Andrea Radrizzani criticises Victor Orta for the ‘huge mistake’ he made at Leeds last season

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Andrea Radrizzani has blasted Victor Orta for not making a managerial change before the World Cup break at Leeds United last season.

Radrizzani was speaking in an interview with Sky Sports after his time as owner of Leeds officially came to an end on Monday night with San Francisco 49ers Enterprises‘ finally receiving EFL approval.

The 48-year-old brought some of the best times of the modern era to Leeds but unfortunately has seen his legacy tarnished for the way the final two years spiralled out of control.

One of the key decisions that has led to Leeds’ recent failure was the hire and then reluctance to fire of Jesse Marsch, who was brought in as Marcelo Bielsa’s successor.

Up until back-to-back wins over Liverpool and Bournemouth, Marsch oversaw a run of eight matches without a win between August and October of last year, which set alarm bells ringing among supporters.

Radrizzani criticises Orta for Marsch decision at Leeds

The unlikely away victory at Liverpool is ultimately what kept Marsch in a job for as long as it did, with the American then not getting the sack until after the January window, when he was allowed to bring in three new players.

His departure came on the back of another long winless run in the Premier League, and Radrizzani now believes Orta left it too long to pull the trigger, despite his desire to sack him in November.

“Personally, I wanted to make a change before the World Cup, then I was persuaded to hold on. I think it was a huge mistake as we had the slot of six weeks to make changes. Other teams successfully used this period but we ended up making the change in February, with very few options.

“Javi [Gracia] tried his best but the team was physically not good enough and it’s not the same as it was under Marcelo. I was distant and quite passive in all these situations and just living in hope until the last month when I was desperate.

“I sent Javi and Victor home and tried to play magical cards with Sam [Allardyce]. Maybe had Sam arrived earlier we could have done better, as he is a man of character, but he found a team on its knees, physically and mentally.”

Again, this is all well and good being said in hindsight, but ultimately as owner, Radrizzani had the authority to make the decision if he so wished.

There is no doubt that the decision to leave Marsch in a job for so long is what cost Leeds their place in the Premier League based on the chaos that followed.