Taken from the end of LUTV’s interview with Leeds United’s current owner Ken Bates today… Ken Bates: What I can tell you is, matters are progressing but it is not being helped by people who are trying to cause trouble for some reason. I’m particularly curious about a fellow called Duncan Castles. He’s a gentleman… Continue Reading
Taken from the end of Yorkshire Radio’s interview with Leeds United’s current owner Ken Bates today… Ben Fry: Chairman, can we finish with an update on the investment? Is there anything you can tell us? Ken Bates: Well I’d like to Ben but as I’ve said before the confidentiality agreement, which seems to be a… Continue Reading
Taken from Yorkshire Radio’s interview with Leeds United’s current owner Ken Bates today… “This investment… negotiations have been going on for too long and we all know that. There have been points arising which we have been resolving but I think I should start off by pointing out that our potential investors, let’s call them… Continue Reading
We published the story of Noel Lloyd and Positive Action Movement in The Square Ball magazine in November, and now we’re putting the full text permanently online at TheSquareBall.net/Noel-Lloyd.
It’s an incredible story, that follows Ken Bates’ rise through the Lancashire construction business to become chairman of Oldham Athletic, where his schemes for corporate facilities and restaurants, the increased ticket prices, the insulting remarks about fans in his programme column, and the club radio station, will all sound sadly familiar to Leeds fans; to Rhodesia, where Bates had business connections, and where he took Oldham on a summer tour in 1965 and was photographed with Prime Minister Ian Smith, in spite of United Nations Resolutions that imposed economic and diplomatic sanctions on Smith’s “illegal regime … [ruled by] a racist minority”; and then to the British Virgin Islands, where Bates was on the precipice of a success that would be worth almost £200million in today’s money and leave him owner not just of a business, but of an island the size of Manhattan, for 199 years. … Continue Reading
As the curtain mercifully fell on the season in late April we entered the most welcome summer in living memory. Of course we have become accustomed to the off-season being thoroughly unenjoyable, as we clumsily stagger through the dreaded transfer window like an early-hours drunk trying desperately to find any willing suitor to join us… Continue Reading
Taken from Yorkshire Radio’s interview with Leeds United owner Ken Bates today… ‘Mr Chairman’ speaks to Ben Fry about the matches against Blackpool and Peterborough. He talks about Ben Parker and Mika Vayrynen leaving the club and some other stuff. Ben Fry: Chairman, we’ll start with last night’s defeat to Blackpool. Another loss on the… Continue Reading
Taken from Yorkshire Radio’s interview with Leeds United owner Ken Bates yesterday… ‘Mr Chairman’ speaks to Ben Fry before the Derby match about the defeat to Reading, but as I messed up recording the opening 30 seconds we’re missing the first question from young Ben and the first bit of Ken’s answer. The first question… Continue Reading
The most interesting part of Leeds United’s 2010/11 financial returns, which have become available today, fall after the end of the accounting period. The filings take the assorted companies that make up Leeds City Holdings to the end of June 2011, but at the bottom of the very last page, is this:
‘Post Balance Sheet Events’: Leeds United Football Club Limited entered into an agreement whereby it sold season tickets for both the 2012/13 and 2013/14 season for a sum of £5,000,000 after the year end.
This, it seems, it the £5m facility that was referred to in the official sites reporting of the account headlines: “After the year end we entered into an agreement for a £5,000,000 facility to part fund the East Stand Development.”
Taken from Yorkshire Radio’s interview with Leeds United owner Ken Bates today… ‘Mr Chairman’ speaks to Ben Fry about the 7-3 defeat to Nottingham Forest and Saturday’s 1-0 win over Millwall. He talks about the play-offs and our chances of promotion this season. He looks ahead to the Watford match and the Derby game when… Continue Reading
Taken from Yorkshire Radio’s interview with Leeds United owner Ken Bates today… ‘Mr Chairman’ speaks to Ben Fry about the Middlesbrough match, Paul Robinson, Danny Webber, West Ham, Neil Warnock (“not a fanny merchant”), the academy dinner and Nottingham Forest. Ben Fry: Chairman, we’ll start with Sunday’s game. You must be delighted with the result… Continue Reading