Leeds United Money talks

Article by e-Leeds Correspondent Jeremy Taylor

Follow e-Leeds on Twitter!

As the Leeds United pantomime rumbles on beyond the transfer window, the tide of opinion seems to be gradually switching again as the incredible events of deadline day fade away.

Following the Huddersfield result, which in true dramatic style thickened the plot nicely, public opinion of Mr Cellino was at it’s lowest following the shameful treatment of Brian McDermott. He was perfectly cast as the villainous aggressor versus Mike Farnan and Andy Flowers’ position as the potential hero’s.

Since then the public have had to piece together progress based on cryptic official statements and eagerly awaited tweets shared by a handful of key journalists; the privileged few with access to the inner sanctum of players in this ongoing game of power at Elland Road.

Yesterday saw a significant corner turned in that, for the second time, Andy Flowers’ seems to concede defeat, with it throwing any rival to Mr Cellino into a position of likely failure.

Playing The Game

Taking a step back from the situation, there are two battles being fought in this ongoing war for control; these being public relations and money.

The PR battle is being totally dominated by the Farnan/Flowers group. They had it sewn up from the start by declaring their passion and crucially their understanding for Leeds United through members such as Lucas Radebe and lifelong fan Flowers.

They further cemented this position by immediately declaring their utter disgust at the treatment of McDermott on deadline day. They instantly became ‘of the fans’. Conversely, in terms of garnering public support for his takeover then surely all was lost for Mr Cellino. To be fair to him, he at least attempted to charm the fan base by stating his growing ‘love’ for the club and more importantly his firm intention to see the club promoted and playing in its own (owned) stadium.

Those fans that were able to see through the red mist that still lingered stopped what they were doing and took notice of this. It was the first glimpse of what increasingly seems to be Mr Cellino’s trump card.

In what has been cited as a tactical move by Mr Flowers, his issuing of a winding up order for money owed could yet backfire rather badly for his consortium.

It’s easy to see what the plan was. Shout about the money owed with a view to making it easier for GFH to deal with them rather than Mr Cellino. This added the fact that some of GFH’s members have seemingly lost their bottle following the weekend’s backlash would have, on paper, strengthened the consortium’s position in the fight.

However, what appears to be happening as a result of the winding up order is an unexpected public unveiling of the state of Leeds United’s finances. What was generally understood to be a relatively stable state of affairs has actually been exposed as a cash-guzzling, loss making disaster; a very similar landscape to the Bates’ take-over period when the club was facing imminent doom.

It’s tempting to get the Bates’ stick out the cupboard and start bashing him again. After all, there’s no denying he is totally responsible for the dire financial situation the club is in. It’s also very difficult to see any other explanation other than he must still own Elland Road and probably Thorp Arch with it. What better way to syphon off the clubs revenue than to sell the assets to yourself and then charge the business rent to use said assets. The very thought makes any fan tremble with rage.

Still, in the interests of the current situation it serves no purpose wasting energy hating Ken Bates. He’s long gone now and, apart from the poor lawyer that will be tasked with buying the ground back from him, he won’t be seen again.

Back to the current financials and another revelation coming out of this economic exposition is that the consortium are struggling to match not only Cellino’s bank balance but his actual offer to GFH. This piece of news is quite a bombshell and will likely change the way many fans feel about which horse to back.

Currently, the fans are between the proverbial rock and hard place. The choices now available consist of a passionate consortium that reek of the ‘hot air’ and false promises of previous regime’s, an almost tyrannical and dictatorial magnate who likes to rule without any shred of sensitive diplomacy or considered acumen, or simply descending into another administrational abyss. The fact that this choice can only be made by a small group of individuals who couldn’t care less about the club only embitters the pill.

But the fans have to support someone and at the end of the day, money talks. A consortium with significant financial backing will always be the ruler of choice, but a consortium with shackled hands, unable to jump when the manager wants to will struggle to convince most fans of their rightful place over a man who can easily spend Premier League money on a player, should he want to. After all, passion can be both good and bad. We saw the latter raise it’s head last Friday, but imagine that sort of impulse and single minded approach when it comes to signing cheques. Nobody wants another Ridsdale, but even he wouldn’t have behaved like that with his own money.

The question to be asked is; which of the two options is better for Leeds United’s quest for promotion. As things stand, it’s hard to see past the King of Corn.

Most fans will now be hoping that he was being sincere in his statement that he actually likes Brian McDermott now. On paper the manager was a dead man walking to any new owner with only a month or two’s overview, but following Saturday’s immense public support towards him it’s perfectly conceivable that such a display may have resonated with Mr Cellino.

If he’s smart he may have recognised it as the very ticket he needs to get the fans behind him. That and a few quid in Brian’s pocket of course.

@jezaldinho

© e-Football 2013 All rights reserved no part of this document or this website may be reproduced without consent of e-Football