What Now For Leeds? - 09/05/2004

No one who saw the scenes from Elland Road on 8th May can doubt the passion and commitment of the Leeds supporters or the fact that the club has a huge fan base (apparently to be rewarded by a 27 per cent hike in season ticket prices next year). What has happened at Leeds is a classic example of what happens when businessmen who supposedly know better take hold of a club and the fans pay the price for their excessive ambitions. Leeds has a great reservoir of support, but Division 1 is very competitive and it may take them a while to re-group and return. Fears that they may go into free fall like Sheffield Wednesday are, in my view, exaggerated. Someone has to be relegated, but it must be hard to take when this is the result of board incompetence. Unfortunately, in football, anyone who has some money can buy into a club and then behave as irresponsibly or foolishly as they want before disappearing elsewhere with no accountability to fans who follow a club for life. Perhaps other clubs will learn from what happened to Leeds.

There is always the risk that the club might have to go into administration and suffer a ten point deduction under the new rules. However, the first step is to halve the £38m wage bill at Elland Road through sales and releasing players. It should be noted that the loan from Villa shareholder Jack Petchey that helped to save the club from immediate collapse in March is not in imminent danger of being called in. Leeds director Martin Helme has commented, 'contrary to reports in the press ... [the loan] has been given to us for in excess of one year.' Moreover, an extension of the loan is possible. However, the club will, it is believed, have to start paying interest on the loan in June at an onerous 15 per cent.

Steve Parkin, owner of a Yorkshire haulage company, claimed that he would have control of the club before the game against Charlton. However, the £25m said to be available has not yet appeared. As managing director David Richmond commented, 'When we bought this club, there was meant to be a shiekh and an Ugandan millionnaire. Nobody made us an offer.'