2 months ago
Why I Have To Hand It To Leeds
After seeing Leeds United win 2-0 to get to the Play Off final I have to hand it to the team from East of Pudsey - they have probably done football a great service and stopped administrations to come.
Before Leeds United 33 other administrations from City’s on the 9th of May 2002 to the start of the season were done in a certain way with clubs cutting themselves to the bone to find out how much money they needed and how much they could afford to pay off creditors.
A club would look at the cost of a thin squad and what they did not need they would make an attempt to put back into the pockets of the local businesses and the St John’s Ambulance who tend to get shafted in these situations. These club hamstring themselves for the future and some are penalised ten points and while no one is saying that wrongs are righted at least an attempt is made to do that.
Then comes Leeds United who look at the size of the debts and the tariff of punishment and decide that the one is worth the other and rather than trying to make amends to the community - and the community of finance, the small businesses who have holes in cash flow thanks to them - they are based in they play administration, the game and take the hit of points while ensuring they have a squad that can overcome the penalty.
So I’m a bank or an investor and a football club come to me know because they need some cash or their overdraft extending and do I agree because I know they run by a set of guidelines designed to protect us both or do I look at Leeds United and step away?
In abusing administration Leeds United will have changed things for all clubs looking for protection from creditors. The next time a club asks for financial help then they will be knocked back by the wiser investors who have seen that the only punishment that is given for taking the money and running is a football one so that football club will have to cut it’s cloth accordingly.
That or they will do as Halifax Town have done and feel the smash of creditors losing faith in their abilities to pay it back.
In that way I have to hand it to Leeds United. They have taken a system designed to protect clubs and investors and tilted it so far in the way of the clubs that the investors will never use it again and suddenly everything in the hand to mouth existence of the lower leagues of English football just got that bit harder.
May 16th, 2008 at 9:19
Good to see yet another poorly researched and one-sided article about the whole Leeds administration thing! As anyone who has bothered to look into the matter will know, the reason that Leeds were unable to exit admin in the usual way was entirely due to the intransigence of Her Majesty’s Customs and Revenue - an intransigence which is now being felt by Halifax Town and Bournemouth, amongst others.
But hey, why ruin a good stary with the facts ……??!
May 18th, 2008 at 23:16
As the writer of this I disagree with Paul G’s comments. Firstly I wish that I had no experience of administration - I do from both dealing with it via City and from my own business - so I know what I am talking about.
Second I do not agree that the article is one sided. It takes a view and that view is against Leeds United but having authored the views I know that that is because having taken the facts on balance I come down on a side against them. This would be the same were it any other club.
I see no reason not to be “one sided” against things I oppose. It is no more “anti-Leeds” or one sided than the article about Manchester United/Chelsea was against those clubs.
I believe that point of the article - that the action of those people who run Leeds United have damaged the administration provision has played a significant part in the problems suffered by the other clubs.
To suggest that Leeds were unable to exit administration “the usual way” is to suggest that the HMC - acting on the tax payer behalf - have no right to make a distinction between those businesses who try pay off their debts as best they can and those who use the provision to avoid paying debts.
In summary the reason the article seems against Leeds United is because it is against the actions of those who run Leeds United and as a football fan who has seen those actions make extinction of my peers more likely I think we should all about against actions like make that more likely.