Mighty Leeds Weblog

Aaron Bower at Elland Road The new year may only be hours old, but here was a game to suggest Leeds United and Burnley could be moving in different directions in the months ahead. For Leeds this pressure-relieving result will have reinforced what their most optimistic supporters always believed: that the team had the quality and mettle to drag themselves away from a relegation battle this season. This result does not make things guaranteed in that regard. But a gap of eight points between Leeds and the bottom three offers hope that Marcelo Bielsa and his side can now tentatively look up the table, rather than glancing over their shoulders at the sides below them. Had the home side failed to capitalise on their dominance against Burnley, the questions which have already been levied at Bielsa’s players on numerous occasions this season would have resurfaced. Perhaps that is why Bielsa, so often a master of keeping his emotions in check, could not help himself when he enthusiastic...

Guardian Unlimited Football | News | Fears of Leeds training ground house sell-off Fears of Leeds training ground house sell-off Matt Scott Tuesday December 14, 2004 There are fears that houses may be built on a portion of Leeds United's training ground within the next five years. The Guardian has seen a document relating to the property interests of the club which suggests that should planning permission be received in the next five years a developer could erect houses or offices on the valuable land close to Wetherby. Over the past six months the club has completed the sale and leaseback of its Thorp Arch premises, dividing the land into three separate tranches: the Grange, the Barn and the first-team training pitches. When the club was considering the last of these deals the proposed lease made specific provision for development. In the event of the development going ahead, Leeds's tenancy on the first-team training pitches at Thorp Arch would be terminated....

Guardian Unlimited Football | News | Time running out for Leeds takeover Matt Scott Tuesday January 13, 2004 Leeds United do not expect to secure a takeover for the club before their January 19 deadline. A statement to the Stock Exchange yesterday indicated that negotiations are ongoing but that none of the current proposals amounts to a buy-out. "Further to its announcement on December 4 2003, the board of Leeds United confirms it is in continuing, constructive discussions with a number of parties regarding proposals to purchase the company's business and assets or to inject funds," said the statement. "However, none of the interested parties' proposals contemplates an offer for the company's shares." Leeds's best hope is to gain interim funding that will take them to the end of the season, by when the relegation-threatened club's footballing fate will be known. With a £20m discrepancy in revenues between the Premiership and the Firs...