#LUFC: Mills back on Whites Radar While Major Sponsor Deal Looms

It has emerged this morning that Leeds united have made an enquiry for Bolton Wanderers central defender Matt Mills

The player is thought to be available after Boss Dougie Freedman sealed a deal for Striker Jemaine Beckford. Mills’ 25k a week contract is thought to be surplus to requirements, to try and balance the books after the Beckford deal. It remains to be seen whether Mills is the long term target that boss Brian McDermott has been tracking for weeks. An enquiry for Mills could also mean that any other deal for a defender has fallen through.

Meanwhile, news has broke today that talks have taken place between Leeds and drinks company Red Bull regarding a major sponsorship deal. It is rumoured that a stadium name change is on the cards. Red Bull would provide a significant increase in club revenue, which would have a big effect on FFP regulations. In a similar way to the likes of Manchester City and Arsenal, big sponsorship agreements mean the club can techically afford to live within their means. Any deal with Red Bull would be a first in English football, although the company actually own clubs such as the NY Red Bulls and Red Bull Salzburg. Much has been made about how Red Bull has ruined the tradition of football clubs by changing almost everything to suit the company rather than the club. It seems, however, that GFH Capital remain the dominant party in negotiations. GFHC have been looking for outside investment since aquiring Leeds to finance deals to buy back Elland Road and Thorp Arch. Red Bull have the means to support GFH Capital in any possible buy-back, with naming rights a possible wager in the deal. It seems Leeds’ owners are thinking big with the future of Leeds United. More recent sponsorships such as Bet 365 and Enterprise Insurance will not offer anywhere near the amount of exposure that Red Bull can offer, let alone the cash. Until more details emerge regarding the true nature of negotiations, it currently seems that Red Bull have no intention of wholly owning Leeds United, but rather a high value sponsorship agreement. 

LUFC: The Ken Bates Legacy Continues

It’s been a long 24 hours for Leeds United fans.

Any wild possibilities about 8 figure spending sprees were dashed when Brian McDermott revealed that it was likely he would have to create his own transfer fund. His comment enraged fans, a lot of hate has been shaped toward Salah Nooruddin, who on the night before claimed the board would back McDermott in the transfer Market. 

Brian will be backed no matter what happens with the board over the course of the summer, but you can’t help thinking that something is wrong at the very core of the football club. That core is still Ken Bates. 

Many of us have been quick to judge GFH Capital on the basis of McDermott’s comments. People have even labelled them as “worse than bates” and in my opinion that cannot be further from the truth. For a start, this season’s transfer kitty was virtually wiped out by Bates’ mortgage on season ticket sales, to pay for the East stand development. £3.5 million of all sales to be precise and current sales figures stand marginally above that. Then we go on to the massive overlays GFH have to pay. The club does not own either Thorp Arch or Elland Road, substantial rent fees have to be paid by the club simply to use them. These overlays contribute to a large cash shortfall. GFH will have been aware of these costs, but the sheer cost of running LUFC, coupled with a lack of investment from other investors, has meant GFH have struggled to keep their promises. 

It is reported that GFH in the long term want to buy back Elland Road, which seems to be a wise move considering it would reduce running costs massively. So should we blame GFH for the lack of funds? The blame should partly be shouldered by GFH but only because they still have the cancer that is Ken Bates looming over them until July 1st. Only then can we truly judge GFH and their capabilities. 

Another major talking point was that a “sell to buy” strategy MAY have to be implemented by McDermott to fund transfers. Obviously this sparked talk of Sam Byram leaving, nobody really seemed to notice that McDermott stated he “wasn’t interested” in selling his top stars. The fact that every time Bates sold a player. The funds went straight to the back pocket. We must not forget Ken Bates will hold no power from July 1st, GFH can state how they want any surplus funds to be used.

I’d also like to address a point I’ve been really interested in finding out. A lot of fans on twitter seem to say “we’ve got no money.” what did we expect from GFH? Did we expect a Man City type spend? McDermott will have a small budget to work with. Rumours stated that McDermott was promised £3million and yet some still argue that even if he did have that figure to his disposal, we still had “no money.” if you follow me on twitter, anyone who would like to answer me this question feel free: what foes the term “no money” mean to you? 

I appreciate any feedback, tweet me @jakerleedsblog 

                

GFH Capital: 6 Months In

It’s been more than 6 months since GFH Capital officially took over the Elland Road reigns. In that time, a lot has changed, some of which has been largely successful, while others have been less so.

After a grueling summer, where most Leeds fans were left frustrated at the length of the takeover negotiations, the hand over was complete on the 21st December. The process had already hindered Neil Warnock’s attempt at promotion. Ken Bates was ousted from his roll as chairman (officially on the 30th June) and a new board took shape. from then on, it looked like our new Dubai owners would splash the cash and push us back to the big time.

It now seems that much of what fans expected of GFHC never fully materialised. At the end of the day, who could be worse than Ken Bates? The bar was set high for the new owners, and even though company CEO David Haigh and Salem Patel were quick to say that they weren’t going to be spending “silly” money in January, fans were still left underwhelmed by transfer dealings, none more so than Neil Warnock. A large shortfall in cash left the owners limited to what they could offer the then Manager. Failing to capture Birmingham winger Chris Burke was thought to be because of the cash shortfall.

Then came the confusion surrounding GFHC’s future intentions. At first the parent comapany, GFH, stated that the club was for sale. GFHC then suggested that their philosophy was to create a group of like-minded investors to take the club forward. This strategy was put to practice when they announced a 10% sale of the club to a Bahrain company IIB, their founding member is now on the board at Leeds. Another 3% was sold to now vice-chairman Salah Nooruddin. After a disappointing run of results, Neil Warnock was relieved of his duties, and Brian McDermott took over the reigns a couple of weeks later.

So, have there been many good points about the takeover so far? For a start, prices for season tickets, matchday programmes and other things have decreased substantially, which is a refreshing change from the Bates era. Student prices have been introduced, and the whole system of buying the actual ST has been reworked. Hospitality has also been refreshed. Most of the current ST holder have renewed, and more have since bought them, making the numbers climb above 11,000. Averaging all of the prices in each section of the stadium, sales figures so far will be around the £4.2 million mark. A large chunk of that will be used to pay back a loan on the East Stand development.

Another positive point not noticed by the majority so far this summer, is transfers. Under Bates and Warnock, the club brought in many new faces, most of which were above the age of 30, and most had an air of pit worker rather than brazilian samba dancer. What we have been linked with so far, whether it be free agent or under contract, has been much more exciting. Players like Tommy Rowe, Reece Wabara, Matt Smith (signed), David Wotherspoon and Matt Mills are of a higher class than those signed last season. Fans may moan that £3million signings aren’t being made, or lower league players simply aren’t good enough for us, but we have to remember that GFHC employed Brian McDermott for a reason. Not only is he a good manager, he also has a good eye for players who have the potential to succeed. They are hungry, determined to better themselves. The transfer policy has been changed completely by GFHC and McDermott, and there certainly won’t be any Journeymen singed by McDermott this summer.

The question looming over us however, is the age-old question.Do GFHC have the funds to succeed? This forms part of one of the negative points surrounding GFHC. A lot of fans have been voicing their despair at the apparent lack of funds our owners have. Nobody truly knows the financial situation, except the owners themselves, and Brian McDermott. From rumours gathered so far, a lot of people believe we will only sign free transfers this summer, and we “can’t even afford Tommy Rowe.” The lack of communication between board room and fan base is partly to blame for this. An open board could certainly dampen wild expectations, but it can also make us more realistic to what we can look forward to. The recent story about Barry Fry’s comments regarding an approach for Peterborough captain Tommy Rowe has enraged fans, only because his comments have been taken out of context by the media. Fry said that Leeds would not be able to afford him, in reference to his own valuation of the player. Speaking to Radio Leeds, Fry said he had “no idea” about the financial situation at Elland Road. This should have been the end of it, but unfortunately when something gets out of hand, it snowballs. A statement from the club, or even a quick chat with Brian McDermott would have sufficed. I suspect the next time McDermott is on the radio or on LUTV, he will be quick to tell us all straight about the situation.

We will all have to wait and see about what the summer will bring for out great club, but overall we can be satisfied that the right Man is in the job, Brian McDermott.

Leeds United: Where will Investment come from?

It is well known among fans that Leeds United owners Gulf Finance House are not going to be spending ridiculous money this summer.

 The company itself isn’t a billion dollar investment hedge fund, or a trans national corporation, but GFH have long held a history for exploring expanding markets, with significant budgets as well. One of the bigger questions we are yet to answer, is how much GFH have to give Brian McDermott this summer, and where that money will come from. To find some form of explanation of this, we need to look back to when the company first took over the reigns at Elland Road.

 Since there is no definitive figure on how much GFH paid Ken Bates for Leeds, we will assume that they paid around £20 million (cash) where did this money come from? Bates himself stated there was a “Wealthy individual” behind the deal. We can speculate that the most likely person behind this deal was Esam Janahi, the company CEO. He himself is one of the most influential Bahrainis in the world, and is on the board of many different companies in the area. He also has significant personal Wealth, estimated at several hundred million dollars before the financial crisis. So, if this person has the cash to buy LUFC, surely he can spare 3 or 4 million to finance summer recruitment? It’s a little more complicated than that.

 Recently in his much lambasted book, Neil Warnock claimed there was a significant cash-flow problem in the club which held up his January transfer window plans. To some extent this is true, in fact GFH have pumped several millions into the club, simply to keep it running properly. This is why GFH are selling off stakes in the club to other investors, to not only provide funds but to steady the ship. GFH are currently in due diligence with a number of investors wanting a stake in the club. This is good news, but still there is no concrete news on which companies are interested.

 The outlook in the middle is one of optimism when it comes down to investment. GFH themselves have been busy in recent weeks, announcing a merger between one of their subsidiary banks and another in the region. Lots of firms in the area, including one of the world’s largest investment companies, Kingdom Holding, have stated their desire to diversify their assets. This means that GFH are in an amicable position because they have a large array of diverse assets, including LUFC. At the moment it is only speculation, but GFH are thought to have been attracting interest in LUFC from around the globe, including Australia and India. Kingdom Holding are not thought to be interested, but their already impressive array of assets (including large stakes in News Corp, Apple, Twitter and the Savoy hotel) is missing a sports “franchise” in which they may look at expanding into. It is worth noting that the owner of Kingdom Holding, Prince Alwaleed bin Talal of Saudi Arabia, is worth a staggering $30bn according to himself, of course. On his official website, the Prince, when presenting a grant to a local sports club, stressed the “importance of investing in sports” and has recently been visiting Bahrain on a royal visit. GFH are known to have links with the Bahrain Royal Family. 

Leeds United: How to Get up – And Stay Up

The age old question: once you’re out of the second tier, how do you make sure you stay there?

It isn’t just as simple as spend spend spend. There are numerous factors which determine the success of a football club at the highest level. 

But the biggest task ahead for Leeds is how to get back in the big time. It’s been ten long and disastrous years for Leeds United in the depths of English football. Where we have reached now is a critical stage. We either push on, or we steadily decline again. The new owners cannot let that happen. First and foremost, the right manager needs to be in charge. We have Brian McDermott at the helm, who in my opinion is the best man for the job. Secondly, the manager needs backing personally as well as financially from the board. It seems that the club are heading in the right direction on that front. Investment so far under GFH Capital has been largely cash-flow related, so not much of that will be turned to finance player dealings. One thing that GFH do have is retained profits, the second largest form of investment in the macro economy. They can finance new players from this retained profit easily, without loading debt into the club. In the latest Q1 reports of GFH, it is noted that cash has risen considerably; from around $3 million to $22 million which suggests they are in a stable financial position in terms of cash available.

 Another massive hurdle to cross over this summer, and in the future, is the ability for the club to hang on to its star players. Sam Byram will be a prime example this summer. He has already stated his desire to stay at Leeds, and he is tied down on a long term contract. In theory, it is more difficult for clubs to prize him away, than it would be if he was in his last year of a contract (i.e Gradel, Snodgrass, Beckford). But, in his admission to the England U20’S squad for this summer, it is highly likely that scouts will be swarming over the tournament, and it is likely that a host of big clubs, not just in England, will take an interest in him. The task is to keep hold of him, while the club strengthen around key assets. What Leeds have done over the past few seasons, is run close with a host of good players, only to fall back to square one when the prize assets are sold elsewhere. This habit needs to stop; i certainly didn’t see Cardiff sell all their best players when they fell short of promotion last season.

 Sustainability has been a word used freely during the reign so far by GFH, and this is one of the key ideas being implemented by some of the more successful clubs who have got promoted and stayed there. The whole “live within your means” philosophy has been dreadfully abused by owners of the top clubs, and in my opinion, killed the true meaning of football in this country. The likes of Swansea however, have been very successful on the football pitch, without loading debt onto the club. In fact, they made over £16 million pounds last year, proving you don’t have to break the bank to cut it in the Premier League. They play good football as well, which is always a bonus. I feel that the style of football played in the premier league is fast, furious and of a high quality. It’s not like the championship, where a relegated side ends up 10 points off a play-off spot. This year, (currently) Wigan will be relegated 35 points behind 4^th placed Arsenal, which is a sizeable difference.

 Overall, the foundations are there to produce a team and a club capable of going up and staying up, but the question still remains: do GFH have the balls to do it? 

Leeds United: New Investment draws Near

It was revealed yesterday in Bahrain that GFH Capital have performed due diligence on a number of companies, with the potential to become strategic investors in Leeds United.

 Talking to Gulf Daily News, acting CEO Hisham Al Rayes revealed the plans while GFH released its Q1 profits, which were up 50% from 2012. The news falls when the club are turning attentions to the summer transfer window, plenty of additions are expected to be made.

 Recent speculation has surfaced surrounding a majority stake being sold to local businessman Steve Parkin, but it is now understood that any previous agreement with GFH has now passed, and his wealthy backer has now pulled out. Parkin himself does not have the finances to buy a majority stake and provide the necessary financial injections.

 It is still uncertain however, that GFH Capital remains committed long term to the football club. The statement released does suggest that they may relinquish a majority stake in the football club. Investment seems likely to happen before the transfer window opens, which is good news for new Manager Brian McDermott, who is looking to add at least 7 players to the squad in the coming months. In the past few years there has been little to no investment into the playing squad, and it is still unclear whether this will change, but there is hope that new investment could bring in the money required to finance a summer spend.

 

Keep following me on twitter, @jakerleedsblog

Leeds United: First Signing is Key

GFH Capital will look to show a signal of intent this summer by going for marquee signings early on, with Brian McDermott already focusing his attention on potential players coming into Elland Road.

Since the end of the season, Leeds have been linked to a host of names, including the likes of Adam Le Fondre, Billy Sharp, Alex Baptiste and Alan Judge. So far, the signs point to a significant shift in personnel this summer. Along with the 10 players who have been released, Brian McDermott has already stated his intention to sign “six or seven players.”

This coming transfer window is one of the most important for many years. The opportunity for new owners GFH Capital to build the club back to the heights of the premier league is clearly set out. One of the main aims set when GFH first stepped into ownership, was to re-engage the fan base. What we all have been desperately longing for over the past few seasons, is the investment into the playing staff, not just the executive boxes. Hopefully GFH have learnt from the past, and the running of the football club will be much better at managing itself whilst being sustainable in the long run.

There has been no more significant news regarding investment into the club, but the club are still on the look out for new investment, and I believe we will see some news before the transfer window gets up and running. 

LUFC: McDermott’s work rate will bring success

The introduction of Brian McDermott has breathed fresh air into a football club desperate for a new start.

Brian himself is a confessed workaholic. In his time at Reading he had been in nearly every job, including chief scout. He was there at every training game, every development fixture, every youth tie, to get a feel of the entire club. McDermott is a club manager, he isn’t just a first team manager. Every little note he has said since his appointment has leaned towards a shift in the running of Thorpe arch.

It is my understanding that former Manager Neil Warnock was only at Thorpe arch once or twice a week, and to me, that says it all. The man wasn’t about how the club developed, all he wanted was a fit team on Saturday. Of course, Neil wanted promotion, but he never really spoke of the club, he only spoke of the first team and himself. That is why Brian has been something of a shift in terms of attitude.

McDermott knows the clubs history, it’s pedigree and it’s incredible fan base. Speaking to sky sports about next season’s promotion hopes, he declared that “we don’t need to aspire to be anybody, you’re talking about Leeds United here.” what United have lacked in recent years, is a manager who has the hunger and the desire to take the club forward. McDermott isn’t in his last season, nor is he a former Leeds player, or a Managerial novice, but he is a team manager.

Brian’s commitment to the long term success of this football club will play a huge part in directing how the club goes about transfers this summer. I fully expect GFH Capital to back McDermott, but we won’t see a Ridsdale-esque spend. I’d like to see young players who want to play for the shirt, to put their bodies on the line for Leeds United. Passion. I don’t see a lot of that in our current squad, but thus far, the team has proved they can play football. Hopefully a good end to the season will kick off a successful summer. With McDermott in charge, those pipe dreams could come true sooner than we think…

LUFC: Board re-structuring is just what United ordered

Today Leeds United have announced that board members Peter Lorimer and Yvonne Allen have resigned, while GFH Capital have brought In Salah Nooruddin onto the board.

The move comes as GFH Capital look to appoint their own board ahead of the new season. Peter Lorimer, a club legend, is now the first person to be named as a football ambassador, who will represent the club at fans forums, community and sponsor events. More past legends of the football club will be appointed alongside Lorimer in the coming days and weeks.

A re-structuring of the Board was one of GFH Capitals main priorities. For a start, Lorimer never really had the credentials to be a board member, and is much better suited to the role he will take up next season. Brought in by Ken Bates as a fans representative, he hasn’t, in the past few months, been able to take in that role, which warranted some fans to label him as a ‘puppet.’ now he has gone, Lorimer can go back to being a footballing great.

The other notable change is the introduction of Salah Nooruddin, who is a Bahrain based businessman, brought in by GFH to “play a crucial role in bringing new investors on board as part of GFH Capital’s strategy of building a successful and sustainable future for the club through a strong and committed shareholder base.” What we can gather from this, quite obviously, is that Salah will assist GFH in finding new investment. It also tells us that GFH Capital are committed to being long term majority shareholders. An appointment such as this, can be seen as intent to attract investment, but at the same time, an appointment that shows confidence. With Salah being from Bahrain, we can expect that more investment will come from the Gulf region, which can only be good. Mr Noorruddin has experience in brokering deals in terms of property, such as a $750 million London waterfront project. Because of his experience in this field, and his experience with large monetary value projects, we can expect that high profile businesses in the UAE could become involved, with the possibility of a buy-back of Elland Road.

Leeds United: I almost forgot that Ken Bates existed…

Leeds United chairman Ken Bates today came out of hiding, to endorse his own tenure at Elland Road. I had almost forgotten the man had even existed. I feel that the man himself simply could not stay out of the limelight. His outburst today was mostly on the sale of striker Luciano Becchio, and how Bates, the saviour of Leeds united, tried to sack Neil Warnock in October.

Becchio himself has stated today that the declaration made by Bates was completely untrue. Ken had stated that Leeds couldn’t afford to pay his £1.5 million a year salary (roughly £30,000 a week) but it was widely publicised by the media and indeed LUFC themselves that a contract offer was made. The striker left Leeds to play premier league football.

Yes, i could make a joke here, but I’m not going to.

Mr Bates also decided to tell his avid followers that ex manager Neil Warnock would have been sacked, if it wasn’t for a clause in the contract of the Takeover exclusivity period. Here is another great example of how to avoid blame, by placing it onto others. I am sure Mr Bates has had enough stick during his tenure of LUFC; he certainly didn’t want to be blamed for another ‘wasted season.’ Although this is probably true, did we really need to know this? Warnock has been sacked, and that is the end of it. I’ll be a little disappointed when Bates steps down at the end of the season, but only because his programme notes were worth a read. Even if Ken is made president, I’m sure we will have more important things to talk about.

 

Keep following me on twitter, @jakerleedsblog