arsenal manager George Graham will be named as Wilkinson's successor within 24 hours.
"I had lost confidence in Howard he had, perhaps, been here a little too long," said Leeds chairman Bill Fotherby after sacking the man who led his club to the League Championship just four years ago.
Although Wilkinson's sacking was announced by Fotherby, the decision was undoubtedly taken by the Yorkshire club's new owners, the London based Caspian Media and Leisure Group. Caspian seized control of Leeds earlier this summer following a deal brokered by Caspian director Richard Thompson, the former owner of Queen's Park Rangers and someone who figures prominently on Graham's Christmas card list.
Indeed, Thompson and Grabham are close friends and live in the same plush apartment block in Hampstead.
If Graham was to be appointed it is conceivable he could invite his former assistant at Arsenal, Stewart Houston, to join him at Leeds. Another possible contender to form part of a new look managerial team is the former Leeds and Arsenal defender David O'Leary.
Predictably, 52 year old Wilkinson was in philosophical mood as he faced up to the first sacking of a distinguished managerial career which also embraced productive spells at Notts County and Sheffield Wednesday.
"Perhaps this is not as big a shock as are some sackings because in football you know that it will inevitably come one day," he said.
"I am disappointed, very sad and very shocked but my board has made a decision in good faith and I must live with it," he added.
Wilkinson moved to Elland Road from Hillsborough in October 1988. By combining sound business acumen with a flair for drawing exceptional performances from journeymen, he built a team which won the old Second Division Championship in 1989-90.
Two years later, a squad largely bereft of household names over took flagging Manchester United, in the season's final furlong to become the last ever winners of the old First Division title.
But, just six months later, the sale of Eric Cantona to the old enemy, Manchester United, for a fee of just £1.2 million was not well received and after three more difficult seasons of no great achievement and quite perceptible stagnation, unrest reached its peak last April when Leeds were defeated 3-0, by Aston Villa in the League Cup final.
As Wilkinson made his way towards the Wembley dressing rooms, he was insulted and spat upon by those who had, just four years earlier, hailed him as a saviour.
