Mighty Leeds Weblog

United boss Kevin Blackwell believes staying in business was the club's greatest achievement of 2005. The club was facing the imminent threat of being made insolvent when Chairman Ken Bates strode into Elland Road and completed his takeover with the minimum of fuss. At the time Blackwell was battling to improve United's fortunes on the field and he admits he, like most people, had no idea just how grave the situation was at the time. "Being here right now is our greatest achievement of 2005," said Blackwell today in his office at Thorp Arch. "Beating the winding up order on the 24th of January must be it because if we had not beaten that we would not be here today. "I think will show how much of a D-Day that was for Leeds United because at the time even I wasn't aware of the gravity of the situation to the point where on the Monday we would not have been able to train at Thorp Arch because the doors would have been locked. "2005 has been a real wat...

Times Online - Sport Bates returns with £10m takeover deal for Leeds By Ashling O'Connor KEN BATES, the former chairman of Chelsea, was last night poised for a dramatic return to football by buying control of Leeds United, the debt-ridden Coca-Cola Championship club. Bates, 73, was in talks yesterday with the Leeds board and, as he boarded a train for London, rumours abounded that he had agreed a deal. Bates, now based in Monaco, is believed to have offered about £10 million in cash for a 51 per cent stake in the club and the position of chairman. To acquire such a majority he would need to buy out Simon Morris and Melvyn Levy, two of the directors, whose shareholdings together make 51 per cent. Leeds would only confirm that the club was considering an offer of investment from Bates. There is still a rival offer on the table from a local business consortium led by Norman Stubbs and backed by Allan Leighton, the City financier and former Leeds deputy chairman. “We are sti...

LeedsUtdMAD - the definitive Leeds United website. Independent news and stats from footymad.net Ken Bates Factfile Story by Kevin Markey ANYONE who buys a business for £1 and sells it 21 years later for a personal profit of £16,999,999 is obviously no mug. Factfile on Ken Bates.... 1931: Born December 4 in Ealing, West London. Made his personal fortune from a ready-mix concrete business and dairy farming and was briefly chairman of Oldham in the 1960s, as well as buying control of Wigan in 1981. 1982: Bought Chelsea Football Club for £1, albeit taking on significant debts in the process. 1985: The Football Association and the Greater London Council rejected his proposals for electrified fencing to deter hooligans. 1986: Joined Football League management committee and submitted planning application to rebuild Stamford Bridge as a new stadium, rather than an opposing bid by Marler Estates to build flats. 1991: Chelsea fined £105k for alleged illegal payments to players....

Yorkshire Post Today: News, Sport, Jobs, Property, Cars, Entertainments & More Leighton linked to move to help United stave off administration Exclusive Richard Sutcliffe THE consortium looking to invest in Leeds United will decide on Monday whether to go ahead with their plans to plough around £15m into the troubled club. Local businessman Norman Stubbs has returned early from holiday in Barbados to meet his fellow consortium members, while the Yorkshire Post also understands he has held talks with former United deputy chairman Allan Leighton. Leighton, one of the most coveted business executives in the country, was a key member of the plc board between 1998 and late 2003 when he left to launch his own rescue plan as United's finances spiralled out of control, with debts topping £100m. It is not clear how strong 51-year-old Leighton's involvement will be, but privately he has always maintained a willingness to return to help revive the ailing club. The involv...

Times Online - Sport Bates denies link to proposed £25m takeover at Leeds By Ashling O’Connor THE takeover saga involving Leeds United has taken many unusual turns, but none so peculiar as yesterday’s disputed claim by Sebastian Sainsbury that Ken Bates, the former Chelsea chairman, had agreed to put in £10 million to save the Coca-Cola Championship club. Sainsbury, great-grandson of the supermarket chain founder, said that he had held a meeting with Bates last week at a London hotel, where Bates, 73, apparently offered to invest the money in return for a 51 per cent stake in the club and the position of chairman. “Nothing was agreed because it was a meeting among a series with people who are interested in coming on board with me once a takeover is completed,” Sainsbury said. Bates, though, denied any knowledge of the meeting. “I’ve been linked with so many clubs that this will take the total to 38,” he said. “I know nothing about it. The only thing keeping me busy is unpack...