Former Leeds boss slams Bates

Ex-Leeds boss slams Bates' 'derisory' creditor offer


Former Leeds chairman Gerald Krasner has branded Ken Bates' offer to pay off the club's creditors as 'utterly derisory'.
And Krasner, an expert in corporate insolvency, has offered to represent the creditors free of charge in a bid to prevent Bates retaining control at Elland Road.
Bates placed Leeds in administration earlier this month and could get the go-ahead to buy the club back as director of a newly-formed company at a creditors' meeting on June 1.
The former Chelsea chairman has offered to settle the club's debts at 1p in the £1 and already has the backing of the club's major creditors who are owed a reported £22million.
But in a letter sent to creditors Krasner said: 'Having now seen the papers in connection with the proposed CVA, it appears that Mr Bates' new company is proposing a dividend of 1p in the £1.
'Effectively, he will have bought the club back debt free for approximately £500,000, including professional costs.
'Quite frankly I consider this offer utterly derisory and unless you agree with this proposal, it is up to you as a creditor to make your voice heard.'
Krasner, whose consortium rescued Leeds from almost certain administration back in March 2004, added: 'Like me, you will have watched with dismay the events surrounding Leeds United over the last few weeks.
'As an ex-chairman of the club I am most upset at the rapid decline of the club over the last 12 months.
'I have had a lot of approaches recently from fellow professionals, acting either for creditors or for third parties, who wish to invest in the club, but do not want to deal with Mr Bates.
'They have all asked me the same question - `What can be done?'
'My answer has always been that if the Company Voluntary Arrangement (CVA) proposal by the joint administrators is voted down, then I believe that substantial new investment would come quickly into the club and the return to creditors would be much higher.
'The CVA papers are voluminous and difficult for the average layman to understand.
'It may be that you can attend the meeting on June 1, or you just want to make your views heard.
'It is unlikely that most of you will want to spend the money to take the necessary professional advice on what is a very complex topic.
'I have, therefore, decided in my capacity as a licensed insolvency practitioner to offer to assist you absolutely free of charge.
'So if you are a trade creditor, a football creditor, a footballer, a season ticket or debenture holder then please get in touch.'
Krasner, director of Leeds-based solicitors Bartfields, has stressed he has no financial interest in the matter, but is acting on behalf of a number of creditors who have already approached him.
Leeds went into administration with debts of £35million following a winding-up order issued by the Inland Revenue, who are owed £5million in unpaid taxes.
The business was, with administrators KPMG's approval, almost immediately bought by a new company, Leeds United Football Club Limited, of which Bates is a listed director.
But the sale is subject to approval by the club's creditors who will be furnished with full details of takeover plans put forward by other consortia at the meeting on June 1.
Leeds property developer Simon Morris has tabled a £10million bid to buy the club with the administrators.
It has also been reported former West Ham chairman Terry Brown, a Dubai-based consortium headed by former Leeds manager Don Revie's son Duncan and two separate Irish consortia have expressed their interest.

Sevilla retain UEFA Cup title after penalty spot kick

Espanyol 2-2 Sevilla: Holders' spot-kick joy

Sevilla retained their UEFA Cup with a dramatic 3-1 penalty shoot-out win over 10-man Espanyol at Hampden Park in Glasgow.
Adriano (far left) celebrates scoring the opener for Sevilla in the 18th minute.
Adriano's 18th-minute opener for Sevilla was cancelled out just 10 minutes later by Albert Riera before Espanyol midfielder Moises Hurtado was sent off 20 minutes before extra-time arrived.
Fredi Kanoute put Sevilla ahead before the turnaround but substitute Jonatas equalised again with four minutes remaining to take the match to penalties.
Sevilla keeper Andres Palop was the hero saving three penalties from Luis Garcia, Jonatas and Marc Torrejon, with only Walter Pandiani scoring for Espanyol.
The rain had failed to dampen the spirits of the visiting Spaniards whose Espanyol-blue and more numerous Sevilla-red colours lit up the grey Glasgow sky.
The slick-moving Kanoute headed a whipped-in Adriano cross over the bar from around 12 yards out, while two minutes later at the other end Raul Tamudo's toe-poke from David Garcia's cross failed to trouble Palop.
Moises Hurtado's fine low drive from distance after 16 minutes, which Palop did well to hold, only confirmed the change in the game's direction.
That was until about 60 seconds later when Sevilla raced on the counter to take the lead.
With the Espanyol defence pushing forward to get the opener, Adriano sneaked past Pablo Zabaleta on the left, before sliding a right-footed shot past Gorka Iraizoz into the far corner from about 10 yards.
Espanyol forced their way forward to try to grab a quick equaliser but succeeded only in leaving gaps which their La Liga rivals looked more than able to exploit.
However, in the 28th minute it was Sevilla's Brazilian right-back Daniel Alves who was caught out of position, allowing Espanyol to draw level through Riera.
The former Manchester City midfielder picked up the ball wide on the left with plenty of time and space, turned inside the back-tracking Alves and fired a right-footed drive into the net off the far post.
An open game swayed from end to end and in the 39th minute Espanyol captain Tamudo tested Palop with a decent shot from distance, which the Sevilla goalkeeper again did well to control at the first time of asking.
Sevilla replaced midfielder Maresca with Jesus Navas at the interval but in the 47th minute it was Tamudo who had the first effort on goal of the second half with an angled drive which the impressive Palop saved low at his near post.
The holders responded by forcing their first corner of the second period - but again the centre of the Espanyol defence looked rock solid.
The match had slipped back into its free-flowing pattern.
In the 55th minute Ivan De la Pena's clever reverse pass on the edge of the Sevilla penalty area found Tamudo whose blistering shot drew a good save from Palop at the expense of the corner which came to nothing after the keeper was adjudged to have been fouled among a mass of bodies.
Seconds later, the popular Pandiani replaced Francisco Rufete to the cheers of the Espanyol fans.
There was hardly time to draw breath when Riera tried his luck with a dipping volley from distance which Palop tipped on to the bar and over for a corner.
Sevilla survived again but it appeared that the Catalan club were imbued with a sense of purpose that could take some stopping.
However, Espanyol's hopes took a massive nosedive when Moises was dismissed for a second booking in the 68th minute for a lunging tackle from behind on substitute Alexander Kerzhakov.
The momentum returned towards Sevilla and in the 77th minute Kerzhakov blasted over from close range before captain Javi Navarro headed straight at Iraizoz from barely 10 yards out.
As Espanyol slowly wilted, Kanoute had a point-blank effort saved by Iraizoz and Kerzhakov hammered the rebound high over the bar from a tight angle.
Neither side could make a breakthrough in the closing stages - meaning the contest went to extra-time.
Just before the break, Kanoute fired Sevilla ahead when he nicked substitute Jesus Navas' cross in at the near post.
Espanyol looked to have nothing left but with four minutes remaining substitute Jonatas, on for De la Pena, fired in a glorious equaliser from 30 yards.
Penalties duly arrived. Kanoute scored before Luis Garcia had his kick saved by Palop then Ivica Dragutinovic scored, as did Pandiani.
Alves blasted over the bar before Jonatas had his kick saved by Palop.
Antonio Puerta scored leaving Marc Torrejon under pressure, but once again Palop saved to be the hero for Sevilla.

Leeds drop again, now to League One

Leeds sink to new depths



The end was predictably messy, with a premature pitch invasion and a delayed finish. It was not the first time the adjective 'disgraceful' was used to describe events on the pitch at Elland Road, though usually that involves the players.

Yet, with chaos developing and recriminations beginning, as a metaphor for a fractious season, it was pretty much perfect. And at the eventual conclusion, their manager Dennis Wise admitted, Leeds were relegated.
Schadenfreude, enveloping Yorkshire for much of the season, has spread across various other parts of the country. Delight at Leeds' decline is widespread, yet it is also desperately sad.
Demotion came in the week of the sixth anniversary of their Champions League semi-final against Valencia. Weighed down by a past that is distinctly preferable to their present, Leeds' setbacks invariably coincide with reminders of what they have lost. That now includes Championship football.
By failing to beat Ipswich Town, Leeds effectively ensured they will enter uncharted territory next season: League One.
But devotees of footballing clichés know that the league table does not lie. In Leeds' case that is transparently true. Rather, the litany of reasons, like the list of culprits, for their demise is lengthy.
It is impossible to overlook the management of Wise and the chairmanship of Ken Bates. Both failed, at least from a football perspective. Bates has trimmed the debts, yet his achievements do not extend beyond that, despite his devotion to mentioning supposed triumphs (and an improved club website or radio station are no compensation for relegation).
Then there is the succession of feuds he, and by extension, Leeds have pursued, from the petty to the reprehensible (publishing the address of a former director in a critical programme piece ranked high amongst them and resulted in the involvement of West Yorkshire Police).

A fan feels the pain
And, of course, there is his appointment of Wise. The Chelsea connection was never popular at Elland Road, but it would have been tolerated had survival been achieved. It was not, and Wise's mantra of 'we'll be ok', repeated ad infinitum during the season, looks misjudged, bordering on the complacent and suggesting he had failed to acknowledge the gravity of the situation.
The other constant in his comments has been criticism of referees. Recognising Leeds' problems rather than, like his chairman, focusing on imagined injustices might have proved more beneficial.
Yet his initial analysis was correct. The squad he inherited from Kevin Blackwell was creaking. The departures of the old and slow - particularly the one-paced central defensive partnership of Paul Butler and Sean Gregan - could have proved the prelude for improvement, had they not been replaced by an injection of old, slow players.
Blackwell's legacy, despite a play-off final appearance 12 months ago, was not beneficial. His last eight months were notable for feeble performances, devoid of both imagination and goals. Caretaker manager John Carver's attempt to remedy that with attacking football exposed a dreadful defence.
That was only eventually resolved in the final weeks of the season when Lubomir Michalik, the strapping Slovakian, was borrowed from Bolton. The culmination of his loan spell ended the new-found stability at the back.
Before then centre-back had represented one of Leeds' problem positions (it was an indication of their difficulties that they had four, including left-back, right-back and right midfield). Wise displayed an irrational faith in Hayden Foxe while Rui Marques, ignored for his first 18 months at Elland Road, emerged as a superior alternative when belatedly introduced.
Four successive home wins suggested Wise's scattergun approach in the transfer market could reap a reward of continued Championship football. Michalik and fellow loanees Michael Gray and Radostin Kishishev provided a veneer of class. Yet it could not be presented as the fruits of a coherent strategy in a season that featured 43 players.
Not when there was a crisis of leadership, on and off the pitch. Leeds had seven skippers (though the armband was passed to others during games), four of them club captains. Kevin Nicholls, Wise's choice, brought his manager's judgment into question by committing what was regarded at Elland Road as treachery by attempting to rejoin his former club and their relegation rivals, Luton Town.
Then there is the question of the mysterious mole in the camp who Wise has failed to identify (though as the information given to Crystal Palace about the Leeds team was incorrect, the informer was as unimpressive as the majority of the players).


Gustavo Poyet and Dennis Wise run out of ideas at Elland Road on Saturday
Jonathan Douglas, Nicholls' successor, appeared appointed on the basis that he was the only automatic choice. For 15 yellow cards, plus a sending-off, he promptly got himself banned for the rest of the season.
That led to the promotion of David Healy, barely a month after he was benched. Wise had travelled to Belfast in a bid to discover how Northern Ireland possessed the most prolific scorer in Europe in the Euro 2008 qualifiers and Leeds an occasional scorer.
Yet, more than four months into his reign, that should not have been required. Wise's omission of Healy, like Blackwell's determination to ignore Robbie Blake, deprived Leeds of potential matchwinners for too many games while lesser talents such as Tresor Kandol, who Wise had plucked from Barnet and who proved inadequate after a jump of two divisions, were somehow preferred.
There was an assumption that Leeds would flourish next season, when they no longer had to contribute to the salaries of former players such as Danny Mills, Robbie Fowler and Mark Viduka. There may now be a feeling that they have hit rock bottom, yet this is a concept they have continually redefined in recent years.
Next season's manager - and there is a widespread feeling that Leeds cannot recover with either Wise or Bates at the helm - will have to start virtually from scratch. The current squad is dominated by arrivals on loan, short-term signings and others whose contracts expire in the summer. Then there are those such as Nicholls, for whom a future at Leeds is inconceivable, plus Healy, Blake and Richard Cresswell, who will attract attention from higher divisions.
Nor will Gary Kelly be at Elland Road. His lucrative five-year deal expires in the summer and, for seeing out the contract, he is entitled to a 'loyalty bonus' thought to be worth £650,000. It was granted, needless to say, by Peter Ridsdale. He is long gone but, deny it as he predictably did, his culpability in Leeds' relegation cannot be ignored.

End of season for English Premier League

Early of this month, the title for champion had been decided and won by Manchester United after missing the title for three seasons.This show that Chelsea fail to make third consecutive years to win EPL title.Then followed by Liverpool and Arsenal to place third and forth position.These 'big four' club in EPL show again they are dominant to hold this top four position. It seems these 'big four' to show the same thing for next season successfully and perhaps we will see the different champion. Below is final position for 24 clubs challenging for 2006/2007 season in EPL:

2006/07 Premiership Table

1 Man Utd

2 Chelsea
3 Liverpool
4 Arsenal
5 Tottenham
6 Everton
7 Bolton
8 Reading
9 Portsmouth
10 Blackburn
11 Aston Villa
12 Middlesbrough
13 Newcastle
14 Man City
15 West Ham
16 Fulham
17 Wigan
18 Sheff Utd
19 Charlton
20 Watford


Champions League: 1st, 2nd
Champions League qualifying: 3rd, 4th
UEFA Cup: 5th, 6th, 7th
Relegation: 18th, 19th, 20th