SundayMirror.co.uk - PLOT TO DRUG SOCCER STAR
CLUB BOSSES 'IN PLOT TO GET RID OF £24K-A-WEEK ENGLAND ACE'
By Paul Smith Chief Football Reporter And Graham Johnson Investigations Editor
A SENSATIONAL plot to spike a soccer star's food with drugs can be revealed today by the Sunday Mirror.
Leeds United's £5million defender Michael Duberry was the intended victim of a plan to deliberately wreck his career.
A former Leeds executive has revealed a plan to dope the 29-year-old with cocaine, ecstasy and banned steroids so he would fail a drugs test.
The aim was to engineer the one-time England international's sacking because the Championship club could no longer afford to pay his £24,000-a-week salary.
Another plan was to end the career of his fellow top wage earner, Gary Kelly, 30, by hiring hitmen to break his legs.
And a bizarre plot was hatched to drug opponents Coventry City and their high-profile manager, former Leeds boss Peter Reid, by lacing a pre-match banquet with ecstasy.
The plots followed the £22million takeover of Leeds by a Yorkshire-based consortium in March last year. To re-finance the debt-ridden club, the new owners wanted to sell the ground and slash the £15million wage bill.
Former Leeds executive Chris Middleton claims the plot was hatched between him and senior director Simon Morris - part of the consortium that had taken over the club. Morris denies being involved in any plan to nobble Duberry and Kelly claiming Middleton was a "rogue employee" who was sacked for gross misconduct.
Three witnesses to the extraordinary plan have given testimonies to the Sunday Mirror corroborating the events. And yesterday operations manager Middleton - now ashamed of his part in the plot - admitted his role in an exclusive interview.
Middleton claimed they planned to sprinkle powdered drugs disguised as Parmesan cheese on Duberry's pasta dish. He says that he and Morris - a 27-year-old property millionaire and life-long Leeds fan - also considered dissolving banned steroids in a sports protein drink aimed at the former Chelsea defender.
Middleton claims the idea arose from a chat the men had about reducing the wage bill at the crisis-hit club in March last year.
He says they originally discussed trying to arrange for defender Kelly to fail an alcohol breath test. But then Middleton claims the conversation, held at Morris's property business office in Leeds last summer, turned to Duberry. Middleton said: "I was there with another businessman who would later form part of a consortium to buy the club. Morris and I planned to spike Duberry. Morris made out there were four major liabilities - Erik Bakke, Michael Duberry, Gary Kelly and Seth Johnson. He wanted to cut costs by getting players off the wage bill. He made it clear that their wages were in excess of £10million a year. Johnson and Bakke were untouchable because they were injured. The basis was Gary Kelly to start with. The boss (Morris) knew Kelly went to the Bingley Arms every night. He said, 'Can we breath test him'. Morris then moved on to Duberry. There was talk about drugging his meal at a restaurant in Leeds called Bibi's during a team meal, putting something in his drink, all sorts of stuff. Me and Morris planned to do it."
Middleton - a streetwise 25-year-old - says he phoned contacts to find out which drugs stayed in the bloodstream long enough to fail a dope test. He claims he played along with the plan to please Morris but had no intention of carrying it out.
He said: "Morris would get annoyed and asked what was happening. I was always making excuses. The plan changed to trying to lace sports drinks with steroids because he came to the conclusion that it wasn't safe to do it at a restaurant. A call went into the Leeds manager Kevin Blackwell suggesting they look at giving the players protein drinks to improve their conditioning." Blackwell knew nothing about any plan with steroids.
Middleton researched how to source 50mg capsules of banned steroids to put in Duberry's and Kelly's protein drinks after training. He said: "But then Blackwell opposed the idea of getting protein drinks and that and it went out of the window." Morris confirmed there had been a plan to introduce protein drinks for the players. But he said it was to reduce the weight of unfit players and denied knowledge of a drug plot. A Leeds businessman has confirmed he witnessed the first meeting between Morris and Middleton where the Duberry drug plot was hatched. The businessman said: "They said, 'We'll go somewhere in Leeds where we can get hold of the chef, put something in Michael Duberry's food and then hopefully we can get him off the payroll'."
Sports investment broker Paul Garland, who was being paid £2,000 a week to help re-finance the club, says Morris revealed his plans to dope Duberry to him at meeting on September 18. He said: "I explained one of the concerns of the investors Nova was about some of the higher paid players, including Michael Duberry, Gary Kelly, Seth Johnson and Eric Bakke.
"Their wages were substantially greater than most of the Leeds players - they made up 45 per cent of the total LUFC wage bill.
"Morris said that there were 'ways of dealing with this'. He said he had friends who 'might tip the wink that he had taken something' and the Club would get him tested the next day and terminate his contract. Morris said if that didn't work 'we will spike the drinks he has after training'. I protested that this was disgraceful and that young players' careers ought not to be sabotaged in this way. Morris just laughed and said they were costing the club too much and 'they are f***ing crap!'"
Another Leeds businessman - heading a consortium to buy the club - has also told of a plan to drug Duberry. The businessman said: "I told Morris, 'My consortium has £25million and the only way forward is to get back in the Premiership, but we haven't enough money. You need a minimum of £45million - and the big problem is obviously the wage bill you've inherited'.
"We went on to talk about the wage contract and conditions. I said, 'Who's going to take Gary Kelly on a transfer?' Morris said, 'We'll probably just get his legs broke and then get the insurance money'. Then Duberry was mentioned. I said, 'What are you going to do with Duberry?' He said, 'Wolves have shown an interest in him. I said, 'Wolves are not going to take Duberry. They must know how bad he is'. He then said, 'Well we could get him drugged'. I'd heard this before because a businessman pal had said they were going to get Duberry drugged and cancel his contract."
Middleton also told of a plan to get Kelly off the payroll by breaking his legs and cashing in his lucrative insurance policy.
Middleton said: "Then Morris said, 'What if we get him beaten up, I'm mean seriously beaten up'. I had no answer. I conveniently forgot about it. I wanted no part in it. The boss was desperate. No-one wanted to buy the club's main assets."
In a separate meeting Paul Garland says the Leeds boss revealed his plans to put a contract on Kelly. Garland said: "He said, 'He is the easiest of the lot - we'll just have him done over in the car park of the pub. It would be the easiest thing in the world for a couple of Man Utd fans to beat him up, and smash his legs so that he'd never play again'."
Garland - a family man who has promised to co-operate with any inquiry - said: "I thought it was despicable. He was clearly anticipating an arranged serious physical attack on Gary Kelly to inflict serious injuries sufficient to end his football career."
Middleton also claims Morris instructed him to nobble visiting Coventry City manager Peter Reid and his team. Again Morris denies any role in this scheme.
Middleton said: "The Peter Reid and Coventry situation arose after it was arranged for Reid and his team to go to a restaurant called Bibi's that night. Simon then phoned me and said get down there, get some Es and put them in the drinks because we are playing tomorrow.
"I went down but I didn't get the drugs. Simon wanted me to spike the drinks he thought it would he highly amusing if they couldn't play the next day. As it was Leeds stuffed Coventry 3-1. I was a hero. Simon winked at me and patted me on the back. He thought I had administered the drug."
No other Leeds directors are implicated in any of the plots. Middleton says the club tried to sack him for gross misconduct but eventually resigned with a £27,000 pay-off and a reference.
Last night FA spokesman Adrian Bevington said: "Subject to the Sunday Mirror submitting any information to the FA, we will give it our full consideration. Until then we are not in any position to make any further public comment.""
MORRIS: I'M INNOCENT
FORMER Leeds director Simon Morris - who is still a major shareholder - has hit back at the allegations made by Chris Middleton and the three other businessmen.
He said: "None of these things ever happened. I have no knowledge of the serious allegations. I deny plotting the Gary Kelly allegations. It doesn't make economic sense. If he's in hospital for four weeks it's going to cost you a hundred grand. He's on 24-grand a week. It's nonsense. I am sorry I ever got involved with Paul Garland or Middleton. If you lay down with dogs you get fleas. All these guys piss in the same pot and have the same goal of causing disruption to Leeds United."
The claims all pre-date the £10million takeover of Leeds United last month by former Chelsea chairman Ken Bates.
CLUB BOSSES 'IN PLOT TO GET RID OF £24K-A-WEEK ENGLAND ACE'
By Paul Smith Chief Football Reporter And Graham Johnson Investigations Editor
A SENSATIONAL plot to spike a soccer star's food with drugs can be revealed today by the Sunday Mirror.
Leeds United's £5million defender Michael Duberry was the intended victim of a plan to deliberately wreck his career.
A former Leeds executive has revealed a plan to dope the 29-year-old with cocaine, ecstasy and banned steroids so he would fail a drugs test.
The aim was to engineer the one-time England international's sacking because the Championship club could no longer afford to pay his £24,000-a-week salary.
Another plan was to end the career of his fellow top wage earner, Gary Kelly, 30, by hiring hitmen to break his legs.
And a bizarre plot was hatched to drug opponents Coventry City and their high-profile manager, former Leeds boss Peter Reid, by lacing a pre-match banquet with ecstasy.
The plots followed the £22million takeover of Leeds by a Yorkshire-based consortium in March last year. To re-finance the debt-ridden club, the new owners wanted to sell the ground and slash the £15million wage bill.
Former Leeds executive Chris Middleton claims the plot was hatched between him and senior director Simon Morris - part of the consortium that had taken over the club. Morris denies being involved in any plan to nobble Duberry and Kelly claiming Middleton was a "rogue employee" who was sacked for gross misconduct.
Three witnesses to the extraordinary plan have given testimonies to the Sunday Mirror corroborating the events. And yesterday operations manager Middleton - now ashamed of his part in the plot - admitted his role in an exclusive interview.
Middleton claimed they planned to sprinkle powdered drugs disguised as Parmesan cheese on Duberry's pasta dish. He says that he and Morris - a 27-year-old property millionaire and life-long Leeds fan - also considered dissolving banned steroids in a sports protein drink aimed at the former Chelsea defender.
Middleton claims the idea arose from a chat the men had about reducing the wage bill at the crisis-hit club in March last year.
He says they originally discussed trying to arrange for defender Kelly to fail an alcohol breath test. But then Middleton claims the conversation, held at Morris's property business office in Leeds last summer, turned to Duberry. Middleton said: "I was there with another businessman who would later form part of a consortium to buy the club. Morris and I planned to spike Duberry. Morris made out there were four major liabilities - Erik Bakke, Michael Duberry, Gary Kelly and Seth Johnson. He wanted to cut costs by getting players off the wage bill. He made it clear that their wages were in excess of £10million a year. Johnson and Bakke were untouchable because they were injured. The basis was Gary Kelly to start with. The boss (Morris) knew Kelly went to the Bingley Arms every night. He said, 'Can we breath test him'. Morris then moved on to Duberry. There was talk about drugging his meal at a restaurant in Leeds called Bibi's during a team meal, putting something in his drink, all sorts of stuff. Me and Morris planned to do it."
Middleton - a streetwise 25-year-old - says he phoned contacts to find out which drugs stayed in the bloodstream long enough to fail a dope test. He claims he played along with the plan to please Morris but had no intention of carrying it out.
He said: "Morris would get annoyed and asked what was happening. I was always making excuses. The plan changed to trying to lace sports drinks with steroids because he came to the conclusion that it wasn't safe to do it at a restaurant. A call went into the Leeds manager Kevin Blackwell suggesting they look at giving the players protein drinks to improve their conditioning." Blackwell knew nothing about any plan with steroids.
Middleton researched how to source 50mg capsules of banned steroids to put in Duberry's and Kelly's protein drinks after training. He said: "But then Blackwell opposed the idea of getting protein drinks and that and it went out of the window." Morris confirmed there had been a plan to introduce protein drinks for the players. But he said it was to reduce the weight of unfit players and denied knowledge of a drug plot. A Leeds businessman has confirmed he witnessed the first meeting between Morris and Middleton where the Duberry drug plot was hatched. The businessman said: "They said, 'We'll go somewhere in Leeds where we can get hold of the chef, put something in Michael Duberry's food and then hopefully we can get him off the payroll'."
Sports investment broker Paul Garland, who was being paid £2,000 a week to help re-finance the club, says Morris revealed his plans to dope Duberry to him at meeting on September 18. He said: "I explained one of the concerns of the investors Nova was about some of the higher paid players, including Michael Duberry, Gary Kelly, Seth Johnson and Eric Bakke.
"Their wages were substantially greater than most of the Leeds players - they made up 45 per cent of the total LUFC wage bill.
"Morris said that there were 'ways of dealing with this'. He said he had friends who 'might tip the wink that he had taken something' and the Club would get him tested the next day and terminate his contract. Morris said if that didn't work 'we will spike the drinks he has after training'. I protested that this was disgraceful and that young players' careers ought not to be sabotaged in this way. Morris just laughed and said they were costing the club too much and 'they are f***ing crap!'"
Another Leeds businessman - heading a consortium to buy the club - has also told of a plan to drug Duberry. The businessman said: "I told Morris, 'My consortium has £25million and the only way forward is to get back in the Premiership, but we haven't enough money. You need a minimum of £45million - and the big problem is obviously the wage bill you've inherited'.
"We went on to talk about the wage contract and conditions. I said, 'Who's going to take Gary Kelly on a transfer?' Morris said, 'We'll probably just get his legs broke and then get the insurance money'. Then Duberry was mentioned. I said, 'What are you going to do with Duberry?' He said, 'Wolves have shown an interest in him. I said, 'Wolves are not going to take Duberry. They must know how bad he is'. He then said, 'Well we could get him drugged'. I'd heard this before because a businessman pal had said they were going to get Duberry drugged and cancel his contract."
Middleton also told of a plan to get Kelly off the payroll by breaking his legs and cashing in his lucrative insurance policy.
Middleton said: "Then Morris said, 'What if we get him beaten up, I'm mean seriously beaten up'. I had no answer. I conveniently forgot about it. I wanted no part in it. The boss was desperate. No-one wanted to buy the club's main assets."
In a separate meeting Paul Garland says the Leeds boss revealed his plans to put a contract on Kelly. Garland said: "He said, 'He is the easiest of the lot - we'll just have him done over in the car park of the pub. It would be the easiest thing in the world for a couple of Man Utd fans to beat him up, and smash his legs so that he'd never play again'."
Garland - a family man who has promised to co-operate with any inquiry - said: "I thought it was despicable. He was clearly anticipating an arranged serious physical attack on Gary Kelly to inflict serious injuries sufficient to end his football career."
Middleton also claims Morris instructed him to nobble visiting Coventry City manager Peter Reid and his team. Again Morris denies any role in this scheme.
Middleton said: "The Peter Reid and Coventry situation arose after it was arranged for Reid and his team to go to a restaurant called Bibi's that night. Simon then phoned me and said get down there, get some Es and put them in the drinks because we are playing tomorrow.
"I went down but I didn't get the drugs. Simon wanted me to spike the drinks he thought it would he highly amusing if they couldn't play the next day. As it was Leeds stuffed Coventry 3-1. I was a hero. Simon winked at me and patted me on the back. He thought I had administered the drug."
No other Leeds directors are implicated in any of the plots. Middleton says the club tried to sack him for gross misconduct but eventually resigned with a £27,000 pay-off and a reference.
Last night FA spokesman Adrian Bevington said: "Subject to the Sunday Mirror submitting any information to the FA, we will give it our full consideration. Until then we are not in any position to make any further public comment.""
MORRIS: I'M INNOCENT
FORMER Leeds director Simon Morris - who is still a major shareholder - has hit back at the allegations made by Chris Middleton and the three other businessmen.
He said: "None of these things ever happened. I have no knowledge of the serious allegations. I deny plotting the Gary Kelly allegations. It doesn't make economic sense. If he's in hospital for four weeks it's going to cost you a hundred grand. He's on 24-grand a week. It's nonsense. I am sorry I ever got involved with Paul Garland or Middleton. If you lay down with dogs you get fleas. All these guys piss in the same pot and have the same goal of causing disruption to Leeds United."
The claims all pre-date the £10million takeover of Leeds United last month by former Chelsea chairman Ken Bates.