Yorkshire Evening Post 18/1/07
Forward move or backward step?
by Phil Hay
At some stage on Sunday, Ken Bates might treat himself to a glass of Pouilly Fume, the favourite tipple of Leeds United's chairman if his programme notes are anything to go by.
The toast will hopefully be a valuable win over West Bromwich Albion, but Bates may also make time to raise a goblet to the second anniversary of his stewardship at Elland Road. With the remainder of this season carrying so much significance for the future strength and stature of the club he owns, there is no better time for measured reflection.The 24 months since Bates and his consortium, the Forward Sports Fund, completed their takeover of Leeds in the early hours of January 21, 2005, have sailed by in an eventful flash. Three managers, one off-field battle with Chelsea, a play-off final and now a concerted flirt with relegation. If Bates ever decides to compile a diary of his reign, his publishers will not be short of content.
To United's supporters, though, the last two years are more than an abstract story of epic adventure. The events of note have been stark and real, points in the club's history that have been imprinted on memories for years to come. History will remember Don Revie's era as the most encapsulating at Elland Road, but the sheer intensity of Bates' tenure will place the present regime alongside the most eventful.
The man himself would describe his involvement with Leeds as an ongoing success. On welcoming United's fans to Elland Road on January 1, he wrote: "We will be marching on together – make sure you don't lose your place in the parade."
Six months ago his assessment would have struck a chord with most supporters, so soon after a day in Cardiff which offered disappointment and promise in equal measure. Today, it is more difficult for United's faithful to be sure. Where exactly are United marching, and how many followers will be with them? Above all, is the club's health more reliable now than it was in 2005?
United's destination this season cannot be covered with gloss. If their 19 fixtures between now and May 6 fail to yield in the region of 26 points, the club will be stripped of their Championship status and handed the dubious distinction of membership to League One. Bates, in effect, would have presided over the least successful team ever seen at Elland Road.
Not even in the closing days of Gerald Krasner's consortium, when we were led to believe the club was 48 hours from liquidation, did such a scenario seem possible. Kevin Blackwell always recalled how Leeds were third favourites for relegation during his first season at the helm, but few seriously believed that United would fall two tiers below the Premiership so soon after vacating their position in the top flight.
United's list of transfers shows the degree of money invested by Bates in the squad at Elland Road, and on certain occasions he has spent as much as any Championship chairman should. But if his operations behind the scenes are based on long-term plans, the on-field strategy this season has increasingly smacked of short-termism.
Since the meeting with Norwich City on August 5, Leeds have plugged gaps in their vessel where serious repair was needed. Eight players were signed on loan between the start of August and the January transfer window, and the starting line-up at West Brom during the third round of the FA Cup earlier this month contained seven players who will be out of contract in the summer.
January, it should be said, is a notoriously difficult time to prise the right players from their present employers, and Dennis Wise may have tricks up his sleeve, ready to produce before the month is out. In a recent radio interview, Bates appeared to promise Wise use of the £1.75million fee recouped from the sale of Matthew Kilgallon, and United's manager certainly needs the funds. Advocating heavy spending is an awkward position to take when the club's financial history is considered, but it can equally be argued that a lack of investment this season has left United where they are today.
Should Leeds make good their escape from relegation, the sceptics will bow down to their superior judgement, but the season as a whole has not followed the path that Bates or United wished for.
The 75-year-old's policy for ticket prices at Elland Road has been the cause of much division among the club's supporters, but it is far harder for Bates to insist on his customers funding the ambition of Premiership football when that target seems so far away. Last season it was possible to believe that England's top division was a positive step away. Painting that dream as a soon-to-be-realised aim is now a thankless task.A moment of interest will come when United's season ticket renewal forms are released in the next month. Few present holders will feel they have had value for money this season, and the decision to reaffirm their commitment for next season would be helped by suitably adjusted prices. The one area were Leeds have unquestionably suffered during Bates' tenure is that of attendances at Elland Road.During the season when he took charge of Leeds – the 2004-05 term – the club averaged crowds of 29,207 per game. After 14 league fixtures at home this season, the average stands at 19,469. However the figures are explained and massaged, the decrease equates to the loss of 10,000 regular fans in the space of 18 months.The irony is that, according to United's published accounts, the gate receipts for the last financial year were up by almost £300,000, despite a downturn in attendances of around 7,000 fans for every game. The level of income was clearly aided by Leeds' involvement in the play-offs, but Bates' strategy of increased prices was always intended as a means to improving revenue. United, after all, need every penny they can get.The same, however, could be said of supporters, and few clubs can afford to estrange themselves from as many fans as United have. It is all too easy to dismiss the absentees as fair-weather supporters or the glory-hunting brigade, but the steady exodus has also included many a veteran of the stands at Elland Road.
The issue is too readily ignored by the club, or explained as evidence of a lack of commitment from the city's population. If the letters received by the YEP this season provide a fair cross-section of opinion among supporters, ticket prices and the quality of football on offer would be two reasons far closer to the mark.In the toughest of situations, it is naive to expect fans to follow blindly on. On the contrary, a club like Leeds should offer to carry those made weary by a half-decade of decline. United are not a charity and will never hand out tickets for free, but they are not the Inland Revenue either. People in Leeds are under no obligation or requirement to attend Elland Road. It is United's responsibility to tempt them through the gates, the old and the young.Other issues are of equal concern, to those who fill the plastic seats and those who no longer do. Who now owns Elland Road after the recent revelation that the stadium changed hands in 2005? Providing the name of a company in the secretive British Virgin Islands is not exactly a transparent answer. A sizeable portion of the club's income is being spent on renting the ground, and it would be reassuring to know who is benefiting from the cash.Buying back Elland Road is one of the club's key ambitions, an achievement for which Bates would be gratefully remembered. Ownership of the stadium is just as important to Leeds as regaining their place in the Premiership, and the sooner that deal is concluded the better for the club's future stability. How realistic the possibility of a buy-back deal will be if United are relegated to League One is a question that only Bates can answer.It is, as he reaches his second anniversary, a situation of considerable uncertainty. When Bates looks back through the weeks and months since January 2005, there are moments for United's chairman to be proud of, the play-off final above all others.But United as a footballing force are no more predictable now than they were when he first arrived. If anything, it is more difficult than ever to know what to expect from the future. Bates' reign to date has been gripping and dramatic, and one that he is clearly proud of. A more accurate gauge of his time at Elland Road, however, will be where United stand in two years' time.
Yorkshire Post 16/1/07
Leeds closing in on O'Brien transfer
Ian Appleyard
PORTSMOUTH defender Andy O'Brien could be on the way to Leeds United after the collapse of a proposed move to Charlton Athletic.
The former Bradford City player was set to join Charlton as part of a swap deal involving Senegalese international Souleymane Diawara, but is now back at Fratton Park and surplus to requirements.Leeds have been told they can have the Republic of Ireland international as soon as manager Harry Redknapp has landed a new centre-back.Harrogate-born O'Brien, 27, made over 150 appearance for Bradford City before joining Premiership side Newcastle United in a £2m deal six years ago.He subsequently spent four years on Tyneside before moving to Portsmouth for £2m at the start of last season.Since the arrival of former England international Sol Campbell, however, he has made only three Premiership appearances and become frustrated with life on the south coast.A return to his native Yorkshire is now on the cards with Leeds manager Dennis Wise desperate to bolster his squad for the battle against relegation to Coca-Cola League One.Wise has already made six signings this month but the £2m departure of Matthew Kigallon to Sheffield United and the end of Ugo Ehiogu's loan deal from Middlesbrough has maintained the need for extra defensive cover.Leeds are currently six points adrift of safety in the Championship relegation zone but have a game in hand following the weekend postponement of the away game at Birmingham City, which has now been re-scheduled for Tuesday February 27, 7.45pm.They have the worst defensive record in the division, having conceded 49 goals in 27 games, and have taken only five points from the last 24 available.O'Brien is likely to sign on loan until the end of the season – and could even be on the books before Saturday's home game with West Bromwich Albion.But much rests on Portsmouth's ability to sign a new centre-back with Frenchman Younes Kaboul, 21, currently discussing a move from Auxerre.O'Brien was not even on the bench for last weekend's trip to Sheffield United where new £1m signing Djimi Traore provided centre-back cover after the substitution of Linvoy Primus.So far this month, Leeds have signed Coventry City's Matt Heath, Espanyol's Armando Sa, former Newcastle United defender Robbie Elliott, former Chelsea striker Tore Andre Flo, Barnet's Tresor Kandol, Celtic midfield player Alan Thompson, and extended Hayden Foxe's deal until the end of the season.Leeds, meanwhile, have written to Birmingham City requesting that all supporters who bought tickets for Saturday's game – which was postponed due to a water-logged pitch – are reimbursed not only for the cost of their tickets, but for any travel costs incurred.
The Times 16/1/07
Bates still focused on grand vision from Leeds
Matt Dickinson
To most of us, Elland Road sits in a grubby area of Leeds with rows of terraced houses at one end and a motorway at the other. There is a vast expanse of potholed wasteland that serves as a car park.
Perhaps only Ken Bates could look around and, with Leeds United second from bottom in the Coca-Cola Championship, see the makings not only of a great football club but a whole new satellite town with a heliport, hotels and smart restaurants. As if saving Leeds was not enough, Bates wants to regenerate a suburb. He is 75, but, as you can gather, forever young.
He reveals the breadth of his vision while sitting in his armchair in Monte Carlo, where he lives as a tax exile. He grabs the remote control and flicks through the satellite channels to find Yorkshire Radio. “Everything you want to know about Leeds United,” he says, looking out over the Mediterranean. A television channel beamed across Europe cannot be far behind.
Some Leeds fans have complained that Bates is putting too many resources into these peripheral activities rather than a struggling team and they are hardly likely to be appeased by his vision for hotels and restaurants. The former Chelsea chairman asks one question — how else is he going to raise the money required to turn Leeds around?
He cites the redevelopment of Stamford Bridge, where, after a protracted struggle to buy the ground, he went on to replace one of the country’s most notorious terraces with the Chelsea Village facilities. There were teething problems, but the hotels remain and Bates claims to have been ahead of his time.
“I got slaughtered by the press for what we did, but I just led the way,” he says. “Reading, Oxford, Derby, Coventry, Bolton and, in due course, Hull and Newcastle. They are all doing the same things, developing hotels, exploiting the game the other 340 days a year and not just 25.
“Fulham Broadway was the a***hole of West London when I arrived and now there’s a brand new shopping centre, cafés. I started that. Someone bought the hotels recently (Millennium and Copthorne) and Harry Ramsden took over the restaurant, so they can’t be doing badly.”
But were Chelsea not hugely in debt and on the brink of “doing a Leeds” when Roman Abramovich made Bates an offer he could not refuse? “We owed £90 million, but the club was worth £150-200 million and the players £130 million. So what’s the problem? There wasn’t one. Look at Chelsea when I took over and when I left. It speaks for itself.”
His latest challenge is surely his toughest yet, but Leeds is a sizeable one-club city and Bates is convinced that Elland Road can be turned into a “home from home” not only for supporters but the wider public, with its location just off the motorway, which runs into the heart of town.
One snag is that in November 2004 the previous administration sold Elland Road and the training ground for £8 million to Jacob Adler, a Manchester businessman (it was sold again, to British Virgin Islands-based Teak Trading Corporation, last month). It sums up the series of disasters that dragged Leeds close to ruin that it will cost £18.5 million to buy them back.
Bates must try to raise the money while also paying for the mistakes of his predecessors. Leeds are weighed down by contracts for more than ten footballers who have departed. Bates lists Eirik Bakke, Seth Johnson, Michael Ricketts, Michael Duberry and even Robbie Fowler among those on the payroll. Gary Kelly remains as the last survivor of the David O’Leary days, earning £46,000 a week, which is a Champions League wage at a club fighting relegation to the third tier of English football for the first time.
“Twelve million pounds over five years,” Bates says. “I worked out that all the money that Leeds earned getting to the semi-finals of the Champions League was handed to Kelly with his new contract. That is the burden I inherited, but fans forget that very quickly. They just want to know what’s going to happen on Saturday.”
Bates has attracted criticism for making Leeds home to some of the most expensive seats outside London, but he argues that he has to raise money somehow to help Dennis Wise, the new manager, to rebuild the team. To the argument that Bates would be better off dropping prices and trying to widen his audience, his response is typically blunt. “I’m happy to give that a go if you are willing to underwrite any losses if no more fans come.”
He is adamant that he has “not taken a penny out of the game in 40 years” and that the £17 million he received from Abramovich for his shares was “new money” and therefore not from the pockets of Chelsea supporters. It is a point you can argue, and we do, but he insists that he has taken on Leeds because he loves the game and the challenge. The supporters may be frustrated by the lack of obvious progress, but as Bates prepares to celebrate the second anniversary of his takeover, he might remind them of one thing. On January 21, 2005, their club had creditors at the door and only two days to survive.
Forward move or backward step?
by Phil Hay
At some stage on Sunday, Ken Bates might treat himself to a glass of Pouilly Fume, the favourite tipple of Leeds United's chairman if his programme notes are anything to go by.
The toast will hopefully be a valuable win over West Bromwich Albion, but Bates may also make time to raise a goblet to the second anniversary of his stewardship at Elland Road. With the remainder of this season carrying so much significance for the future strength and stature of the club he owns, there is no better time for measured reflection.The 24 months since Bates and his consortium, the Forward Sports Fund, completed their takeover of Leeds in the early hours of January 21, 2005, have sailed by in an eventful flash. Three managers, one off-field battle with Chelsea, a play-off final and now a concerted flirt with relegation. If Bates ever decides to compile a diary of his reign, his publishers will not be short of content.
To United's supporters, though, the last two years are more than an abstract story of epic adventure. The events of note have been stark and real, points in the club's history that have been imprinted on memories for years to come. History will remember Don Revie's era as the most encapsulating at Elland Road, but the sheer intensity of Bates' tenure will place the present regime alongside the most eventful.
The man himself would describe his involvement with Leeds as an ongoing success. On welcoming United's fans to Elland Road on January 1, he wrote: "We will be marching on together – make sure you don't lose your place in the parade."
Six months ago his assessment would have struck a chord with most supporters, so soon after a day in Cardiff which offered disappointment and promise in equal measure. Today, it is more difficult for United's faithful to be sure. Where exactly are United marching, and how many followers will be with them? Above all, is the club's health more reliable now than it was in 2005?
United's destination this season cannot be covered with gloss. If their 19 fixtures between now and May 6 fail to yield in the region of 26 points, the club will be stripped of their Championship status and handed the dubious distinction of membership to League One. Bates, in effect, would have presided over the least successful team ever seen at Elland Road.
Not even in the closing days of Gerald Krasner's consortium, when we were led to believe the club was 48 hours from liquidation, did such a scenario seem possible. Kevin Blackwell always recalled how Leeds were third favourites for relegation during his first season at the helm, but few seriously believed that United would fall two tiers below the Premiership so soon after vacating their position in the top flight.
United's list of transfers shows the degree of money invested by Bates in the squad at Elland Road, and on certain occasions he has spent as much as any Championship chairman should. But if his operations behind the scenes are based on long-term plans, the on-field strategy this season has increasingly smacked of short-termism.
Since the meeting with Norwich City on August 5, Leeds have plugged gaps in their vessel where serious repair was needed. Eight players were signed on loan between the start of August and the January transfer window, and the starting line-up at West Brom during the third round of the FA Cup earlier this month contained seven players who will be out of contract in the summer.
January, it should be said, is a notoriously difficult time to prise the right players from their present employers, and Dennis Wise may have tricks up his sleeve, ready to produce before the month is out. In a recent radio interview, Bates appeared to promise Wise use of the £1.75million fee recouped from the sale of Matthew Kilgallon, and United's manager certainly needs the funds. Advocating heavy spending is an awkward position to take when the club's financial history is considered, but it can equally be argued that a lack of investment this season has left United where they are today.
Should Leeds make good their escape from relegation, the sceptics will bow down to their superior judgement, but the season as a whole has not followed the path that Bates or United wished for.
The 75-year-old's policy for ticket prices at Elland Road has been the cause of much division among the club's supporters, but it is far harder for Bates to insist on his customers funding the ambition of Premiership football when that target seems so far away. Last season it was possible to believe that England's top division was a positive step away. Painting that dream as a soon-to-be-realised aim is now a thankless task.A moment of interest will come when United's season ticket renewal forms are released in the next month. Few present holders will feel they have had value for money this season, and the decision to reaffirm their commitment for next season would be helped by suitably adjusted prices. The one area were Leeds have unquestionably suffered during Bates' tenure is that of attendances at Elland Road.During the season when he took charge of Leeds – the 2004-05 term – the club averaged crowds of 29,207 per game. After 14 league fixtures at home this season, the average stands at 19,469. However the figures are explained and massaged, the decrease equates to the loss of 10,000 regular fans in the space of 18 months.The irony is that, according to United's published accounts, the gate receipts for the last financial year were up by almost £300,000, despite a downturn in attendances of around 7,000 fans for every game. The level of income was clearly aided by Leeds' involvement in the play-offs, but Bates' strategy of increased prices was always intended as a means to improving revenue. United, after all, need every penny they can get.The same, however, could be said of supporters, and few clubs can afford to estrange themselves from as many fans as United have. It is all too easy to dismiss the absentees as fair-weather supporters or the glory-hunting brigade, but the steady exodus has also included many a veteran of the stands at Elland Road.
The issue is too readily ignored by the club, or explained as evidence of a lack of commitment from the city's population. If the letters received by the YEP this season provide a fair cross-section of opinion among supporters, ticket prices and the quality of football on offer would be two reasons far closer to the mark.In the toughest of situations, it is naive to expect fans to follow blindly on. On the contrary, a club like Leeds should offer to carry those made weary by a half-decade of decline. United are not a charity and will never hand out tickets for free, but they are not the Inland Revenue either. People in Leeds are under no obligation or requirement to attend Elland Road. It is United's responsibility to tempt them through the gates, the old and the young.Other issues are of equal concern, to those who fill the plastic seats and those who no longer do. Who now owns Elland Road after the recent revelation that the stadium changed hands in 2005? Providing the name of a company in the secretive British Virgin Islands is not exactly a transparent answer. A sizeable portion of the club's income is being spent on renting the ground, and it would be reassuring to know who is benefiting from the cash.Buying back Elland Road is one of the club's key ambitions, an achievement for which Bates would be gratefully remembered. Ownership of the stadium is just as important to Leeds as regaining their place in the Premiership, and the sooner that deal is concluded the better for the club's future stability. How realistic the possibility of a buy-back deal will be if United are relegated to League One is a question that only Bates can answer.It is, as he reaches his second anniversary, a situation of considerable uncertainty. When Bates looks back through the weeks and months since January 2005, there are moments for United's chairman to be proud of, the play-off final above all others.But United as a footballing force are no more predictable now than they were when he first arrived. If anything, it is more difficult than ever to know what to expect from the future. Bates' reign to date has been gripping and dramatic, and one that he is clearly proud of. A more accurate gauge of his time at Elland Road, however, will be where United stand in two years' time.
Yorkshire Post 16/1/07
Leeds closing in on O'Brien transfer
Ian Appleyard
PORTSMOUTH defender Andy O'Brien could be on the way to Leeds United after the collapse of a proposed move to Charlton Athletic.
The former Bradford City player was set to join Charlton as part of a swap deal involving Senegalese international Souleymane Diawara, but is now back at Fratton Park and surplus to requirements.Leeds have been told they can have the Republic of Ireland international as soon as manager Harry Redknapp has landed a new centre-back.Harrogate-born O'Brien, 27, made over 150 appearance for Bradford City before joining Premiership side Newcastle United in a £2m deal six years ago.He subsequently spent four years on Tyneside before moving to Portsmouth for £2m at the start of last season.Since the arrival of former England international Sol Campbell, however, he has made only three Premiership appearances and become frustrated with life on the south coast.A return to his native Yorkshire is now on the cards with Leeds manager Dennis Wise desperate to bolster his squad for the battle against relegation to Coca-Cola League One.Wise has already made six signings this month but the £2m departure of Matthew Kigallon to Sheffield United and the end of Ugo Ehiogu's loan deal from Middlesbrough has maintained the need for extra defensive cover.Leeds are currently six points adrift of safety in the Championship relegation zone but have a game in hand following the weekend postponement of the away game at Birmingham City, which has now been re-scheduled for Tuesday February 27, 7.45pm.They have the worst defensive record in the division, having conceded 49 goals in 27 games, and have taken only five points from the last 24 available.O'Brien is likely to sign on loan until the end of the season – and could even be on the books before Saturday's home game with West Bromwich Albion.But much rests on Portsmouth's ability to sign a new centre-back with Frenchman Younes Kaboul, 21, currently discussing a move from Auxerre.O'Brien was not even on the bench for last weekend's trip to Sheffield United where new £1m signing Djimi Traore provided centre-back cover after the substitution of Linvoy Primus.So far this month, Leeds have signed Coventry City's Matt Heath, Espanyol's Armando Sa, former Newcastle United defender Robbie Elliott, former Chelsea striker Tore Andre Flo, Barnet's Tresor Kandol, Celtic midfield player Alan Thompson, and extended Hayden Foxe's deal until the end of the season.Leeds, meanwhile, have written to Birmingham City requesting that all supporters who bought tickets for Saturday's game – which was postponed due to a water-logged pitch – are reimbursed not only for the cost of their tickets, but for any travel costs incurred.
The Times 16/1/07
Bates still focused on grand vision from Leeds
Matt Dickinson
To most of us, Elland Road sits in a grubby area of Leeds with rows of terraced houses at one end and a motorway at the other. There is a vast expanse of potholed wasteland that serves as a car park.
Perhaps only Ken Bates could look around and, with Leeds United second from bottom in the Coca-Cola Championship, see the makings not only of a great football club but a whole new satellite town with a heliport, hotels and smart restaurants. As if saving Leeds was not enough, Bates wants to regenerate a suburb. He is 75, but, as you can gather, forever young.
He reveals the breadth of his vision while sitting in his armchair in Monte Carlo, where he lives as a tax exile. He grabs the remote control and flicks through the satellite channels to find Yorkshire Radio. “Everything you want to know about Leeds United,” he says, looking out over the Mediterranean. A television channel beamed across Europe cannot be far behind.
Some Leeds fans have complained that Bates is putting too many resources into these peripheral activities rather than a struggling team and they are hardly likely to be appeased by his vision for hotels and restaurants. The former Chelsea chairman asks one question — how else is he going to raise the money required to turn Leeds around?
He cites the redevelopment of Stamford Bridge, where, after a protracted struggle to buy the ground, he went on to replace one of the country’s most notorious terraces with the Chelsea Village facilities. There were teething problems, but the hotels remain and Bates claims to have been ahead of his time.
“I got slaughtered by the press for what we did, but I just led the way,” he says. “Reading, Oxford, Derby, Coventry, Bolton and, in due course, Hull and Newcastle. They are all doing the same things, developing hotels, exploiting the game the other 340 days a year and not just 25.
“Fulham Broadway was the a***hole of West London when I arrived and now there’s a brand new shopping centre, cafés. I started that. Someone bought the hotels recently (Millennium and Copthorne) and Harry Ramsden took over the restaurant, so they can’t be doing badly.”
But were Chelsea not hugely in debt and on the brink of “doing a Leeds” when Roman Abramovich made Bates an offer he could not refuse? “We owed £90 million, but the club was worth £150-200 million and the players £130 million. So what’s the problem? There wasn’t one. Look at Chelsea when I took over and when I left. It speaks for itself.”
His latest challenge is surely his toughest yet, but Leeds is a sizeable one-club city and Bates is convinced that Elland Road can be turned into a “home from home” not only for supporters but the wider public, with its location just off the motorway, which runs into the heart of town.
One snag is that in November 2004 the previous administration sold Elland Road and the training ground for £8 million to Jacob Adler, a Manchester businessman (it was sold again, to British Virgin Islands-based Teak Trading Corporation, last month). It sums up the series of disasters that dragged Leeds close to ruin that it will cost £18.5 million to buy them back.
Bates must try to raise the money while also paying for the mistakes of his predecessors. Leeds are weighed down by contracts for more than ten footballers who have departed. Bates lists Eirik Bakke, Seth Johnson, Michael Ricketts, Michael Duberry and even Robbie Fowler among those on the payroll. Gary Kelly remains as the last survivor of the David O’Leary days, earning £46,000 a week, which is a Champions League wage at a club fighting relegation to the third tier of English football for the first time.
“Twelve million pounds over five years,” Bates says. “I worked out that all the money that Leeds earned getting to the semi-finals of the Champions League was handed to Kelly with his new contract. That is the burden I inherited, but fans forget that very quickly. They just want to know what’s going to happen on Saturday.”
Bates has attracted criticism for making Leeds home to some of the most expensive seats outside London, but he argues that he has to raise money somehow to help Dennis Wise, the new manager, to rebuild the team. To the argument that Bates would be better off dropping prices and trying to widen his audience, his response is typically blunt. “I’m happy to give that a go if you are willing to underwrite any losses if no more fans come.”
He is adamant that he has “not taken a penny out of the game in 40 years” and that the £17 million he received from Abramovich for his shares was “new money” and therefore not from the pockets of Chelsea supporters. It is a point you can argue, and we do, but he insists that he has taken on Leeds because he loves the game and the challenge. The supporters may be frustrated by the lack of obvious progress, but as Bates prepares to celebrate the second anniversary of his takeover, he might remind them of one thing. On January 21, 2005, their club had creditors at the door and only two days to survive.
