Every word Leeds United chairman Paraag Marathe said on Daniel Farke, player sales, transfers and Elland Road — YEP 1/6/24

By Graham Smyth

Leeds United owners 49ers Enterprises are approaching the first anniversary of their takeover at Elland Road and just two days after Wembley play-off final heartache, chairman Paraag Marathe has laid out the club’s position on a range of topics.

Marathe wrote to fans on Tuesday, promising they would put the team in the best possible position to challenge for promotion at the second time of asking in 2024/25. On the same day he sat down with the local press, on a Zoom call, to field questions on areas of concern or interest to fans. The immediate future of prize possession Archie Gray, Elland Road development, the necessity of player sales and the club’s financial position were all on the table. Here’s everything Marathe had to say.

Opening statement Marathe: “Just like many of our Leeds supporters, I am still hurting. Obviously it has been a really difficult, emotional season. I really was hoping for promotion for the fans, for the community, for our players, for everybody. I kind of had a hard time getting out of bed on Monday morning. Fortunately my wife was with me and it was really helpful to have her by my side. But, you know, fortunately for us, as human beings we're allowed to have multiple emotions and while I was really hurting, I'm also really excited about the path forward and the opportunity that we have in front of us, with truly a full off-season, to be able to continue to implement our plan. I hosted a small get together there with some of our Leeds senior staff and some of our investors on Saturday night and on the flight over I had a little epiphany that I shared with everybody. I was thinking to myself and reflecting on 23 years in the sports business and for a moment asking myself why I do this to myself, because sometimes it feels like torture. And what I realised it's really the drug, the drug of sports. And in a particular case, in an almost highlighted case, it's the drug of being a Leeds United supporter and what I mean is 98 per cent of the time, all of us whether players, fans, supporters, you in the media, executives, ownership, 98 per cent of the time we live in agony. We live in the woulda, coulda, shoulda world and just wondering what could have been if only this happened, and we live in that place 98 per cent of the time. And we do that because we chase the high of the two per cent of the time that we get to be in pure joy, where you know you won a championship or you arrived exactly where you wanted to arrive. And we do that, we do everything that we do just to have that per cent of joy. And when we're in those moments, I realised we all need to try to appreciate those as much as we can and be as present as we can in those moments. And if you think about it, we had that last week. We had that after such a tremendous win against Norwich. And that week, we brought a whole community together. We helped rekindle long lost relationships. A friend of mine, who I won't mention, his father's 93 years old and had never been to a match at Elland Road and came to a match. They're Leeds United supporters and they got to go to the match and they sort of rekindled their bond over a match at Elland road. We brought a community together, we bought families together, we brought all of us together and that's something special and while what happened at Wembley was a disappointment for everybody, I think it's important that we all maybe try to extend that two per cent as long as we can. My goal and our goal is to continue that and we'll chase that two per cent. I'm confident that this year we'll be able to get over the hump and keep that a little bit longer.”

Can you put the speculation on Daniel Farke to bed and give clarity on his position?

Marathe: “Daniel has been fantastic. I'm excited about working with him again this season. We set out to do this, we had a long-term plan, a long-term commitment, not just me to him but him to me. And you know we have a lot of work to do and we have to see our plan through. He has been tremendous with a steady hand, the right temperament. If you think about the circumstances that he first came in, I can't remember exactly how many days we had between his official hiring and the first day of training, but it wasn't many and you saw that how our start to the season was with just so many ins and outs and different difficult, challenging player situations. And I thought he did a tremendous job. And so I'm excited about getting back at it with him as my partner and with our leadership team. I just think I really feel confident about the season particularly because we have at least a four or five week head start on what we had last year.”

What’s the financial position of the club and will key players have to be sold?

Marathe: “Well let me lead with this, we are well capitalised from an investment standpoint, we have the funds that we need to do what we need to do. The reality of being in the Championship is that P&S plays a role. We obviously also inherited a challenging situation, which you guys have all seen, so there naturally need to be some trade-offs. But also we have a really good team and it's not just out, it's ins as well. And so looking at scouting possibilities for us and players that we can bring in, but we will have to make some trade-offs because of P&S. But we have the investment commitment that we need to do what we need to do.”

Will Archie Gray be a Leeds United player when the transfer window closes?

Marathe: “It's a little too early for me to answer specific questions. It's still, what is it 36 hours or whatever since the final, so it's just I can't talk on specific players right now. But like I said earlier, if I can paint the big picture for you, there are certain things that we need to do and we will make sure we are fully compliant with P&S, as we always have been. And there are certain trade-offs that we have to make and so we'll have to get to the drawing board and figure out which moves we have to make sure that we are compliant. It's too early to say. Obviously Archie is a tremendous player, as are all of the players who put in so much effort for us, but you know, every season brings change and so I can't yet comment on it, but we'll see what happens.”

What happens with loanees like Wober, Aaronson, Llorente, Harrison etc?

Marathe: “Yeah, so we'll see. We have to sit down as a leadership team with Daniel to figure out which ones and how we manage all of that. It's still, again, it's a little bit early. I will say that fortunately, we don't have as many of those situations as we had last year, and also we aren't in a race against time, as we were last year at this point. I think we still were 12 days away from even finalising the transaction to take over the club, let alone starting our interview process for a manager so, you know, we have a lot more time to think about it. The chemistry of the squad is also very important, right. Which players fit us, what we're trying to be and what we want to look like versus which don't. And so that will be taken into account as well as some of the P&S complications that we have.”

When will the West Stand development and the ground expansion in general begin?

Marathe: “We have already earmarked a certain amount of investment to make some improvements at Elland Road, things that I know supporters have been asking for. And while it might be, you know, not the whole new shiny toy, we are doing different things like improving the bathrooms and improving different concourses and lounges and things like that. We've already earmarked investment that we're going to use for that. And then the bigger greater development. We're still very much on the timeline and on the path to doing that. It's been reported that nothing is going to happen until we get to the Premier League. That's a little bit of a miss at least for this season. What I mean is, all of the make-ready work that we have to do for shovels in the ground, it really didn't matter this season if we're in the championship or the Premier League, there's still work to be done that we're doing anyway. And I don't want to say work, I mean a significant investment, as well to line up the rights that you need to do to work with the city council to get all the approvals, to do all of the drawings, all of those things before you put a shovel in the ground that whether we were in the Premier League or the Championship we will be doing anyway. And so that money is earmarked, committed. And we are continuing down that path. If you're asking me this question a year from now, it might be a little bit more complicated because at that point I'd be ready with a shovel. But everything right now is greenlit as it would have been in either case.”

August was costly, how much must your house be in order so you’re ready to go again this August?

Marathe: “That's probably the most exciting thing about this season is we played I mean, what do you guys think, the first month of the season with one hand tied behind our back, because of some of the player ins and outs, some players hadn't come in yet. Some players we had some contractual issues with and so we really started our season with a hand tied behind our back. Despite that we finished with 90 points. I mean, to the question about Daniel, to me earlier, a season with 90 points is tremendous. When was the last time that team had at least that many points and hadn't been promoted? You guys know it's 20-plus years, since that's happened and so to do what we did, despite the way the first month of the season happened, I'm excited about this season that we can come out, being fully competitive from the first match of the season, through 46. I'm really excited to see what we can do. I'm excited about the fact that we have a full off-season. Like I said an extra five weeks to start planning our player and squad strategy. It just gives us a head start relative to ourselves and what we had before and it's why I have the same concurrent feelings of feeling hurt and sad but also excited about the future.”

How much of a difficulty will loan clauses be this summer?

Marathe: “It was difficult last year, having to deal with this, whether it's the loan clauses or the exits. It's maybe not as difficult anymore because now I've had a year to come to terms with it. You know, there are things certain we inherited that we will deal with in the best way that we can, and the folks that have those perennial loan clauses and we'll see how it transpires. It's not just we're sitting back as the passive club just hoping a player doesn't reactivate or doesn't engage on his loan clause. We have some strength as well and we're looking at the chemistry of our squad. And it's not just about the talents on the pitch, but it's also about the chemistry of the squad and the mentality of the squad. And we want players down to a man who want to fight with us until the end, from the beginning to the end. And so that's really important. I know it's important to Daniel, it's important to me, and sometimes you might sacrifice on other things to make sure you have the right mentality in the squad.”

Is there a concern or disappointment over the value of the loanees given how their seasons have gone?

Marathe: “I guess that remains to be seen. I'm not willing to concede that there will or will not be a profit on certain players. What I will tell you is we sort of came into this eyes wide open with what we are inheriting and yeah, it's true we inherited a credit card bill, we took it over. I've talked about it with you guys in the past. And we were ready. That's why we have the investment that we have and the commitment that we have. And so whether somebody yields or profit or not, we're going to be fine, and we're going to be able to do what we need to do to compete, to be the best team or one of the best teams on the pitch this coming season. That is not just my hope but my expectation.”

What difference do you hope fans will see in year two of your ownership?

Marathe: "I hope I have developed a reputation or if not I hope I continue to develop the reputation that I mean what I say and I say what I mean. I'm not one for platitudes or trying to underpromise and overdeliver or the other way around. I like to be practical and call it like I see it. The second thing is I pride myself on trying to be very methodical and strategic in how we go about executing our plan. That means trying to get too high when things are good or not too low when things are down. We have a plan and a plan on how to execute our plan and I want to make sure we continue down that path. With Daniel we have a long-term commitment with each other and we are continuing down that path. Will there be speed bumps like we've just had? Certainly. But do I feel confident about what I think it's supposed to look like? The squad, the performance, the stadium, the overall club and how we fit within the community? I'm committed to chasing that goal. I don't fly by whichever way the wind blows. I like to keep my head down and be very methodical and thoughtful about our approach.”

The accounts would suggest there’s £190m owed in transfer fees, can you clarify that number and how and when it might be paid off?

Marathe: “The outbound transfer payments we have to make were already contemplated as went through the transaction last summer and that was sort of reflected in the acquisition. We inherited a credit card bill we knew we had to take care of and we made sure we had the investment we needed up front and capital commitment to make sure we were covered on that and able to manage that properly. What is not in those numbers reported is some of the inbound payments - for example, our sales of Tyler Adams and Luis Sinisterra, there's some inbound transfer payments coming from that. The net is already a bit lower but we have what we need to be competitive and we'll shape the squad accordingly. Yes need some outbounds? Because of P&S, but will we also have some inbounds? Absolutely. We have what we need to compete among the best.”

What has Daniel Farke indicated he might want and need in the transfer window?

Marathe: "It's a little early to say that, I can't speak to specific positions or things like that but we have a great football leadership team from the jump. After we brought in Daniel then we went through the process of bringing in our technical director Gretar Steinsson, then we went through the process of bringing Nick Hammond on board. The combined with Angus (Kinnear), who's spending a bit more time on football, our team was formed as we were going forward. Now I'm really excited about the group we have and together with Gretar and Nick and Daniel, Robbie Evans, our chief strategy officer, Angus and Adam Underwood. Together, this will be a team effort this year. No stone will be unturned as we look through what are the best players and the best mentalities to fit our squad. In some cases the sum of the parts might be greater than the individual pieces, meaning what is the right player group to bring us the right chemistry to play together, to play for each other, to recognise what it means to wear that Leeds United badge and wear it with pride. We're going to find the right group of men that will go out and do that for us.”

There will be some players that fans are more willing to see leave than others, are you mindful of that fan reaction when you make those big decisions?

Marathe: "This isn't my club, our ownership's club, this is the community's club. I am fortunate enough to be in a position where I get to carry the torch on behalf of the community and I have to make some difficult decisions but as you make these difficult decisions you're thinking of the impact on and off the pitch. I just ask that supporters trust that we have a plan and a process and there are trade-offs we have to make but our commitment is to field as good a team as we can to be among the best in the Championship. I'm committed to that and go into it with the mentality that I'm going to succeed or die trying.”

With P&S and the financial year ending in a month are you under pressure to get outbound sales done quickly?

Marathe: “Pressure's probably the wrong word. Are we going to do what we need to make sure we are compliant? Absolutely. I wouldn't say it's pressure because everything we're going to do we've been contemplating for almost a year now and recognising some of the trade-offs we have to make and when we have to make them. Pressure is probably just the wrong word, we’re prepared to make the moves we have to make.”

How critical will it be next season to get promoted?

Marathe: "Every year is critical. This past season was critical and we almost got there but we didn't. This season again I'll tell you is very critical. I am more confident because we have more time to execute our plan and make sure this year's squad looks exactly as we want it to look. But it's absolutely critical. It's also critical because Leeds United deserves to be in the Premier League. I've said this before and I'll keep saying it, the Premier League needs Leeds United in it. It just belongs. The league is better with us in it and that's where we're going to go. It's critical because it's what it's supposed to look like.”

How difficult is stability with promotion, relegation, how that affects bank balances and with P&S?

Marathe: "It's definitely a challenge. I've been through quite a bit in six years of being associated with this club from a Covid promotion to hanging on by the seat of our pants, to relegation, to almost promotion again and all of the associated P&S machinations. It's definitely complicated but I've been in this business a long time and yes, we don't have promotion and relegation in the NFL but I have dealt with agents and players for more than two decades so I feel I can bring a steady hand to this because I'm not going to be emotionally tripped up because of a promotion chase or relegation survival. It's an easy answer to say it's more complicated but what you're trying to build is a foundation. When I say stability, I'm not saying we're never going to have P&S issue. Honestly, my hope is that we're always going to be dealing with some P&S complications because we're always going to be fielding a team as legally competitive as we can. Whether we're in the Championship or the Premier League, we're going to be going full til to make us as competitive as we can be so wherever we are, it's going to be complicated. But as we're building this foundation we want to be in a place where once we get promoted and have a couple of years of stability in the Premier League that we are a club that every year has confidence we're going to be there and matriculate up the table.”

What’s the timescale for the football department to agree on plans?

Marathe: "It's already started, there's no rest for the weary, no time off. Will people spend some time with their families? I certainly hope they will but we'll be burning batteries on our phones even when we're on breaks because there's really no rest. We started that before the final and we want to take advantage of this extra time we have. If we can get 90 points with not even putting together our leadership team until essentially the end of July, with playing the first month of the season with one hand tied behind our back and still end the season with 90 points, which would have been promoted in any one of the last 25 years, I'm really excited about what we can do with a full off-season building this squad in this league. We're going to be a force to be reckoned with, I’m confident in that."