Bates puts whopping £80m price tag on LUFC?
To Ell And Back 30/5/12
According to the not-so reliable Daily Mail, Ken Bates has told a mystery Canadian consortium to stump up a massive £80m if they wish to buy the club.
The Mail report that Bates has been offered a more modest £40m, however due to the complexities as to who actually owns the ground and Thorp Arch etc it is unlikely they will up the ante.
It appears that our beloved owner/chairman has realised his time is up at ER and the more he can make out of handing over the reigns to a new owner, the better for him.
Bates endured a season of conflict with supporters over perceived lack of investment in the squad over stadium redevelopments. However the ultimate embarrassment came last week when Captain Robert Snodgrass openly questioned Bates' ambition on the field and indicated this would be a massive factor in deciding his own future at the club.
Bates however has insisted that Leeds went over budget on transfer spend, Including signing on fees and wages last season following the dismissal of Simon Grayson. However a Watford player I was talking to after their 2-0 win in March alleged that he would have been a Leeds player "had it not been for your chairman".
Joel Ward, another reported target, has joined Crystal Palace for £400,000 this week with the claim that Leeds were unable to raise the capital to pay for the transfer fee up front needed by his then club Portsmouth. This set alarm bells ringing that either Leeds were facing another period of financial trauma or the chairman was heading towards an uneasy stand-off with boss Neil Warnock.
The weekend saw rumours of a takeover begin on social networking sites and the net in general.
Whilst Bates should be rightfully be credited for stepping in back in January 2005 and saving us from oblivion, his austerity measures are hard to argue against particularly after the "boom and bust" years of Ridsdale. However our Championship status now is a far cry from the rumoured £37,000 a week lavished on Seth Johnson and £65,000 on Mark Viduka. Having seen some of our best players move to lesser Championship clubs or Norwich there is a feeling we are not competitive on the wages front anymore.
Surely the biggest marketing draw for the hospitality packages will be a team who are worth watching who have a genuine chance of promotion, not a lower mid-table side like last season who punched above it's weight and collapsed after Christmas?
Let's hope that a comfortable retirement is imminent for Ken and he hands the club over to sensible owners with realistic and genuine ambitions.
According to the not-so reliable Daily Mail, Ken Bates has told a mystery Canadian consortium to stump up a massive £80m if they wish to buy the club.
The Mail report that Bates has been offered a more modest £40m, however due to the complexities as to who actually owns the ground and Thorp Arch etc it is unlikely they will up the ante.
It appears that our beloved owner/chairman has realised his time is up at ER and the more he can make out of handing over the reigns to a new owner, the better for him.
Bates endured a season of conflict with supporters over perceived lack of investment in the squad over stadium redevelopments. However the ultimate embarrassment came last week when Captain Robert Snodgrass openly questioned Bates' ambition on the field and indicated this would be a massive factor in deciding his own future at the club.
Bates however has insisted that Leeds went over budget on transfer spend, Including signing on fees and wages last season following the dismissal of Simon Grayson. However a Watford player I was talking to after their 2-0 win in March alleged that he would have been a Leeds player "had it not been for your chairman".
Joel Ward, another reported target, has joined Crystal Palace for £400,000 this week with the claim that Leeds were unable to raise the capital to pay for the transfer fee up front needed by his then club Portsmouth. This set alarm bells ringing that either Leeds were facing another period of financial trauma or the chairman was heading towards an uneasy stand-off with boss Neil Warnock.
The weekend saw rumours of a takeover begin on social networking sites and the net in general.
Whilst Bates should be rightfully be credited for stepping in back in January 2005 and saving us from oblivion, his austerity measures are hard to argue against particularly after the "boom and bust" years of Ridsdale. However our Championship status now is a far cry from the rumoured £37,000 a week lavished on Seth Johnson and £65,000 on Mark Viduka. Having seen some of our best players move to lesser Championship clubs or Norwich there is a feeling we are not competitive on the wages front anymore.
Surely the biggest marketing draw for the hospitality packages will be a team who are worth watching who have a genuine chance of promotion, not a lower mid-table side like last season who punched above it's weight and collapsed after Christmas?
Let's hope that a comfortable retirement is imminent for Ken and he hands the club over to sensible owners with realistic and genuine ambitions.