Leeds will have to pay Sport Capital almost £1million after losing today’s case in the high court, so another round of economies is on the way.

Leeds had refused to repay a loan of £950,000 from Sport Capital on the grounds that the money had come from David Haigh personally and not the company, and therefore it could be ‘the proceeds of crime’ in the light of the allegations against Haigh that have led to his arrest and continued detention in Dubai.

The club’s lawyer also told the court that Leeds are investigating whether we have been defrauded by Mr.Haigh during his time in charge of the club. But the registrar was not convinced by these arguments and said that Leeds were simply ‘scratching around’ for an excuse not to pay. He ruled that the club must pay the money before the next hearing on June 23rd, or face the possibility of being wound up.

Thankfully Leeds’ barrister assured the court that the money would be paid ‘very quickly’, but the club’s bank account will remain frozen until this happens. And the ruling leaves Massimo Cellino to look elsewhere to try to stem the losses of £1 million a month which are currently being suffered by the club.

Some cash will be saved by the non-renewal of several players contracts after July 1st, notably the high-earning El Hadj Diouf, but another austerity cut will be that five former legends will no longer be paid to provide corporate hospitality. Paul Reaney, Norman Hunter, Mick Jones, Terry Yorath and John Hendrie won't be employed by the club next season, but will be able to work for a free meal and a couple of match tickets.

Having served the club in an era when players didn’t earn the vast salaries they do now, they will be denied the chance to earn a bit extra so the club can pay the inflated wages of the current squad, none of whom were in the same class as the Revie legends. Reaney expressed his disappointment at the news, but said that all five were still Leeds supporters and wished the club well.

And Cellino is trying to get out of a deal to sign Cameron Stewart on a permanent basis ‘if at all possible’, despite a pre-contract agreement being made when his loan spell began in January. Cellino has not been impressed with what he has seen of Stewart, although his biggest problem has been that he was a right-footed player who McDermott mostly used on the left, and he did look a bit better in the few appearances he made in his preferred position.

Meanwhile, our search for a cut-price manager continues, and betting on Reading’s academy boss (and former Exeter manager) Eamonn Dolan has been suspended. But Reading have issued a statement to say that an approach from Leeds would not be welcome.

“Eamonn is an integral part of our club and is under contract to Reading Football Club. Eamonn has done an incredible job since taking over from Brendan Rodgers and we hope he will be a big part of our club for many years to come. He has a fantastic relationship with our manager Nigel Adkins and we do not welcome any approaches from any club for our key staff. We hope this is the end of the matter.”

I must admit I have been rather underwhelmed by the suggestion that Dolan would take over, but he would be a better bet than the previously-rumoured return of Gary McAllister. Though Macca is a Leeds legend as a player, he proved last time that he isn’t a manager and couldn’t handle the pressure, so I’d be surprised if he even wanted the job.

Most Leeds fans would prefer Di Matteo, and I wouldn’t mind Malky Mackay, but beggars can’t be choosers, and it looks like in the present round of cost-cutting we’ll just have to accept a manager who is prepared to come to the club for the wages we can currently afford.

Photo: Action Images

Bluesman1 added 07:07 - Jun 11 Not sure that it is all cost cutting in that way. It is a complete root and branch restructure to make it more economicsl. A play on words may be, but Celion knows what he wants and what he doesn't want and what we can afford. The gFH years have caused us compounded problems and Celino is having to rectify previous error in judgement at every level. I just look at this as sorting the club out. Best of luck to the ex players though. They are truly legends!

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