Almost two weeks of
silence from a man who typically requires an injunction to keep his mouth shut,
should be cause for optimism amongst the supporters, although sadly that
concept has long since departed on the final ‘Ambition Express’ service which pulled out of Leeds on a tour a mediocre Championship outfits several years back.
Will it ever return?
 |
| This! |
We need developments and
fast; both for the forthcoming season and for our sanity. No news may well be
good news, but for how much longer? Moreover, it makes penning a takeover diary
a bloody nightmare…
Mercifully, at least from
this standpoint, there’s no shortage of other things to moan about at Elland
Road. So here it is, the takeover-lite ‘110 Days of Torture in Review: The Takeover
Diary – Part 2’…
Monday 4th June
After the social media meltdown
of the previous Monday there is precious little news on the takeover front; the
main point of conjecture being whether we should expect any sort of progress to
be made at the start of the week, being that there’s a two-day Bank Holiday.
The consensus is, that bearing in mind that the US and Monaco don’t share our
public holidays, and the small matter that a potential multi-million pound deal
is in the offing, then of course Leeds United aren’t going to just stop
negotiations for a few days. Nevertheless, when I put on the 10 o’clock news that
evening, I did find myself scrutinising the Jubilee Concert coverage, half-expecting
to Shaun Harvey stood on The Mall, watching Robbie Williams on a big screen while
consuming a choc ice…
 |
| "Is Paul Butler still there?" |
The YEP offer little hope
either, relegating their update on the takeover to nothing more than a footnote
to another story, claiming that negotiations are likely to “gather pace” this
week – journo speak for “we haven’t got a f**king clue!” The rest of the
article concerned itself with a possible bid for ‘old boy’ Matthew Kilgallon; a
rare glimmer of positive news and maybe a suggestion that Warnock might look to
play three centre halves as our potential new 3-1-1 formation takes shape.
Following on from some of their
eyebrow raising selections for United’s ‘Match of the 80s’, the YEP raise the
bar for the next decade. While the inclusion of the title-clinching victories
in Bournemouth and Sheffield are automatic choices, the decision to put the 1-0
league win against Manchester United ahead of the 3-1 Christmas Eve triumph is
quite baffling. However, compared with the decision to eschew the 2-1 victory
over Leicester in 1990 (most people’s choice) as well games such as the 6-1
demolition job at Hillsborough and the astounding 4-3 victory over Derby in
favour of a Coca-Cola Cup final humiliation and the Champions League exit to
Rangers beggar belief… the results promise to be intriguing.
Tom Lees is again called
upon for interview duties by the official club site; expect him, Jason Pearce,
Danny Pugh and (hopefully) Luciano Becchio to be called upon on a rota basis as
the only players almost certain to still be here come August.
 |
| >Insert getting smashed in around the back door gag here< |
Elsewhere, the big
football story surrounds Joey Barton after he’s allegedly assaulted outside a
Liverpool nightclub in the early hours. On reflection, maybe it was inadvisable
for a man with Manchester connections and a reputation for being a violent tit,
to pick the roughest looking nightspot in Liverpool to visit?
Hey ho! At least at Leeds,
we don’t have to put up with petty, publicity seeking gobshites who keep
finding themselves in court…
Tuesday 5th
June
Andy Lonergan is the
latest player to be linked with a move out of Elland Road with Bolton boss,
Owen Coyle, considering our keeper to be one of six candidates who may be good
enough to warm the Bolton Wanderers bench, come August.
 |
| Kept Danny Pugh quiet... |
Meanwhile, Brighton’s
Spanish full-back is Inigo Calderon is reported to be interesting Neil Warnock
as he seeks to bolster our first team 5-a-side squad; naturally thoughts of
Federico Bessone immediately spring to mind, a notion somewhat reinforced by
the news that Simon Grayson is also keeping tabs on the player
The takeover thread on
WACCOE has become a barren wasteland as posters reflect mournfully upon the
days when people at least had the energy to make bollocks up that everyone else
could invest their every hope into.
Wednesday 6th
June
The YEP earn kudos again
by laying claim to the most insensitive headline of the day by proclaiming ‘Sheffield
United in running to snap up Parker’; the inclusion of the words ‘snap’, ‘running’
and ‘Parker’ an all familiar notion for long suffering Ben.
 |
| As so few Leeds fans remember Ben - in action |
Keen to keep fans abreast
with all the big news through the summer, the official site offers up more
happy tidings in terms of some very special treats for special fathers on June
17th. Yet another ‘unique’ opportunity to dine in the Nicky Chapman
suite whilst listening to a saxophonist (seriously, who else offers anything
comparable?) is available, but remember to book early as places are limited… it
is believed a package upgrade that includes a trial at Thorp Arch for the under
35s will be available on the day
For those who’ve had their
fill of underwhelming, saxophonist soundtracked dining experiences, a special
offer of a free 1975 European Cup final DVD with every retro shirt purchased is
sure to tempt a fan base, clearly starved of opportunities to wallow in misery.
Still no word on the ‘end
of season’ DVD review, oddly enough…
Thursday 7th
June
Walker Morris’ crack team
of lawyers take a break from talking to American shysters for a quick saunter
over to the courts where the latest Ken Bates case verdict is delivered. Melvyn
Levi is awarded £10,000 in damages by the judge who labels our chairman as “boorish”
man who exhibited a “chilling lack of concern” for the health of his victims.
 |
| "Bring me sunshine..." |
An unrepentant Bates told
the YEP, “My reaction is that (Mr Levi) hasn’t done too well”; maybe a slightly
puzzling statement, although I suppose if you compare the damages to the
£50,000 Levi won from the defamation case in 2009, Bates may have a point…
What Bates was rather more
coy about, was the issue of who’d be footing the bill, revealing that he wouldn’t
be commenting until he’d read the court’s judgement. Being that the judge
referred to the sums spent by both sides on the case as being “astounding”,
Shaun Harvey admitting the club had spent “a fortune” on legal bills, I think
it’s fair to surmise it will be covered by one of the club’s 17 different
departments.
On leaving court, Levi hammered
the point home, stating:
“Mr Bates or Leeds United
have spent £4m in trying to fight two old age pensioners and I think it’s
absolutely disgraceful”
Although the exact figures
involved may be debated, surely the sentiment cannot. Levi also questioned
whether the Football League should really re-consider whether Bates is any
longer a ‘fit and proper person’ to run a club. He’s not alone in his thoughts.
Arguably the most upsetting aspect of the judgement for Levi is the two year
injunction imposed on his nemesis – a real blow to his unique ‘programme notes
pension plan’ contributions scheme.
 |
| Shyster? |
Other revelations were
also made in the judgement; most notably was one about an email that Thom Kirwin sent to
Shaun Harvey when he was asked to run the appeal for Levi’s whereabouts, enquiring
whether it should be accompanied by the ‘Crimewatch theme’. It was also reported that the appeal was broadcast 6 times in the space of a few days.
Nothing however could
compare with the real show-stopper, and it’s there in black and white, said
under oath from Shaun Harvey – Yorkshire Radio has an audience of 103,000 per
week! Oh stop it Shaun, the laughing’s starting to hurt me!
Funnily enough the
loss-making radio station, now complicit in costing the club £4m in a feud
about a disputed debt of £190,400 that goes back to 2004, that brings you ALL
the news on Leeds United didn’t see fit to cover the verdict (I was looking
forward to the accompanying ‘Rumpole of the Bailey’ theme)... nor did the
website.
Later that evening, a
rumour broke about Lorimer and then Shaun Harvey resigning from the club. Cue
another online frenzy followed by anger and dismay as the story becomes the
latest to be shot to pieces.
Friday 8th June
West Yorkshire Police
confirm that investigations are still ongoing into the tunnel ‘incident’ that
followed the Doncaster game, back in February and that criminal charges have
not yet been ruled out. A spokesman is also happy to confirm that force ‘fully
expect’ to be able to draw a line under an incident in Second Division
promotion season, when Vinny Jones ‘eyeballed’ the Barnsley bench, by the end
of the summer.
 |
| Not party to the what's going on behind closed doors (this week). |
‘Fans Representative’
Peter Lorimer, in the spirit of his role, chooses to completely ignore the
takeover situation, the court case and any mention of the club in his weekly
Leeds United column, instead informing the world know how he’ll be pissing away
this month’s blood money at Ladbrokes. Funnily enough, I also thought that
France had a decent shot of winning the Euros, but now Peter’s added his
endorsement and I struggle to give any credence to anything he says, I’ll be sticking with the Germans.
Over in Poland the
Championships get off to an explosive start with a flurry of ridiculous and
unjustifiable decisions, nonsense punditry and racial slurs; for those
suffering withdrawal symptoms from Ken Bates’ programme notes, it’s a dream
come true.
 |
| Just join! |
The big news of the day
breaks just before 6pm as LUST publish a new statement, revealing that the
discontentment amongst the fan base is shared by the players. It’s a bold move
by the trust and paints the picture of a very disillusioned and disheartened
squad, putting into sharp focus the perception amongst the players of a board
that hold little regard for the importance of team building.
A number of significant,
if not altogether surprising revelations are to be found within the statement
including:
“While they want to stay
at Elland Road, the players feel completely undervalued by the club. We
understand that some of the contract offers the club has been making have
offered a miserly increase in wages, offers which do not come close to what
they could earn elsewhere”
and
“A number of players have
grown so frustrated by the situation at Leeds United that they are on the verge
of giving up, walking away and accepting offers to place elsewhere. Our sources
stressed that these players do not want to leave Leeds”
If you haven’t read the
statement in full, I would recommend you do so, by clicking here.
Predictably, some critics
of the trust were quick to come out and condemn the statement, claiming that by
not naming names, LUST had no credibility; choosing to ignore the fact that in
revealing sources and potentially ruining careers in the process, LUST would
never be trusted by any party with the good of Leeds United at heart, ever
again.
Curiously, many of these people
are seemingly the same ones who take the preaching of Bates, Harvey and Lorimer
as gospel, purely as it’s fed through the medium of the website, Yorkshire
Radio and the matchday programme.
Some have also claimed
that the statement would’ve been better for the inclusion of some direct (if
anonymous) quotes; that may be a fairer point, but then again, have those people seen
the likes of Adam Clayton and Alex Bruce try and articulate themselves on
twitter?
Saturday 9th
June
Where the players have
sources and representatives close them, it seems Neil Warnock is more of an ‘associates’
kinda guy, as his people reveal to the YEP that our manager is both concerned
by the lack of signings this month and the threat of a shortage of funds for
the remainder of the summer.
 |
| Contemplating a Pugh-Brown midfield pairing. |
With Warnock and the
players working in unison to ramp up the pressure on Bates, the coming week rather
has the feel of being one of the most seminal in the club’s history; that the
conclusion of the takeover talks - assuming that’s what they are – could define
whether we are to be playing or at least vying for top flight football come August 2013, or reprising our role of the big box office, League One freak
show.
I’m praying for the best,
but at the back of my mind, I’m haunted by visions of Redders commanding operations
from the bench at Throstle Nest next month as last year’s youth team get the run-around
from Evo-Stick First Division North outfit.
The YEP announce the
result of their ‘Match of the 90s’ poll; unsurprisingly the victory at Bramall
Lane wins the vote, polling 45%, ahead of the 37% awarded to the promotion
party at Bournemouth. Tied for last were the Villa and Rangers game, having not
accrued a single vote between them. The two play-off finals and the trips to
Bolton, Hereford and Histon are thought to be under consideration for the
upcoming ‘Match of the 00s' poll.
Sunday 10th
June
Another quiet morning, but
what else could possibly expect? We’re now in the midst of an international
football tournament, the Olympics are just around the corner, lawyers are on
their holidays, agents have their phones switched off and it is a Sunday.
Monday’s gonna be
different though! I’m telling you…
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