One of the strangest stories in this busy week has been the claims by the Liverpool Echo and the ever-reliable Daily Mirror that Steve Parkin is intending to appoint David Moyes as head coach.

There are several aspects of this story that don’t quite stack up, not least the lack of any concrete evidence in the reports in these two papers that would back up the story. Neither produced any quotes from Parkin, and our prospective part-owner didn’t mention any plans to replace Steve Evans when he spoke to the Yorkshire Post at the start of the week.

Then there is the report that Parkin is only looking to buy a 50% stake in the club if his deal does eventually go through. Would this enable him to oppose his own choice of head coach/manager despite the wishes of the other owners?

And finally, the claim by the two papers that Parkin “will not dispense with current boss Steve Evans immediately” doesn’t make much sense either. There wouldn’t be much incentive for Evans to perform in the job if he knew he would be replaced anyway, no matter what. And why would Moyes sit around and wait to be appointed instead of taking the next job he was offered elsewhere?

I can’t see Moyes being a popular appointment amongst the Leeds fans, even though we’re grateful for his hilarious efforts to turn Man United into a bunch of also-rans, before the Old Trafford board spoilt our fun by sacking him. After his dismissal by Real Sociedad we’d have to be concerned that he’s now failed in his last two jobs.

And although I had my reservations about Steve Evans when he was appointed, mainly due to his past conduct off the field, I’ve been impressed so far with the way he seems to be turning our season around. We’ve had three and a half good performances in his five games and the players seem to have warmed to him, so while he continues to do a good job we should leave him to get on with it.

Evans laughed off the suggestion when he spoke to the Yorkshire Post, saying “I was pleased to see David linked with it and not Jose Mourinho though I think all the ladies in Leeds would like Jose Mourinho to be the coach. I’ve said I’m not going to get involved in any off the field matters. All I can do is try and win football matches for this club and if you are winning football matches on a regular basis for this football club you will be the first to do it in a long time.”

“But if Leeds United Football Club ever thought that someone else was the man for the role and it’s not me then I’ll drive out of Thorp Arch and I’ll cry on the way out but I’m a big man. If someone is better for the role than me and that’s what the people above me think then we have to get on with it.“

But I doubt it’s going to come to that. The newspaper articles have all the hallmarks of making up a sensational story just to sell more papers and I reckon it will be some time before we see Evans crying on the way out of Elland Road.

Photo: Action Images

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