Mighty Leeds Weblog

leedsunited.com 26/5/11 BRADLEY JOHNSON SET TO MOVE ON Midfielder considering alternative offers... Leeds United can confirm that the club expects midfielder Bradley Johnson to exercise his right to move to another club this summer. The player was offered a new contract by Leeds United, but Bradley's agent has told the club that the player is keeping his options open after receiving other offers, two of which are in the Premier League, and he is therefore unlikely to re-sign for Leeds United. United manager Simon Grayson said: "It's disappointing that it looks like Bradley won't be re-signing. We felt we made the player a suitable offer. I'd like to thank Bradley for his contribution while I've been here, but the contractual situation that we work in nowadays means that players have the ability to make choices such as this. "This is a situation we wanted resolving as a club because we are looking ahead to next season and planning ahead." Yorkshire Eve...

‘Fortune, That Favours Fools’: TSB Analyses Leeds United’s Accounts By The Square Ball On May 18, 2011 · 6 Comments We all love football, don’t we? It’s a simple game, and yet it inspires devotion in many millions of people. The desperate alchemists of Medieval Europe who toiled in their crude laboratories for years, attempting to turn base metals into fabulous and limitless gold, would marvel at just how much lucre has been generated in the modern era simply by trapping wind in a bladder and making twenty-two men kick it. We all, without thinking of the power these present-day alchemical geniuses hold over us, leave our money at the scientist’s turnstile so that the football club owners can transform it into Baby Bentleys and country mansions and Pouilly-Fumé, just so long as our half of the twenty...

leedsunited.com 18/5/11 I LOVED PLAYING FOR LEEDS - NAYLS Outgoing captain Richard Naylor looked back on his two-and-a-half years as a Leeds United player this week and admitted: "I just loved playing for the club." The 34-year-old, Simon Grayson's first permanent signing following his arrival in December 2009, will move on to pastures new after first skippering the club to promotion then playing a part in the club finishing seventh in the npower Championship. Richard had represented Leeds City Boys as a youngster, but it took a 15-year stint with Ipswich before he finally got the chance to represent the club he supported as a boy. "I couldn't believe how it had worked out coming here," said Richard. "Having played for so long at Ipswich I never expected to come back and play for Leeds and for it to happen so late in my career was fantastic." Richard made 76 appearances during his time with the club and, unsurprisingly, lists promotion f...

Yorkshire Post 10/5/11 Grayson pays tribute to Naylor as he opts to re-shape Leeds without his captain LEEDS United manager Simon Grayson is allowing captain Richard Naylor to leave the club as part of his summer shake-up at Elland Road. The Leeds-born defender was Grayson’s first signing as boss over two years ago and played a key role in getting the club back into the Championship. However, his appearances this season have been limited by injury and added competition for places and Grayson feels the time is right to part company, albeit with a fond farewell. “I’d like to thank Richard for everything he has done during his two-and-a-half years with us,” said Grayson. “He’s been a great captain for the club, both on and off the field, and I can’t speak highly enough of him and what he’s done. “Unfortunately, we’re not in a position where I can offer him regular football now and allowing him to move on will give him the best possible opportunity elsewhere.” Leeds have been unable to agr...

Yorkshire Evening Post 8/5/11 We won’t hold Howson back - Grayson By Phil Hay Jonathan Howson will travel to the European Under-21 Championship with Leeds United’s blessing if he makes the final 23-man squad selected by England coach Stuart Pearce. Howson was named in a provisional group of 40 players announced by the Football Association earlier this week and will learn before June 1 whether Pearce plans to take him to Denmark for next month’s tournament. United’s vice-captain, who will turn 23 ahead of the European Championship, but who is eligible having been 21 when qualifying started, broke into the under-21 squad for the first time in February having caught Pearce’s eye during a full and impressive season in the Championship. Howson completed an ever-present term at Queens Park Rangers, making his 46th league appearance and his 50th in all competitions, but the European Championship runs throughout June and Leeds manager Simon Grayson admitted to concern about Howson’s rest and r...

The Scratching Shed 7/5/11 Leeds Spoil QPR’s promotion party Leeds missed out on the play-offs but did their bit to spoil the QPR promotion party after coming back from going a goal down early on to win 2-1. The day started horribly for Leeds. The news that QPR were found guilty on two charges but would not be deducted any points was released almost exactly an hour before kick-off. It was bad timing from the FA and no doubt helped QPR fly out the traps the way they did. Within thirty seconds QPR won the ball and blitzed forward. Tommy Smith received the ball in the box and shot at Schmeichel who spilled it into the path of Heidur Helguson to tap home. The Leeds defence was static and didn’t seem to know what had hit them. QPR started with pace and Leeds just weren’t ready for them. After that the game took on the typical feel of the last game of the season. QPR didn’t really move up a gear, though Schmeichel was forced into action a couple of times. Slowly Leeds started to see more of ...

Yorkshire Post 5/5/11 Whites takeover deal’s worth ‘tens of millions’ By Phil Hay The majority stake in Leeds United purchased by Ken Bates is likely to have been worth “tens of millions of pounds,” a leading sports lawyer claimed today. Richard Cramer, a partner with Leeds-based solicitors Cohen Cramer, said the value of the controlling interest acquired by Bates could stand at eight figures with United closer to the Premier League than they have been for almost five years. Bates, United’s chairman since January 2005, became the club’s majority shareholder last week in an attempt to tackle scrutiny of Leeds’ previous owners, all of whom were anonymous. The 79-year-old purchased a 72.85 per cent stake in Leeds City Holdings Limited – the firm which owns Leeds United Football Club Limited – on April 26, installing himself as United’s new owner and moving to comply with Premier League rules demanding full disclosure of the identity of shareholders with an interest of 10 per cent or more....

Guardian 3/5/11 Why did Leeds sell to Ken Bates, who claims he has no money to invest? Leeds United's mystery owners have just sold out to Ken Bates for an 'undisclosed sum' at a time when they stood a good chance of realising a thumping return on their outlay David Conn Ken Bates was attempting to "end the speculation" and settle what he derided as "scaremongering" over Leeds United's anonymous offshore ownership by announcing todaythat he has finally bought the club himself. Characteristically of this saga, in which the proud Yorkshire club have been owned by unnamed beneficiaries of trusts in tax havens since Bates arrived as chairman in 2005, he said he had bought Leeds from those anonymous owners "for an undisclosed sum", via a company, Outro Ltd, registered in a tax haven – Nevis, in the West Indies. Leeds said in an official club statement that the "change in ownership structure" was meant to settle the issue, the lack of t...

Yorkshire Post 3/5/11 Bates in Leeds buy-out to end ownership saga Ken Bates has sought to lay speculation about the ownership of Leeds United to rest by buying control of the club. Leeds last night issued a statement saying Bates, the club’s chairman, had bought out the near 73 per cent stakeholding of off-shore company Forward Sports Fund (FSF). Bates has bought control – for an undisclosed sum – through a company called Outro, which he wholly owns. Both Outro and FSF are based in the Caribbean tax haven of Nevis. FSF is owned by three discretionary trusts with no public recognition of who the trusts’ owners are. Leeds said no individual owned more than 10 per cent of any of those trusts, which meant they did not have to provide further details to the Football League and FA under their ownership disclosure rules. But the apparent anonymity of Leeds’s ownership has become an increasing bone of contention and last month MPs running an inquiry into football governance questioned how the...

leedsunited.com 3/5/11 STATEMENT - NEW LEEDS UNITED OWNERSHIP Ken Bates announced as new Leeds United owner... There has been much speculation in the media as to the ownership structure of Leeds United and its compliance with the relevant regulations of The Football League and The Football Association. The speculation has been further fuelled by the coverage of the Football Governance enquiry and the political obsession with the ownership of Leeds United. Both the Football League and the Football Association have confirmed that the current ownership structure of Leeds United complies with both their regulations. The scaremongering arising out of the football Governance enquiry has not been helpful and, whilst the Board were always confident that there were no issues, recognise the concern the unknown outcome of any Premier League questions, may have on our Members. To address this issue and in the hope that this brings an end to the speculation, the chairman, Ken Bates, has completed t...

Sky 3/5/11 Gradel eyes new deal Whites ace happy committing his future to Elland Road Leeds United winger Max Gradel has confirmed he would sign a new deal if offered one by the club. Gradel has one year left on his Elland Road contract, although Leeds are currently waiting to see which division they will be in next term. Simon Grayson's side still have an outside chance of making the Championship play-offs, but they need help from elsewhere on the final day of the season. Gradel has been superb for Leeds following a permanent switch from Leicester and his displays following promotion earned him the club's Players' Player of the Year and Fans' Player of the Year awards. The Ivorian is enjoying his time at Leeds and despite reported interest from Newcastle the 23-year-old is looking to commit his future to the Whites. "If there is a new contract on the table I'd sign it because I am very happy at Leeds," confirmed Gradel.

Yorkshire Evening Post 3/5/11 Kisnorbo’s back in the frame By Leon Wobschall PATRICK KISNORBO is eyeing a shock final-day appearance at QPR on Saturday, as he bids to end his season from hell on a high note. The redoubtable Leeds United defender, left, whose physical qualities and whole-hearted atittude have been missed badly at the back end of this term, is hoping to draw a line under his 14-and-a-half month injury nightmare by featuring at Loftus Road, while boosting his hopes of earning a new deal in the process. The former Leicester City stopper, who recently turned 30, hasn’t played competitively since rupturing his achilles tendon against Millwall in March 2010, but returned to full training earlier this spring, virtually a year after suffering his horror injury. He was in the provisional squad for Saturday’s clash with Burnley, only to just miss out on a sub’s place and is desperate to be involved this weekend. Kisnorbo, who won the fans’ player and players’ player gongs last se...

Yorkshire Post 2/5/11 Leeds United 1 Burnley 0: Final flurry not enough to give Leeds play-off chance THE mathematicians may claim Leeds United are still alive in the hunt for the play-offs after completing the double over Burnley. But the body language of the United players as they embarked on their now customary lap of honour after bringing down the curtain on another season at Elland Road told a different story. Among the back-slapping and applause was an unmistakeable sense of ‘what might have been?’ Nottingham Forest were, at the time, still to play Scunthorpe United but few genuinely believed the Iron had any chance of upsetting the odds at the City Ground. So it proved with Forest romping to a 5-1 victory that leaves Billy Davies’s side all but confirmed in the final play-off place due to Leeds needing to not only close a three-point gap on the final day but also overcome a six-goal deficit in the for and against column. It is, quite plainly, not going to happen – hence the mute...

New pages uploaded at mightyleeds.co.uk Match – 12 August 1972 – Chelsea 4 Leeds United 0 United lose Mick Jones and David Harvey after 25 minutes and Peter Lorimer gives a remarkable goalkeeping display but there's no halting Chelsea as the season kicks off in disastrous style Read the full story at http://www.mightyleeds.co.uk/matches/19720812.htm Players Evelyn Lintott – True Corinthian (half-back) Evelyn Lintott was one of the most celebrated footballers ever to wear the colours of Leeds City, a full England international and a man who resolutely maintained the finer aspects of the Corinthian age Read the full story at http://www.mightyleeds.co.uk/players/lintott.htm John Saunders (centre-back) 1971-72 http://www.mightyleeds.co.uk/players/saundersjohn.htm M Keith Edwards (defender) 1969-72 http://www.mightyleeds.co.uk/players/edwardsmkeith.htm Chairmen Norris Hepworth (1905-14) Leeds City's first chairman and the benefactor who kept the club afloat for a decade Read the ful...

Yorkshire Post 30/4/11 Leeds United 1-0 Burnley - Grayson not giving up on play-offs LEEDS UNITED’S fight for a play-off place will go the final weekend of the season after Ross McCormack’s first goal of the season was enough to beat Burnley. The signing from Cardiff City struck on 33 minutes to settle an often fiery War of the Roses clash. It means United will still have a chance of claiming sixth place next Saturday at QPR, even though Nottingham Forest kept a tight hold on their berth with a 5-1 thumping of relegated Scunthorpe. Leeds manager Simon Grayson will not accept his side’s play-off challenge is over until it is mathematically impossible while also alluding to champions QPR’s pending disciplinary hearing for allegedly breaking Football League rules over third-party player ownership, which could result in a points deduction. He said: “We always had hope. We never stopped believing we can still achieve it because we know things can happen. One or two things might still happen...