Is it time for Terry to go?

Leeds have endured a tough start to the season, leading fans to question Venables' team selection and tactical nous.

The team have bagged only five League points out of a possible 24 since the start of October, and have slipped to 16th in the table.

Chairman Peter Ridsdale has condemned the poor run of form as "not acceptable".

Can El Tel turn things around?

This debate is now closed.

I have been a season ticket-holder for many years and I was heartbroken when David O'Leary was sacked. The fans didn't want him to go. Sadly so many of us are still in denial over O'Leary's sacking and looking for a scapegoat to pin the blame and anger on - why else would you want to see someone of Terry Venables awesome ability go??

It's time the fans moved on, stopped mourning David O'Leary and got behind OUR team again. I really don't understand why anyone would think that bringing another manager in now would improve things: it couldn't!

None of us wanted Mr O to go but he did, and we have to move on now. Tel is a top class manager, we are lucky to have him.
Ruth Garbutt, England

The person to blame in this fiasco is Peter Ridsdale, after driving the best up-and-coming manager in the Premiership out of Leeds and supposedly being �78m in dept. Venables was in a no-win situation from the start after the sale of Ferdinand; he won't get his hands on that cash because of the debts.
Daniel, UK

El Tel's appointment was a disgrace and even though O'Leary had to go, signing a has-been TV pundit was not the answer. Both he and Ridsdale must go now!
Mike Blomfield, UK

Venables' attitude is on a par with too many of our players - they couldn't care less about Leeds. Our current performances have been terrible, half-hearted and tactically inept, yet Venables gave them the day off after the shambles on Sunday! Why? Because he couldn't make training as he was on business in London.

How can he ask Bowyer or any of the lazy, disinterested brats (with the exception of Smith, who should be on double the wage of the rest of the squad put together) when he shows no commitment himself?

He should get off the TV and cut out his other interests or his undeserved reputation in football will finally be destroyed. There is no-one who could come in to replace him, so let's give Eddie Gray the caretaker role for the rest of the season and see what happens.

After all, I seem to remember him building a young Leeds side full of potential a couple of decades ago, only for us to sack him and let a lot of other teams benefit from the talents of Irwin, Wright, Sellars et al.
Gareth Wilce, Yorkshire

I did not want Leeds to get rid of David O'Leary, but when Venables signed I was quite happy. Now I hope that he and Ridsdale will get out of Leeds for good. Ridsdale should keep out of the media and keep his mouth shut! I just cant understand Venables playing that man McPhail, he has been awful, he could not make it in the First Division last year when he went to Millwall.

He signed Paul Okon, hardly the sort of player you should bring in if you are serious about getting into Europe. If David O'Leary was still in charge I think we would be challenging for the title this year.
Richard Patterson, Northern Ireland

I think Venables should go now. He has added nothing to Leeds United in the time he has been in charge. All he has done is sold world class players to our competition and made the squad a lot weaker. I also think Ridsdale has a lot to answer for.

Venables has had his day and to be honest he was not a great manager throughout his career. Also to blame David O'Leary for the Leeds performances this season is a joke. One question...When George Graham left Leeds for Spurs and O'Leary took over and started to win more did they say Graham was responsible for it? NO! It's only when things go badly.
Mark O'Sullivan, Dublin, Republic of Ireland.

He has to go. He's done well in the past and knows his football but, for whatever reason, it's not working out at Leeds. He must go or Leeds will be in Division One next year and then, without the Premiership money, we would be in serious trouble!
Rich, England

Terrible Tel should never have come in the first place. I used to have a tremendous amount of respect for Peter Risdale, but that has declined since he sacked David O'Leary and jetted off to Spain to recruit Venables.

This surely must be the worst signing of the season! The last one was Brian Kidd! So it's now no surprise that Risdale's job is now looking shaky. I think that half the problems come from board-room bickering, internal politics and witch-hunts. This has got to stop for the sake of the club. Sell Tel! - Now!
Steve - Leeds, Yorkshire

I have never subscribed to the populist view that Terry Venables is, or ever was a great coach. If you dissect his record you will find most clubs are in a worse position when he leaves - yet he always gets offered another job. He talks a good game, but he has achieved very little to back it up. He should stick to TV work
G.Fleming, England

If Venables was to get the sack now, Leeds would have a tough time getting a replacement for him. Nobody would want to take over a hopeless job that's leading to nothing this year. Venables needs time and money.
Kevin, Ireland

I don't know why Leeds always blame their managers. O'Leary got them into the Champions League, only to be stabbed in the back and now Venables isn't getting much of a chance. If you look at their squad they've only got about three or four decent players and you'll never be competitive with that.
E Hearle, Australia

I am a Leeds supporter & having witnessed the debacle on Sunday, I feel that the players should hang their heads in shame. For a bunch of players who have consistently spoken of their support for Terry, they are not demonstrating this support in actions. Terry has made mistakes, not playing Dacourt and Batty has left us short of bite in the middle every week. But we do need to stick with him even if players like Viduka left him in August!
Jason, UK

It doesn't matter whether he'll resign or not. He'll get the sack before Christmas if results don't pick up - regardless of Mr Ridsdale saying El Tel has his full backing.
Julian Sahu, UK

Leeds have to stick it out with Tel for the rest of the season at least. If he's sacked, he'll walk away with a load of cash and Leeds will have to find a replacement. That's no good to anybody. Tel needs to wake up, and the players need to stand up and be counted.

A few months ago, Leeds had several England first team internationals - now they're down to two or three. Have these players become bad overnight, or have they lost their passion?
BTF, UK

I think Terry Venables is well past his sell-by date as a manager and should stick to being a TV pundit, as all he does is talk a good game.
Ronan Fleming, Ireland

To say Tel is on trial is a joke, and for some to say he has had long enough is scandalous. How long do you give managers these days - two or months? The Leeds fans should get behind him and the team, as it's obvious they are playing without confidence - especially at Elland Road!
Martin Lee, England

The way Tel chops and changes the formation week in week out, and even during games, leaves the team looking like a bunch of headless chickens. We have gone from seeing the arrogant aggressive team of O'Leary become the weak and wimpy El Tel team in just four months. Tel, I am on my knees begging you - please just go.
Lewon, London

He should resign, and at the same time get off his never ending moral pedestal. The guy has never done anything of any quality. He cost Tottenham a lot of money and ruined England's chances of progressing up the world rankings. So Leeds, get rid of him before he brings you to your knees.
Ed Butcher, UK

Terry was on a hiding to nothing when he took the job which, given his guile, is surprising in itself. The problem is that Leeds have obviously let it go financially, and now the chickens are coming home to roost.

A complete clearout is needed, and that starts with Ridsdale, via Terry and on through players including Bowyer, Woodgate, Viduka and Kewell. Maybe the cash raised by offloading them and a couple of others would allow us a serious bid for Mark Hughes.
Chris Nelson, England

What has happened at Leeds is very sad. Looking back, O'Leary did far more good for the club than bad. O'Leary was a good buyer, manager and ambassador for the club. Bring him back with a remit to reduce squad size and stay in the Premiership. The Leeds board needs a new chairman too. Then next season Leeds can start from scratch.
Graeme Parsons, UK

David O'Leary took Leeds to a Champions League semi-final and made them a top four club. Even with the injury problems they have had, it is hard to believe the step backwards they have taken under Venables.
John, UK

I find it hard to believe that Venables' job is already under so much pressure. Whilst I agree that results have been poor, Leeds have one of the worst injury crises I have seen for years - something that Venables, to his credit, refuses to use as an excuse.

In addition, he was not appointed to keep Leeds ticking over in about fifth place, but to make radical changes for the long-term success of the club. It is naive to expect these to bring instant success.

No one can tell yet if Venables will be a success or a failure, but he has been appointed, so to sack him before Christmas would make absolutely no sense. It would take Leeds back to square one, not to mention make a mockery of the board's ability to appoint a suitable manager.
Chris, UK

The problem is one of reputation, manager and players. Terry is not the master tactician the media would have us believe, and the players O'Leary brought it aren't living up to their promise.

Ultimately the players on the pitch have to blame themselves - the results need to improve. Ironically, two of the now hardest working and committed players appear to be Woodgate and Smith. Perhaps the rest of the squad should take a look at them.
Chris Reah, UK

Now that Nick Barmby has suffered his annual knee injury, Terry Venables will have to learn the hard way that Jacob Burns is not Premiership quality. He has a big job to do this Christmas, after which I hope Leeds march back into the top half of the table.
Stewart Stirk, Leeds

I think this is a very difficult decision to make. Venables may just need more time, as with the players Leeds have they should be challenging for honours every season.

They look unmotivated and never seem disappointed when they lose another game. Maybe the blame all being put on El Tel is harsh, and the players should have questions asked of them too.
Rich, England

My biggest criticism of Venables is that tactically he seems to have lost an edge. The Spurs game was a classic example - playing 3-5-2 was never going to work, and once we went back to 4-3-3 things got better.

Admittedly injuries haven't helped, but surely when the situation is like this Venables has got to keep it simple - not change formations week after week.
Richard Stuttard-White, England