Leeds United world of James, Ten for GFH-C
By Clarke One Nil
Remember this?
James asks the vital questions.
When I wrote my last missive a month ago and titled it Spot The Difference, little did I know it would prove to be quite so prophetic….
Because this week, we saw the takeover that never was… Saviours GFH-C signed a deal to take over ownership of Leeds United, and then went and spoilt it by leaving possibly the most hated – and certainly the most divisive – man in the club’s history in charge until the summer. To add insult to injury, they then gave him the title of honorary life president to boot.
Many will have you believe that this is the end of the Ken Bates regime, but I’m not so sure myself. He will still be around until at least the end of May to produce more of his poison pen programme notes and then he takes over a position previously graced for many years by such a gentleman as George Lascelles, the Earl of Harewood.
While his lordship undoubtedly saw the title as little more than a figurehead position, anyone who expects Ken Bates to do the same just doesn’t know Ken Bates. Can anyone seriously see him being linked with a football club and not sticking his oar in somewhere?
So GFH-C’s regime at Elland Road starts, in my eyes at least, with a pretty humongous black mark by their name. Despite that, I appreciate that dealing with Mr Bates would have been little short of a nightmare and so I’m prepared to accept that him staying on in some capacity may have been a condition of sale, and so they could have been left with little choice.
In giving them the benefit of the doubt however, it deserves to be pointed out that one of the key issues surrounding the anger for the Bates regime was the complete lack of transparency the club went through for the last eight years. That lack of transparency spawned the well-received Tenforken.com campaign that floundered only on promotion to the Championship and people’s want to give the club a fair chance in a division higher.
GFH-C could go a long way to earning some very significant brownie points with myself and, I’m sure, other fans, if they came out as soon as possible and shed some more light on their ownership of Leeds United in an open and transparent manner.
So in the spirit of that previous campaign, here are my starting Ten For GFH-C…
1. You claim that the club will be run as Leeds United Holdings, a subsidiary of GFH-C. As this is a new entity, have you purchased the football club Leeds United or the parent company Leeds City Holdings and all associated companies such as Yorkshire Radio and Howard’s restaurant? If you have not purchased the associated companies, who owns them?
2. Earlier this year, 32 ‘Preference Shares’ were issued in the football club. Shares were reported as purchased for £100k with a guaranteed worth of £125k to be redeemed if the club or its holding company changed ownership. Given change of ownership is taking place, have you paid out on these shares and, if so, to whom?
3. What, exactly, will Ken Bates role be as President of the club? Will it be purely a ceremonial/honorary position or will he hold greater sway over club affairs and, if so, what exactly does that mean in practical terms. If an overwhelming percentage of Leeds fans express discontent at Mr Bates future position with the club, will you relieve him of the title of President?
4. There has been much conjecture over the summer as to how GFH-C is financing its purchase. Mr Bates alluded in his address on Yorkshire Radio on Wednesday that there is a ‘rich’ individual that has funded the purchase, which would imply they are the ultimate beneficiary of the club. If this person exists, who is it (you will need to give out this information to both the Football League and if we are promoted the Premier League so why not give it to the fans as well)? We spent at least five years of the Bates regime not knowing who the owners of Leeds United were – this cannot be allowed to happen again.
5. Is Leeds United and/or Leeds City Holdings ring-fenced from GFH and GFH-C’s other companies and dealings? Could a failure in another line of business be a draw on club funds?
6. Please do not underestimate the value Leeds fans place on their emotional attachment to Elland Road. Have you purchased Elland Road as part of the deal? If not, do you know who owns the ground and what are your plans for bringing it back to the club?
7. Leeds fans like nothing more than to see a home-grown hero on the field. Have you purchased Thorp Arch as part of the deal? If not, do you know who owns the training facilities and what are your plans for bringing them back to the club?
8. Will you continue with Ken Bates’ plans to build a hotel at Elland Road and if so, why and how will it be funded? Also, Leeds City Holdings is a bidder for the community television licence in Leeds. Will you be pursuing this aim? Will further capital projects at Elland Road once again take money away from the team itself and could further future ticket sales be mortgaged (again).
9. Neil Warnock has declared that this is his last season in football and his motivation at Leeds was to gain a record-breaking promotion. Given that motivation – by the manager’s own admission – is now a pipe dream, what are your plans for the management of the club? Will you be asking him to commit longer term to Leeds United given he may have significant funds to spend in the January transfer window?
10. Ticket prices are the elephant in the room. While football is admittedly an expensive business, we have been paying Premiership prices for lower division football for many years. Why not change tack and drop prices to increase attendance? Will you introduce half-season ticket prices in January? The next generation of Leeds fans is imperative to the long-term survival of the club – how do you plan to attract younger people given the lack club’s lack of recent successes?
If GFH-C can answer these starting questions, honestly and openly, I believe it would go a long way to placate Leeds United supporters and ensure a long extension of the honeymoon period with the new owners. We have had nigh on eight years of obfuscation – that has to end and it has to end now.
James Ellis.