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Aaron's taken a wage cut!
By PAUL DEWS
LEEDS UNITED boss Kevin Blackwell today admitted it was "impossible" for the Elland Road club to keep teenage star Aaron Lennon.
And Blackwell also revealed that the youngster even took a wage cut to join Tottenham Hotspur in order for the move to go through.
Leeds agreed a deal with Spurs last week for the homegrown youngster, believed to be worth in the region of £1m, sparking fury among a section of supporters.
But Blackwell today laid the blame at the feet of previous regimes at United and branded the youngster's contract "unsustainable" for Leeds in the current climate.
The terms of Lennon's United deal are a closely guarded secret, but it is believed that the teenager's salary was based on how many games he played and was due to rise substantially at regular intervals over the course of next season.
"If Aaron's contract hadn't have been of that nature he would not have been allowed to leave," revealed Blackwell. "It's as simple as that.
Private
"I'm not going into figures because that is a private matter, but contracts where there is a substantial increase every so many games make it very, very difficult.
"In the cold light of day, Aaron shouldn't have to leave this club. He didn't want to go and we didn't want him to go, but there was little anyone could do.
"Aaron's contract was such that even Tottenham couldn't match it and he took a wage cut to go there. That shows just how things were handed out here in the past.
"Aaron's contract was ongoing. It was a perpetual deal and you have to offer a matching contract to the player if you want compensation should they leave. Offer less and they can go anyway."
Lennon told the YEP last week that he had never asked to leave United and was happy to stay – like James Milner before him – and Blackwell was quick to hit back at the snipers who have accused the youngster of moving on at the earliest opportunity.
"It's not the fault of Aaron or anyone else at this football club now," insisted Blackwell.
"We're all trying to put this club on an even keel and have had to do whatever we can to work towards that.
"It's all down to previous regimes and the legacy of what has been left behind.
"It's the legacy of yesteryear when contracts that were so prohibitive were handed out.
"It's all what we have picked up. Like James Milner last summer – he didn't want to leave Leeds – it's been a case of picking up contracts offered by others that are just too prohibitive."
Lennon follows in the footsteps of fellow teenagers Scott Carson and Milner in heading through the exit door long before they have fulfilled their potential as future great Leeds players.
Since taking over as manager 13 months ago, Blackwell has presided over the departure of a staggering 17 senior players with the majority leaving in order to ease the financial burden.
Over £20m has been slashed off the Elland Road wage bill over the past year as United battled to get back on an even keel.
"We're not just trying to hang in there. We are trying to take this club forward, but without the debts," said Blackwell.
"That is what I've tried to do as manager. There are a lot of players who have left this club over the past 12 months who you would have liked to have kept, but not if it is going to financially kill the club.
"It's getting back to a point where we can control the finances rather than it's the finances controlling the club, but that's meant a lot of tough and unpopular decisions.
"I can understand people's frustration when they see young players like Aaron leaving, but whoever it was that offered some of the deals we have seen here...there was just nowhere the club could go with some of them."
Blackwell insists that the sale of Lennon was not a quick-fix for United – a portion of the cash raised from the fee will go towards the purchase of Dan Harding – but was necessary to ease the ongoing burden of hefty contract payments.
New chairman Ken Bates has already backed his manager financially by strengthening the squad, and Leeds have spent in excess of £1m this summer, but the contracts now being offered are what Blackwell and his chairman describe as "realistic".
While there is no official wage ceiling at Elland Road, Bates signalled his intentions last month when he said the club would not be held to ransom by players demanding £12,000 a week, and all new arrivals are on manageable deals well below that figure.
Angry
"The chairman is angry about the situation and some of the contracts he has seen here he cannot believe," said Blackwell.
"He has been at Chelsea, he knows all about the top players and top contracts, yet he is still staggered.
"He's as disappointed as anyone else about losing a young player like Aaron, but his responsibility is to the club and the supporters, and making sure they still have a club, and he's worked tirelessly since he came in to make sure that's the case.
"The alternative is to keep the player, lose fortunes and head back down a road that there is no way out of it. It's a catch 22 and, sadly, unpleasant decisions have to be made sometimes."
The consortium headed by former chairman Gerald Krasner set about recovering the situation at Leeds before passing the baton to Bates last January.
The stabilisation process has continued apace, but Blackwell firmly believes that other clubs should take note of United's near meltdown and is pleading for caution in the game.
He added: "Football is at a crucial time and I'm sure more clubs will go through what we have gone through, although maybe not of the same magnitude.
"The money now in the game centres around maybe five or six top clubs, with some trying to play catch-up. What happened here could have happened at the right time."
Aaron's taken a wage cut!
By PAUL DEWS
LEEDS UNITED boss Kevin Blackwell today admitted it was "impossible" for the Elland Road club to keep teenage star Aaron Lennon.
And Blackwell also revealed that the youngster even took a wage cut to join Tottenham Hotspur in order for the move to go through.
Leeds agreed a deal with Spurs last week for the homegrown youngster, believed to be worth in the region of £1m, sparking fury among a section of supporters.
But Blackwell today laid the blame at the feet of previous regimes at United and branded the youngster's contract "unsustainable" for Leeds in the current climate.
The terms of Lennon's United deal are a closely guarded secret, but it is believed that the teenager's salary was based on how many games he played and was due to rise substantially at regular intervals over the course of next season.
"If Aaron's contract hadn't have been of that nature he would not have been allowed to leave," revealed Blackwell. "It's as simple as that.
Private
"I'm not going into figures because that is a private matter, but contracts where there is a substantial increase every so many games make it very, very difficult.
"In the cold light of day, Aaron shouldn't have to leave this club. He didn't want to go and we didn't want him to go, but there was little anyone could do.
"Aaron's contract was such that even Tottenham couldn't match it and he took a wage cut to go there. That shows just how things were handed out here in the past.
"Aaron's contract was ongoing. It was a perpetual deal and you have to offer a matching contract to the player if you want compensation should they leave. Offer less and they can go anyway."
Lennon told the YEP last week that he had never asked to leave United and was happy to stay – like James Milner before him – and Blackwell was quick to hit back at the snipers who have accused the youngster of moving on at the earliest opportunity.
"It's not the fault of Aaron or anyone else at this football club now," insisted Blackwell.
"We're all trying to put this club on an even keel and have had to do whatever we can to work towards that.
"It's all down to previous regimes and the legacy of what has been left behind.
"It's the legacy of yesteryear when contracts that were so prohibitive were handed out.
"It's all what we have picked up. Like James Milner last summer – he didn't want to leave Leeds – it's been a case of picking up contracts offered by others that are just too prohibitive."
Lennon follows in the footsteps of fellow teenagers Scott Carson and Milner in heading through the exit door long before they have fulfilled their potential as future great Leeds players.
Since taking over as manager 13 months ago, Blackwell has presided over the departure of a staggering 17 senior players with the majority leaving in order to ease the financial burden.
Over £20m has been slashed off the Elland Road wage bill over the past year as United battled to get back on an even keel.
"We're not just trying to hang in there. We are trying to take this club forward, but without the debts," said Blackwell.
"That is what I've tried to do as manager. There are a lot of players who have left this club over the past 12 months who you would have liked to have kept, but not if it is going to financially kill the club.
"It's getting back to a point where we can control the finances rather than it's the finances controlling the club, but that's meant a lot of tough and unpopular decisions.
"I can understand people's frustration when they see young players like Aaron leaving, but whoever it was that offered some of the deals we have seen here...there was just nowhere the club could go with some of them."
Blackwell insists that the sale of Lennon was not a quick-fix for United – a portion of the cash raised from the fee will go towards the purchase of Dan Harding – but was necessary to ease the ongoing burden of hefty contract payments.
New chairman Ken Bates has already backed his manager financially by strengthening the squad, and Leeds have spent in excess of £1m this summer, but the contracts now being offered are what Blackwell and his chairman describe as "realistic".
While there is no official wage ceiling at Elland Road, Bates signalled his intentions last month when he said the club would not be held to ransom by players demanding £12,000 a week, and all new arrivals are on manageable deals well below that figure.
Angry
"The chairman is angry about the situation and some of the contracts he has seen here he cannot believe," said Blackwell.
"He has been at Chelsea, he knows all about the top players and top contracts, yet he is still staggered.
"He's as disappointed as anyone else about losing a young player like Aaron, but his responsibility is to the club and the supporters, and making sure they still have a club, and he's worked tirelessly since he came in to make sure that's the case.
"The alternative is to keep the player, lose fortunes and head back down a road that there is no way out of it. It's a catch 22 and, sadly, unpleasant decisions have to be made sometimes."
The consortium headed by former chairman Gerald Krasner set about recovering the situation at Leeds before passing the baton to Bates last January.
The stabilisation process has continued apace, but Blackwell firmly believes that other clubs should take note of United's near meltdown and is pleading for caution in the game.
He added: "Football is at a crucial time and I'm sure more clubs will go through what we have gone through, although maybe not of the same magnitude.
"The money now in the game centres around maybe five or six top clubs, with some trying to play catch-up. What happened here could have happened at the right time."