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Me and Mr Bates

5/12/2012

30 Comments

 

By Steve Jennings

Picture
Supporting Leeds United has always been a challenge even when the general feeling among anyone interested that the club was doing well. Just when you thought we were onto something good a disaster appeared from out of nowhere. Which other club could be in the European Cup Final in 1975 but relegated just a few years later in 1981? How many league champions survive relegation by just two points nine months after being crowned champs as happened to Leeds in 1992? Who else could be playing at Real Madrid in 2001 and Rotherham in 2004 as equals? Only Leeds. 

But in 2004 it was probably as challenging as it had ever been up to that date. The boom ‘n bust of the Ridsdale era had left the club heavily in debt and teetering on the brink of administration. Ridsdale had bailed out when the going got tough and he was rightly subjected to some adverse criticism from United fans (it was, after all, all his own fault, bless him!). He was succeeded by the ridiculous Professor John Mackenzie who was simply out of his depth running a high profile club like Leeds United. Gerald
Krasner’s Yorkshire consortium reduced the debt heavily by selling many of the club’s assets but the club needed a buyer, and fast! Mad Sheikh’s and family members of certain supermarket chains were mentioned but nothing bore fruition. There were rumours that consortia were waiting for the inevitable administration to buy the club on the cheap but rumours are just that, rumours. I remember going to bed at night many times wondering if there would be a Leeds United when I woke up, mainly because I didn’t understand the admin process and consequences. Player pay deferrals were all the rage and our few good players left sold off cheap. Then Ken Bates name was mooted in the press as a potential
buyer and in the space of about 48 hours he rode into town and bought Leeds United for £10m. 

Now anyone with even a passing interest in Football knew who Ken Bates was. He was the man who bought Chelsea for £1, was outspoken (to put it mildly) and had always courted publicity and controversy. This was the man who welcomed Matthew Harding to the west London club, took his money to fund transfers and then banned his widow from Stamford Bridge the very next game after Harding was tragically killed in a helicopter crash in 1996. Not a very nice man, Mr Bates!

But he built Chelsea up transforming their crumbling Stamford Bridge ground into Chelsea Village with
state-of-the-art hotel, bars and restaurants. He talked of the need for football clubs to have income streams 365 days of the year not just matchday revenue. This vision was complimented by a plan for the football club, one that won more than their fair share of trophies with Gianluca Vialli, for instance, winning five in four seasons before getting sacked by Bates.

Unfortunately for Bates towards the end of his time there the club income was vastly overshadowed by the outgoings and Bates was forced to sell to Roman Abramovich in 2003. But for the Russian billionaire Chelsea may have been finished. He had so much money he could pay £140m for the Chelsea takeover (including £17m that went to Bates personally), absorb the club’s reported £80m debt and fund a spending spree on players that had never been seen before. And rarely since. 

Now anyone who has been subjected to my many rants or read my tweets about Ken Bates may be surprised to know I was pro-Bates at the start of his days at Elland Road, after the initial shock of course. I was in the minority but bought into the theory that he would have one last football ambition after the Chelsea disappointment and he would want to be remembered by the world of football as a
success in his own right, surely, not one bailed out by a rich Russian? He needed a challenge and he got one at Elland Road. And maybe after the dream chasing of Ridsdale and fire fighting of Krasner Leeds needed a man who talked straight was not courting popularity or afraid to make big decisions whatever the fans thought. Bates appeared to fit the bill and he brought immediate stability to the club.

The hard-working Kevin Blackwell was handed a three-year contract and money made available for
players to be signed. United finished that first year in the Championship in 14th but talk was of a big push for 2005/6. But controversy beckoned and Bates made his now infamous comment that “if the city of Leeds wants Premier League football the fans have to pay for it!”Season ticket prices were subject to a huge increase and I was at the home game where Neil Warnock’s Sheffield United thrashed Leeds   4-0 (with Andy Gray scoring twice) and Leeds fans on the Kop responded to the price rise with chants of “you can shove your Chelsea prices up your ar_e!” I remember being quite disgusted by that, Bates did, it seem, have a plan and if we supporters had to pay a bit more so be it. 

Crowds dropped in 2005/6 mainly due to the ticket increases and some general apathy, despite a  successful season with United making it to the play-off Final at Cardiff. The East Stand upper was closed in all but big cup or league games and attendances of 18,000 or so at Elland Road were common place. The squad was steady if unspectacular. Gregan and Butler were solid (if slow) at  centre-back but money wisely invested in Hulse, Cresswell, Harding, Blake and Derry was supported by the useful acquisition of Lewis on a free and the loan market used to good effect to gain Premier League players Miller and Douglas at a key stage in the season. 

The team were capable of big performances (Preston away in the play-off semi-final the most obvious)
but also capable of imploding too, none more so than the Final at Cardiff where an average Watford team put Leeds to the sword with a 3-0 hammering. United were dreadful that day and all of us Leeds fans in the stadium to watch proceedings were simply struck dumb by what we saw! But being 90 minutes from the Premier League was proof enough that Leeds were heading in the right direction, right? 
 
It was during the summer of 2006 that my largely positive opinion of Ken Bates started to wane and begrudging respect moved quickly to dislike and on to detestation. His reaction to missing out on promotion was not to build on the squad but sell Hulse and Kilgallon, two of Leeds better players, to Sheffield United for a combined £4m and promising youngster Walton to Charlton for £1m. Likewise Miller & Douglas returned to their parent clubs and not replaced. Little of the money generated was made available to Blackwell to invest although he did waste £800,000 on the awful Kevin Nicholls,
arguably one of the worst Leeds players of all time. But in general it was second rate loanees who were brought in like Tony Warner, Geoff Horsfield and Jemal Johnson while Ian Westlake came in as part of a swap deal with Dan Harding. This was one of the first times Leeds fans publicly asked where transfer money income had gone as it hadn’t been spent on team improvements, and in previous seasons Aaron Lennon and Scott Carson shipped out for six-figure sums too with money apparently going elsewhere. It was no real surprise that the team struggled and Blackwell was sacked eight games in after three successive defeats. Bates initial plan was for John Carver to manage the club until the end of the season – no doubt to save costs – and this looked a good decision after his first game where Leeds beat Birmingham 3-2 at Elland Road. But it was Bates programme notes for this game that were most poignant. Talking about Blackwell’s sacking Bates stated that Leeds debt had been reduced to £6.3m and that the club would be debt free by the end of that season. He also had a dig at the stay-away fans saying that 5,000 more season ticket sales would have seen Leeds debt free already. These words would gain more attention by the end of the season. 

When Carver suffered four heavy defeats he was also sacked and the worst fears of most Leeds fans
became reality when Dennis Wise was installed as our new boss. He, with the help of another former Chelsea player Gus Poyet, took Leeds down to the third tier of English Football for the first time in our proud history and he was responsible for signing some terrible players like Tres Kandol, Matt Heath and Graham Stack to name a few. Bates football decisions had not worked and his leadership again
called into question.

In early 2007, with Leeds now embroiled in a relegation battle, the first whispers were being uttered that the club was fighting the real possibility of administration. We all thought these rumours must be ridiculous, remember Bates boast in the Birmingham programme in September 2006 that the club were in an improving financial state and near to a positive bank account?

Failure to beat Ipswich in the final home game would all but condemn Leeds to relegation to League One as United would need to beat Derby away by a double figure score if not. A late Town equaliser prompted crowd trouble with thousands of Leeds fans invading the pitch and, after the game and Leeds relegation all but confirmed, Bates called in the administrators and United were automatically deducted 10 points to boot meaning a bottom place finish just one season after finishing fifth. When the dust settled it was made public that Leeds United’s debt was quoted at £35m meaning that £29m more debts had been accumulated since September if Bates programme notes were to be believed. In my view that makes Ken Bates possibly the worst football chairman of all-time, indeed the worst business man of all time too! Unless, of course, the figures were not entirely pure. Within this £35m was a loan taken out by the club from an offshore company of £12m in March 2007, a figure that increased by a further £5.7m with interest added making this the major creditor with about 50% of the debt. Amazingly this offshore company would later state that they would accept 1p in the pound repayment but only if Ken Bates regained control of the club, an approximate repayment of £177,000 or a loss of £17.5m. Failing that they would demand the full £17.7m from any new owner. This would prove a major influence on the final administration process. I am not sure it ever became evident where the monies
from this loan were invested (I may be wrong), but it certainly wasn’t used to pay HMRC (the Inland Revenue in plain talking) as the club owed a huge £6m when admin was placed, and you don’t mess with the Taxman!

Now I don’t want to dwell on the dark, wet summer of 2007. It was a horrible few months for both weather (I am a Cricket lover too!) and what was happening at Leeds United while Ken Bates wrestled to regain ownership of Leeds. I have to be honest and thought that there was zero chance of Bates winning the administration process as I always believed that any chairman or owner who took a club or business into admin would be deemed unfit to be involved moving forward. But this is Ken Bates we are talking about and in the ensuing months we learned of the club being “secretly”sold in March 2007 (well it wasn’t that well known, put it that way) meaning Bates was not much more than an employee when the club called in the Administrator’s, KPMG, so the “blame” for admin lay elsewhere. My memory maybe a little clouded five or so years later but I doubt I am too far away. 

Without going into too much detail KPMG made the decision they deemed best for Leeds United with the £17.7m “loan” most dominant in their thinking. By keeping Bates they were effectively writing off £17.5m of debt that any incoming investor would have to pay, money that could go into the team?

But again Ken Bates' inability to keep counsel alienated him from a large number of Leeds fans when he stated during the process that he would take Leeds into liquidation if he didn’t regain control of the club. From that minute I detested the man. And I don’t use the word “detest” lightly. It amazes me that any Leeds fan could accept this man as chairman after such a claim but there you go. 

I will never forget the horrible moment one dark Friday afternoon when I found out Bates had been
successful regaining ownership of Leeds despite not making the most lucrative offer for the creditors. I was working at Somerfield’s head office in Bristol and there were a fair few Leeds fans working there including many who had joined us from Asda so were Yorkshire born and bred. I just sat there looking at my PC screen trying to come to terms with the news after the internal email dropped into my inbox. It was like a death in the family. Then, during my near two-hour drive home I learned that the Football League had reacted by deducting Leeds United 15 points from the season ahead meaning we would start bottom of the table without kicking a ball, and probably stay there for a while. From hell to the abyss, thanks to Ken Bates.

If there could be a silver lining then surely all this would be too much for the Leeds fans, most of whom are grounded and decent, no nonsense Yorkshire folk? But no, in fact Bates came out of this the hero to many fans who vented their anger to other obvious targets, including the Football League, Leeds City Council, West Yorkshire Police and the HMRC who were deemed the bad guys. In fact the point’s deduction prompted togetherness within the club support; it was us against the world and all that. Support at games was fervent as we cheered on a new set of heroes. Well, something like that. 

The League One years were horrible, pure and simple. Don’t let any Leeds fan get all dewy eyed about
those three seasons with tales about putting Yeovil to the sword or visiting “real grounds” like Hereford and Exeter. Ken Bates decisions in 2006/07 dragged Leeds into a relegation battle that ended in failure and the tactics he employed during the admin process prompted a 15 point deduction that cost us automatic promotion in our first year down and kept us in the lower leagues longer than needed. There were other notable contributors, sure enough, but Bates was at the root of all evil.

And some things never change. Fabien Delph was sold for a big fee in August 2009 (reported to be £6m) with little evidence of investment back in the team. And our League One midfield of Snodgrass, Gradel, Johnson, Howson and Kilkenny were all allowed to move on cheaply or for free as neither Bates nor his sidekick, Shaun Harvey, could negotiate appropriate contracts. 

When Leeds finally did escape the League One hell it was much to do with the efforts of manager Simon Grayson who had worked admirably on a shoestring to put together a squad capable of going up. Being a young manager he wasn’t perfect, who is, but he stuck at his task and finally we were nearer where we needed to be. Our first season back in the Championship was exciting with United just falling short of the play-offs. Grayson added some useful players including sons of two Manchester United legends Schmeichel and Bruce. But he brought in some dross too like Paul Connolly, Fede Bessone and Billy Paynter. It is up to you to decide if you think Grayson is at fault for these signings or whether you think it was because he had to shop in other club’s dustbins to find gems. I am of the opinion it is the latter and once again I accuse the chairman and his associates for lack of vision. The club did not need to spend millions, just a bit of quality in key areas similar to how Swansea, Reading and Southampton invested wisely to gain promotion to the promised land of the Premier League. 

There were some big performances. Likewise we had a couple of thrashings as Preston put six past us
after being 4-1 down (the first time an away team had scored six at Elland Road but not the last), but a seventh place finish was probably punching above our weight considering minimal spend.

Before the following season Schmeichel, Gradel, Kilkenny and Johnson had all left and Leeds fans would have to cheer on players unable to get contracts elsewhere playing for our club. Step forward the likes of
Väyrynen, Brown, Nunez and Webber. Grayson was sacked one day after the transfer window slammed shut (we didn’t expect that one did we Mr Bates?) and Neil Warnock brought in. But regardless of the new managers experience he couldn’t perform miracles. As the saying goes, you can’t polish a turd! 
 
So much has happened since Bates gained control of Leeds, firstly in 2005 then again in 2007. I will
remember his tenure as a time when the crowds dropped, future generations stayed away (and probably support teams in red instead?), best players sold, poor players brought in, abusive comments aimed at the club’s supporters (the real saviours of Leeds United), lies, lies& more lies and misinformation about the running of the club, court cases and bad press. This is Ken Bates legacy. So
when rumours started gathering pace in April 2012 that Bates was ready to sell Leeds then I was as excited as many other Leeds fans. But, being Ken Bates, one should remain calm until a deal is done. And so I waited. I waited. A comment from the club in May merely stated that the club were talking to “investors”. I waited. I waited. Another silly comment from the club saying nothing specific really. Internet rumours and Twitter goes into meltdown and then, finally, a  deal announced that GFH Capital had started the process of acquiring Bates shares of Leeds United. Phew! 

And so to today. This is written the day after Leeds won a third game on the bounce away at Huddersfield (ironically managed by Grayson) and the third game since GFH Capital started their acquisition of the club. The world appears to be brighter since the announcement. Are we really close to removing Ken Bates from the running of our famous club? I certainly hope so.  

Am I being harsh on Bates? Clearly I am in a place where everything that is wrong in the world is the fault of Ken Bates but should I afford some praise? 

The so-called “Bates apologists”, a dwindling number of Leeds fans who support the chairman, say that he saved Leeds in 2005 and but for him we might be supporting Leeds & Hunslet Rangers FC, AFC Leeds or FC United of Leeds. Or even worse for you Yorkshire boys and girls Bradford City. According to them only Bates was interested in Leeds, no-one else was ready to put their money where their mouths where. To those I ask one question: if that is so why did Ken Bates pay full market value for Leeds United (£10m) if a few days later he could have acquired the club unchallenged for a fraction of the amount, say £1m? I thought Bates was the master businessman? I don’t actually have the answer but may I suggest that there were indeed 2 or 3 consortia waiting in the wings to bid for Leeds when
the inevitable administration happened? I don’t claim to be in the know, but that is what I heard. 

And why would admin prove the death of Leeds United, why do some think the gates would have been
chained and that would have been it, no Leeds United? Look what happened at Southampton and Leicester were admin proved a blessing.

We should remember Mr Bates first choice investment was Sheffield Wednesday who had the good sense to send him away. If Bates interest in Leeds had been public knowledge then there would have been uproar and the administrators would have questioned Bates record at Chelsea. Yes, he built a club up from humble roots but he would have killed them off but for a Roman with billions to waste.

Allow me to suggest that Bates knew the only way he could acquire Leeds was to pay full value so can we dispense with the conspiracy theories that Bates stood alone in wanting to buy Leeds. 

And as for 2007 Bates and his apologists believe he saved Leeds United again! From whom, himself?
Remember Bates boast in the Birmingham programme in 2006 a few months before admin, didn’t sound like Leeds were looking down a barrel then, did it? 
 
So to answer my own question then no, Ken Bates does not deserve praise for buying the club with others money, making poor decisions, having no business acumen or vision and taking our club to the depths of despair and our lowest ever league placing. In fact I believe his coming in took us back years, undoing all the good work of Wilkinson at Thorpe Arch.

The Leeds United fans have paid for Premier League football many times over but the chairman and his merry gang have failed to deliver. 

Me and Mr Bates have walked “together” for seven years or so and it has been emotional, frustrating and little else. According to GFH the takeover will be complete on 21st December and Bates will stay to manage the handover until the end of this season and will then assume the role of President. As much as this appals me it has to be better than allowing the man to make decisions. 

Mr Bates lost my support because of one man, himself. Time for him to head down to Monaco and enjoy retirement but I fear he won’t! Mr Bates, Mr President? Good grief!
30 Comments
Jonny
4/12/2012 06:00:00 pm

Some really good points made, things I didn't even realise.. A very good read.. MOT!

Reply
Tare
4/12/2012 06:07:42 pm

Steve, write a book! Personally for me KB is dead and gone therefore all lights forward. Tare

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mattbb2
4/12/2012 06:21:38 pm

Very well written. Your point concerning bates' purchase for 10m when he could've bought the club fir £1 days later is well made. Of course others were there to invest. Bates is a propagandist and has been a catastrophe for Leeds a bumbling chancer who got lucky with abramovich there to bail him out.

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Mike
4/12/2012 06:28:06 pm

Excellent article and agree with everything you say. Fair play to you for clearing up so many answers to questions I had about Bates' reign. I too was at that 4-0 drubbing by Sheffield United having travelled over from Ireland and was sat in the Watford end(only ticket I could get) as they trounced us in the playoff final. Bad memories revisited. I do believe things are looking up though and hopefully with Bates' demise will come the promotion the club so badly needs.

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scot
4/12/2012 07:15:33 pm

Excellent read without being bias as like many other fans including myself, you were pro bates in the early days. As the saying goes, a leopard doesn't change its spots and Ken bates will be forever a crook!

Business is business imo and I can accept that bates, like other chairmen of football clubs, are in it to make a bob or two but what I despise is the fact that so many good, valuable players have left the club in the last 7 years whether it be for little or large fees and we have seen nothing of the £....then he has the audacity to blame the fans for not investing!!! Lies, lies and more lies! More faces than big Ben!

Scot MOT!

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Gordon findlay
4/12/2012 07:19:04 pm

I still have this horrible uneasy feeling that somehow Bates is working with GFH to help them buy his own club . Why on earth would you make him president . How much are GFH paying ? It still stinks . Why would GFH sub Leeds United evidently to the tune of millions just in case they do the deal . Sounds daft to me . The only conclusion I can come to is that it wasn't their money . Great article by the way .

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Ralph Cooke link
4/12/2012 08:11:39 pm

I am not 'in the know' but here are my thoughts. First, a good article, with some very good points. With regard to the comments made by Gordon findlay I think its pretty obvious that Bates made it part of the deal - either make me 'president' so I can take some glory when you take Leeds back to the promised land - Or the deal is off. Sounds like Bates would have said that - especially if you believe the stories of some other potential buyers sniffing around.
Ultimately I expect Bates to be around until GFH eventually take us up - he'll claim some glory then bgger off back to Monaco - and good riddence. Its time for all Leeds Fans to foget about Bates - he most likely has zero power any more anyway - and we will see what happens in January. I expect it to be great! It really is time to get behind the club and stop all the negativity. Give GFH (and whoever is behind them) a chance to put their money where their mouth is. Lets get behind the club, get the attendences back up where they belong. Shout loud for Warnock and the boys. "United are back, United are back - Whoa whoa - United are back, United are back" Believe. MOT.

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woody
4/12/2012 08:13:04 pm

A very well put together piece. Really does make a good read. MOT

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gerry madden
4/12/2012 08:45:44 pm

very well written, I think we all had forgotten all his going ons,
me like you thought he was our savior until you find out some of the crafty and slippery maneuvers he has made.
hope you will be writing better things about GFH only time will tell.
keep up with the good stuff Stev

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KennyLUFC
4/12/2012 09:35:44 pm

Before I begin please understand that I am not trying to start an argument or defend Bates but just wish that every individual makes up their own mind after learning the facts, rather than reading an article like this or just hearing gossip in the pub. There are two sides to every story.

Wow. It has been quite a while since I have read something so misguided and negative. The article is filled with bias and inaccuracies from beginning to end. Even the correct facts have been 'spun' to reflect your views and you offer no questions or thought for the reader.

I do not claim to be a Bates supporter and do agree that our great club would (and hopefully will) benefit from a total change of owners. However, I can't agree that Bates is responsible for all our club's recent misfortune. He is neither the savior nor the devil but I believe he has acted exactly like 99% of all other club's owners. One thing I do think is that he has tried to build foundations for future club stability once he has gone.

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Clive Sanderson link
4/12/2012 10:41:47 pm

I agree with KennyLUFC. Time to stop obsessing about Ken Bates who may not have been all good, but was certainly not a crook and an evil individual. He was certainly capable of rubbing some people up the wrong way, but the amount of abuse he gets from some fans has little of no justification. Bates was one of the last persons I wanted to take over Leeds. He's done a lot of good for the structure of LUFC as well as not putting enough money behind the team. Hopefully the new owners will carry on developing Leeds to be financially strong as Bates has been doing, but also have the resources to finance the teams development as well. It does not bother me at all that Bates will be President.

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Steve Jennings link
4/12/2012 11:09:24 pm

Respect the views of Kenny & Clive. Website forums are to publish opinions and debate and I am happy to do that.

The article was called "Me & Mr Bates" and was my personal recollection of supporting Leeds United under the Bates regime. It was not called "Bates the truth!" or something similar. I did not spend hours on the internet looking up "facts" or other peoples views I told it as I remember it. And I made it clear for any reader at the beginning and end that I am no way an a Bates lover so anyone likely to be offended by that should look away.

Without trying to start an argument myself I am happy to partake in healthy debate to understand where my comments have been "misguided and negative"! Many of my thoughts have been in the public domain (the £6.3m comment, for instance, is in the Birmingham programme notes and available for all to see. Leeds going into admin to the tune of £35m was also made public too!!)I satnd by my other observations too.

The facts are we went into League One and admin under Bates - that is not being negative. Bates did threaten to liquidate us, again fact not scaremongering or misguiding.

Thanks to everyone for your comments - positive and other.

OzTyke
5/12/2012 12:10:13 pm

I respectfully disagree with your assertion that Bates has been "developing Leeds to be financially strong". The club has been in a financial crisis all summer, Warnock missing out on his No.2 transfer target Ward for a paltry 400K. The season ticket loan means that income for NEXT season is already stuffed. Every single venture Bates has been involved with in his life has gone pear-shaped. If you have checked out his brazen love of Apartheid, his Colonial exploitation attempt in BVI, his "Chilling" vendetta against the Levis, or his horrific contempt for Matthew Harding and his widow, among many other horror stories, it's difficult to agree with the appointment of Life President. Either Bates has GFHC by the short and curlies, or they have no sense of decency when there are many FAR more worthy candidates.

DaveJ
5/12/2012 08:10:08 am

Perhaps Kenny, in the interests of a balanced arguement you can highlight and address the inaccuracies?

To add some further detail, there were two other consortia vying to take control of Leeds in 2005. One was led by the derided Sebastian Sainsbury who proposed to inject £25m (and thus avoid the need to sell Elland Road and Thorpe Arch). Adulant Force, the encumbent consortium led by Gerald Krasner, initially favored the Sainsbury bid (probably because Sainsbury was to offer two board seats and £2m to Adulant Force). However, following a public spat on Radio Aire on 6th November 2004 with Melvyn Helme, an Adulant Force director, regarding proof of funds, Sainsbury decided to withdraw his bid to avoid further reputational damage. This left the way clear for a consortium led by local businessman Norman Stubbs. Stubbs insisted his funds by directed entirely to ensuring the survival of the club and refused to offer any compensation to Adulant Force. Negotiations dragged on, allowing Bates to pounce at 2.27am on Friday 21 January 2005. He moved quickly, waiving detailed due diligence. Bates; reputation prompted Simon Jose, of the Leeds United Independent Fans' Association: "I would rather we started afresh in the Conference than have him in charge. It's like the four horsemen of the apocalypse selling to Lucifer. We need a clean sweep and a fresh start. This is like putting King Herod in charge of babysitting."

In retrospect it was very farsighted of Simon.

When Ken took over Leeds Utd at 2.27am on Friday 21st January 2005 debts stood at under £25m. On Friday 4th May 2007 at 3.15pm, when Ken Bates put Leeds Utd in to administration the debts were stated as £35 million.At the administrators meeting these debts were then restated as £46 million. Of these £46 million of debts less than £1 million could be attributed to the Ridsdale era.

There were 6 bids in total, 5 from the UK and the other from a US based group. The most credible and the one that got the most support outside of Bates cronies was from Redbus Investments who committed to immediately bringing in a "Premiership Manager" with a transfer budget of £10 million. All the bids had had to produce proof of funding in the form of £10 million. Only Bates didn't have to provide any proof. During the creditors meeting Bates was confirmed to be a liar. His repeated statements that Leeds United would be forced out of business and out of the League unless his bid was accepted were dismissed by the Football League’s solicitor, Nick Craig. It also emerged during the meeting that just two months before putting the club in to Administration Bates borrowed £12.1 million from Astor Holdings. Gerald Krasner was at the meeting representing a number of creditors. He pointed out that KPMGS administrators’ report to creditors said with legal precision: “The Forward Sport Fund are the only connected creditors of the company as far as the administrators are currently aware on the basis of the information provided to them to date.” In other words, they found no connection between Bates, Astor and Krato.

He then taunted the administrators with the fact – disclosed in Leeds’ 2006 accounts – that Astor had been linked to Bates’s Forward Sport. Astor, which Bates says has nothing to do with him, had an interest in Forward Sport, according to the accounts. KPMGs representative Fleming could only reply : “It’s the first time we have been made aware of it.”

The seven years under Bates' corrupted ownership has very nearly destroyed our great club. There are many fans who will never forgive him and will not return to Elland Road until he is fully removed, I personally hope for the day that HMRC announce they are investing the Administration process of May 2007 and Bates, his off-shore accountants and KPMG all find themselves facing some hugely uncomfortable questions.

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Steve Jennings link
5/12/2012 02:34:08 pm

Dave - what an amazing post. As I say mine was not to offer full details it was just my personal journey recollecting life under Bates. Yours was far more informative and did bring back some memories - I had forgotten all about Redbus. Good response mate

MADMAN
4/12/2012 09:43:20 pm

Brilliant read and all true.
I have many concerns moving forward.
1. GHF claim to know nothing about football. As an investment house who do not have funds of their own they will have almost certainly have borrowed cash to buy LUFC.To have allowed Kenneth William Bates to remain in any capacity after December 21st is wrong, immoral and makes me believe Bates is still involved in some capacity, which spells disaster for us all.
2. GHF have used Twitter to communicate with the fans and have yet to spell out their intentions. That is worrying and shows a lack of transparency.
3. I REMAIN VERY SCEPTICAL AS LONG AS BATES STAYS INVOLVED. This club must move forward. The likes of Gwyn Williams, Peter Lorimer, Ben Fryer at Yorkshire Radio and Norbert Pincher The Head Of Catering are all loyal to him and report everything back to Bates. The club is still run as a Bates dictatorial.
With him here, believe me NOTHING WILL CHANGE!!!!!!

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Alyson
4/12/2012 10:52:45 pm

A very well written piece. This is a reminder of what Leeds fans have had to put up with since Bates took charge of Leeds. My concern is what influence Bates will continue to have as Chairman until the end of the season. Will we still be expected to pay for our season tickets in January, as has been the case over recent years -we will see!

Reply
PORKY LEEDS link
5/12/2012 06:09:57 am

First of all bates did not use his own money to buy leeds.
Why has it taken all this time for a takeover to happen, amaing ,hes going ,were now a promotion candidate , 3 games ago relegation fodder. THAT MANS A CROOK.
PORKY LEEDS MOT

Reply
Timebomb
5/12/2012 11:03:41 pm

Riddled with mistakes Im afraid its probably one of the reasons you were under bates spell for so long. By the sounds of it you still are to some degree.

As for kenny hes even more clueless at least you have somewhat seen the light.

All that was needed by all at the club was to pay a little bit of attention to what was going on.

KPMG didnt accept the best deal for leeds, they pushed through the one that favoured bates. The involvement of astor etc. with bates should have been considered as well but they chose to ignore this. Ultimately those creditors knew that getting a cut of a 50m sale price was worth much more to them.

This is old ground though, its all been made public knowledge. if there is anyone out there who has enough interest in the club to want to know the facts just do a bit of investigation.

The harm that man has do to this club will remain with us for many many years to come.

My concern now is the relationship GFHC have with bates. anyone wanting to work with the man sullies their own reputation.

The presidency he will get is just a straight insult to this clubs long suffering fans. BATES OUT

Reply
Steve Jennings link
5/12/2012 11:32:13 pm

Mr Timebomb,

I was never "under Bates spell" I thought he may be good for Leeds to start with after the bull of Ridsdale and McKenzie and the cost-cutting of Krasner. When it became obvious to me (and many others) that he had no Football ambitions for the club I was firmly in the "Bates Out" camp and have never strayed. Instead my hatred for the man gets stronger with every lie and deceitful comment.
To suggest I hold some affection for the man is a gross insult - you clearly don't know me at all! I hope that clears that up?

And again may I say I am not offering new information or claiming to be in the know merely reciting events as I remember them. I even say once or twice that my memory maybe tainted in the mists of time so could be "riddled with mistakes".

And as for your observation: "if there is anyone out there who has enough interest in the club to want to know the facts just do a bit of investigation." - quite right pal! Couldn't agree more. It amazes me that there are still apologists out there with so much evidence readily available that highlights so categorically Bates evil deeds. But some people don't want to research they just see what's in front of their nose. Ken Bates has given every Leeds fan every opportunity to hate him and some still call him a saviour. No wonder he laughs at us and throws abuse at us.

I agree about the insult of Presidency when people like Howard Wilkinson or Lucas Radebe would fill the role with honour.

Reply
Colin
6/12/2012 02:59:55 am

I only have one comment... He hasn't left the club so I wouldn't relax in your seats just yet.

Reply
Iain Macleod
6/12/2012 08:27:47 am

very good story of the last 7+ years of crap us Leeds fans have had to put up with under bates's reign. When he came along, he was the figure head of Forward Sports, so not actually the owner and 10m wasn't paid to takeover the club, it just had to be guaranteed by the new owners. There was indeed at least one other group willing to takeover the club. This group had agreed a deal to do so with a 5m guarantee, but stood aside to let bates and FS in, thinking, that they would be more likely to succeed, how wrong were they!! I hope articles like this one will finally convince the few remaining Leeds fans that actually still think bates has been good for our club, just how wrong they are!! Well done mate.

Reply
John
6/12/2012 06:36:02 pm

This has been a terrific read from top to bottom including (most) of the comments. I was beginning to smell a rat, re KPMG, even before I got to Dave J's comment. The credibility of these huge accountancy firms is being called into account an awful lot these days. It seems whoever pays them gets the outcome they require. Wrt ownership, if I had to put my life on it I'd say KB still owns Leeds.

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DaveJ
7/12/2012 11:27:58 pm

The Administration process was an absolute farce Richard Fleming and his colleagues at KMPG should have been investigated for their shambolic handiing of the process. Despite the creation of fictitous debt owed to Astor and the other off-shore entities, who would only support the Bates bid regardless that he was offering the worst return on their debt (an initial 1p in the £ as opposed to the 10p+ in the £ that other bids were offering), it became clear that Bates has not secured votes relating to the 75% of debt he needed to be successful in his bid. Among the other debtors to vote for the Bates proposal was a firm called “Mark Taylor and Co”, who claimed they were owed £59,756 by Leeds United when they went into administration in May 2007.Suddenly, when it was realised that Bates had not secured thr 75% required this claim was restated to £273,615.32, Taylor himself clearing the matter up completely by saying: “There was no point billing because I knew I wouldn’t get paid. But the work had been done, so I was perfectly entitled to do that.” You may recognise the name Mark Taylor. Leeds United subsequently paid his firm iver £1.5 million in legal fees over the following three years...

Then shambles became farce. Bates still did have enough votes. So it was then "remembered" that Leeds owed Yorkshire Radio about £500,000 (How?) This debt had never be detailed in the initial statement of debts provided by KPMG. Yorkshire Radios debt accounted for 1.3percent of the total debt, and with them voting for Kens proposal he achieved 75.2 per cent of acceptance.
Bates had previously been listed as a director of Yorkshire Radio, along with Mark Taylor (him again) who was also the sole shareholder. Conveniently both has severed all ties with Yorkshire Radio only weeks earlier (alledgedly).

Shortly before the radio station was launched a year earlier Bates had said it had attracted five-figure investment courtesy of sponsorship deals and would break even in its first year of operation. He also said club funds had not been used to set up the station. And yet now the club owed the Radio Station £500 000 (a nice round figure). A quick calculation based uoon the rates Yorkshire Radio charged for advertising meant that Leeds must have taken over 20 000 hours of advertising with Yorkshire Radio over the previous 12 months to accrue a debt of £500 000.

There is an obligation for administrators to allow creditors access to the evidence put forward to substantiate a debt. KPMG have always declined to provide the evidence despite numerous requests.

So, Ken wrote off all his debts and got control of our great club. KPMG got their fees. Mark Taylor got £1.5million over three years.

And us, the fans, got screwed for another 5 years and counting

Reply
DaveJ
7/12/2012 11:18:58 pm

The Administration process was an absolute farce Richard Fleming and his colleagues at KMPG should have been investigated for their shambolic handiing of the process. Despite the creation of fictitous debt owed to Astor and the other off-shore entities, who would only support the Bates bid regardless that he was offering the worst return on their debt (an initial 1p in the £ as opposed to the 10p+ in the £ that other bids were offering), it became clear that Bates has not secured votes relating to the 75% of debt he needed to be successful in his bid. Among the other debtors to vote for the Bates proposal was a firm called “Mark Taylor and Co”, who claimed they were owed £59,756 by Leeds United when they went into administration in May 2007.Suddenly, when it was realised that Bates had not secured thr 75% required this claim was restated to £273,615.32, Taylor himself clearing the matter up completely by saying: “There was no point billing because I knew I wouldn’t get paid. But the work had been done, so I was perfectly entitled to do that.” You may recognise the name Mark Taylor. Leeds United subsequently paid his firm iver £1.5 million in legal fees over the following three years...

Then shambles became farce. Bates still did have enough votes. So it was then "remembered" that Leeds owed Yorkshire Radio about £500,000 (How?) This debt had never be detailed in the initial statement of debts provided by KPMG. Yorkshire Radios debt accounted for 1.3percent of the total debt, and with them voting for Kens proposal he achieved 75.2 per cent of acceptance.
Bates had previously been listed as a director of Yorkshire Radio, along with Mark Taylor (him again) who was also the sole shareholder. Conveniently both has severed all ties with Yorkshire Radio only weeks earlier (alledgedly).

Shortly before the radio station was launched a year earlier Bates had said it had attracted five-figure investment courtesy of sponsorship deals and would break even in its first year of operation. He also said club funds had not been used to set up the station. And yet now the club owed the Radio Station £500 000 (a nice round figure). A quick calculation based uoon the rates Yorkshire Radio charged for advertising meant that Leeds must have taken over 20 000 hours of advertising with Yorkshire Radio over the previous 12 months to accrue a debt of £500 000.

There is an obligation for administrators to allow creditors access to the evidence put forward to substantiate a debt. KPMG have always declined to provide the evidence despite numerous requests.

So, Ken wrote off all his debts and got control of our great club. KPMG got their fees. Mark Taylor got £1.5million over three years.

And us, the fans, got screwed for another 5 years and counting

Reply
DaveJ
7/12/2012 11:19:05 pm

The Administration process was an absolute farce Richard Fleming and his colleagues at KMPG should have been investigated for their shambolic handiing of the process. Despite the creation of fictitous debt owed to Astor and the other off-shore entities, who would only support the Bates bid regardless that he was offering the worst return on their debt (an initial 1p in the £ as opposed to the 10p+ in the £ that other bids were offering), it became clear that Bates has not secured votes relating to the 75% of debt he needed to be successful in his bid. Among the other debtors to vote for the Bates proposal was a firm called “Mark Taylor and Co”, who claimed they were owed £59,756 by Leeds United when they went into administration in May 2007.Suddenly, when it was realised that Bates had not secured thr 75% required this claim was restated to £273,615.32, Taylor himself clearing the matter up completely by saying: “There was no point billing because I knew I wouldn’t get paid. But the work had been done, so I was perfectly entitled to do that.” You may recognise the name Mark Taylor. Leeds United subsequently paid his firm iver £1.5 million in legal fees over the following three years...

Then shambles became farce. Bates still did have enough votes. So it was then "remembered" that Leeds owed Yorkshire Radio about £500,000 (How?) This debt had never be detailed in the initial statement of debts provided by KPMG. Yorkshire Radios debt accounted for 1.3percent of the total debt, and with them voting for Kens proposal he achieved 75.2 per cent of acceptance.
Bates had previously been listed as a director of Yorkshire Radio, along with Mark Taylor (him again) who was also the sole shareholder. Conveniently both has severed all ties with Yorkshire Radio only weeks earlier (alledgedly).

Shortly before the radio station was launched a year earlier Bates had said it had attracted five-figure investment courtesy of sponsorship deals and would break even in its first year of operation. He also said club funds had not been used to set up the station. And yet now the club owed the Radio Station £500 000 (a nice round figure). A quick calculation based uoon the rates Yorkshire Radio charged for advertising meant that Leeds must have taken over 20 000 hours of advertising with Yorkshire Radio over the previous 12 months to accrue a debt of £500 000.

There is an obligation for administrators to allow creditors access to the evidence put forward to substantiate a debt. KPMG have always declined to provide the evidence despite numerous requests.

So, Ken wrote off all his debts and got control of our great club. KPMG got their fees. Mark Taylor got £1.5million over three years.

And us, the fans, got screwed for another 5 years and counting

Reply
DaveJ
7/12/2012 11:19:17 pm

The Administration process was an absolute farce Richard Fleming and his colleagues at KMPG should have been investigated for their shambolic handiing of the process. Despite the creation of fictitous debt owed to Astor and the other off-shore entities, who would only support the Bates bid regardless that he was offering the worst return on their debt (an initial 1p in the £ as opposed to the 10p+ in the £ that other bids were offering), it became clear that Bates has not secured votes relating to the 75% of debt he needed to be successful in his bid. Among the other debtors to vote for the Bates proposal was a firm called “Mark Taylor and Co”, who claimed they were owed £59,756 by Leeds United when they went into administration in May 2007.Suddenly, when it was realised that Bates had not secured thr 75% required this claim was restated to £273,615.32, Taylor himself clearing the matter up completely by saying: “There was no point billing because I knew I wouldn’t get paid. But the work had been done, so I was perfectly entitled to do that.” You may recognise the name Mark Taylor. Leeds United subsequently paid his firm iver £1.5 million in legal fees over the following three years...

Then shambles became farce. Bates still did have enough votes. So it was then "remembered" that Leeds owed Yorkshire Radio about £500,000 (How?) This debt had never be detailed in the initial statement of debts provided by KPMG. Yorkshire Radios debt accounted for 1.3percent of the total debt, and with them voting for Kens proposal he achieved 75.2 per cent of acceptance.
Bates had previously been listed as a director of Yorkshire Radio, along with Mark Taylor (him again) who was also the sole shareholder. Conveniently both has severed all ties with Yorkshire Radio only weeks earlier (alledgedly).

Shortly before the radio station was launched a year earlier Bates had said it had attracted five-figure investment courtesy of sponsorship deals and would break even in its first year of operation. He also said club funds had not been used to set up the station. And yet now the club owed the Radio Station £500 000 (a nice round figure). A quick calculation based uoon the rates Yorkshire Radio charged for advertising meant that Leeds must have taken over 20 000 hours of advertising with Yorkshire Radio over the previous 12 months to accrue a debt of £500 000.

There is an obligation for administrators to allow creditors access to the evidence put forward to substantiate a debt. KPMG have always declined to provide the evidence despite numerous requests.

So, Ken wrote off all his debts and got control of our great club. KPMG got their fees. Mark Taylor got £1.5million over three years.

And us, the fans, got screwed for another 5 years and counting

Reply
DaveJ
8/12/2012 12:11:51 am

The Administration process was an absolute farce Richard Fleming and his colleagues at KMPG should have been investigated for their shambolic handiing of the process. Despite the creation of fictitous debt owed to Astor and the other off-shore entities, who would only support the Bates bid regardless that he was offering the worst return on their debt (an initial 1p in the £ as opposed to the 10p+ in the £ that other bids were offering), it became clear that Bates has not secured votes relating to the 75% of debt he needed to be successful in his bid. Among the other debtors to vote for the Bates proposal was a firm called “Mark Taylor and Co”, who claimed they were owed £59,756 by Leeds United when they went into administration in May 2007.Suddenly, when it was realised that Bates had not secured thr 75% required this claim was restated to £273,615.32, Taylor himself clearing the matter up completely by saying: “There was no point billing because I knew I wouldn’t get paid. But the work had been done, so I was perfectly entitled to do that.” You may recognise the name Mark Taylor. Leeds United subsequently paid his firm iver £1.5 million in legal fees over the following three years...

Then shambles became farce. Bates still did have enough votes. So it was then "remembered" that Leeds owed Yorkshire Radio about £500,000 (How?) This debt had never be detailed in the initial statement of debts provided by KPMG. Yorkshire Radios debt accounted for 1.3percent of the total debt, and with them voting for Kens proposal he achieved 75.2 per cent of acceptance.
Bates had previously been listed as a director of Yorkshire Radio, along with Mark Taylor (him again) who was also the sole shareholder. Conveniently both has severed all ties with Yorkshire Radio only weeks earlier (alledgedly).

Shortly before the radio station was launched a year earlier Bates had said it had attracted five-figure investment courtesy of sponsorship deals and would break even in its first year of operation. He also said club funds had not been used to set up the station. And yet now the club owed the Radio Station £500 000 (a nice round figure). A quick calculation based uoon the rates Yorkshire Radio charged for advertising meant that Leeds must have taken over 20 000 hours of advertising with Yorkshire Radio over the previous 12 months to accrue a debt of £500 000.

There is an obligation for administrators to allow creditors access to the evidence put forward to substantiate a debt. KPMG have always declined to provide the evidence despite numerous requests.

So, Ken wrote off all his debts and got control of our great club. KPMG got their fees. Mark Taylor got £1.5million over three years.

And us, the fans, got screwed for another 5 years and counting

Reply
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