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Leeds has received a fourth extension to the standstill agreement on its debt, this time to beyond February 13th. A consortium represented by local accountant Gerald Krasner is trying to buy the club and claims to have an eight figure sum in a solicitor's account to complete the deal. The consortium's offer was rejected, but apparently a second larger offer (said to be £20m) is said to be on the table. One new worry is that Leeds are being threatened with legal action by Marseilles over a £300,000 bill for the loan players Salomon Olembé and Lamine Sakho. Marseilles are fue the second instalment on the annual loan fee due on the players and have stepped up their efforts to collect the money. Their lawyers are considering the options of freezing Leeds' assets.
Good news came when the players agreed to defer their wages by 25 per cent for the rest of the season, reducing the immediate cash claims on the club to £2m. The club also got a payment of £1.5m from Manchester United which closes out their contingent liability relating to the purchase of Rio Ferdinand. By accepting £1.5m now, Leeds will give up the rest of a potential payment of £3.25m that could have been received if United were FA cup finalists or finished first or second in the Champions League.
Nevertheless, the performance on the pich remains worrying, the latest blow being a 0-3 home defeat by Middlesbrough, hardly the most prolific scorers in the Premiership. One analyst commented, 'No one will want to buy a Nationwide club. You will be looking at a club with all the problems it has now earning £20m less than it does now.' It also appears that the club's debts now total £90 million, £10 more than the figure given previously. Staff may need to take wage cuts of 30 per cent or more for the club to keep trading.
The club's would be saviour from Bahrain, Sheikh Abdulrahman bin Mubarak Al-Khalifa, has once again failed to come up with the goods, missing two self-imposed deadlines, although he has apparently been busy logging on to Leeds' fans internet chatrooms. All the indications are that he is at best a front man, albeit a well intentioned one, who does not have the readies himself. Leeds insiders are believed to view media reports hailing him as a white knight as an unwelcome distraction from efforts to save the club.
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