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Flipping Heck! Have GFH done us a favour or will another summer of turmoil follow?
Flipping Heck! Have GFH done us a favour or will another summer of turmoil follow?
Wednesday, 20th Mar 2013 10:36

I think TIM Whekan's article yesterday adequately sums up the mechanics of the GFH accounts admission that Leeds United is an asset "held for sale" but what of the emotional side?

TIm after all is qualified in accountancy so who am I to pick through that little line in the GFH accounts published on February 21st that basically told us Leeds United was picked up on the cheap and the next move is to sell it on for a profit.

Some may feel well and truly shafted by the admission. After all, we saw GFHC particularly Messers Haigh and Patel as our saviours from the mass misery of the eight-year reign of Ken Bates and previously to that the short-lived Krasner era and the Ridsdale boom and bust saga.

The duo certainly won the hearts and minds of many followers on twitter and although I squirmed a bit at their suits and crisp white Leeds scarves, a change of ownership and direction was needed.

However after a modest forage into the January transfer window, the alarm bells were ringing. The financial commentators alledged that GFH did not have the clout to take us much further than Bates with the likelihood being sustainable growth rather than speculative spending.

In early February GFH admitted they had turned down an offer to buy out the club outright however they were seeking investors to come on board and work with them.

Now it seems, despite saying they are in for the long-haul they are trying to make a fast buck from the club. As outrageous as it seems, we need to look at Mr Patel and Mr Haigh who are "suits" eg businessmen first and foremost.

They may have enjoyed the adulation they got from us plebs from their plinth high up in the East Stand, but I have never been totally convinced. I know I should take what I read in the Daily Mail with a pinch of salt, but an article prior to the takeover suggested that David Haigh had strategically removed a tweet praising Manchester United which kind of destroys the myth he is a Beeston boy done good!

There seems to be an element of smugness that they picked LUFC up for a "bargain price" because the previous owners eg Bates "wished to change their business strategy" or something like that. My interpretation is that despite Bates' claim that his stadium rebuilding project was essential in restoring the club to the Premiership, the reality was that Leeds had an acute cash-flow problem as Bates's construction projects had left the club short -if you think I am wrong then why did he mortgage future season ticket sales?

Sounds almost as reckless as a certain Peter Ridsdale borrowing money to buy players against future Chsmpions League gate receipts, although I may concede bricks and mortar are a sounder major investment that footballers.

Had GFH not stepped in,it would have been unthinkable? Where would we have gone? A return to League One and probably another stint in administration?

So maybe we should be thankful that they did come in and release us from the madness of King Ken! My suspicions are, they saw the club as an opportunity to make some much needed quick cash to support their own ailing business with the ultimate aim being Leeds sneaking into the play-offs and getting back into the Premiership.

Had that come off, then they could have named their price and would have been laughing all the way to the bank. That is not going to happen, so plan B has got to be sell it on but for a more modest profit and definitely more that the reported £22m they paid Bates in December.

I really hope we do not face another summer of uncertainty. With Warnock leaving, it is the last thing we need right now. The new manager needs to be able to come in and manage without the upheaval and distractions going on behind the scenes. I worry too that Sam Byram, the only positive from yet another wretched season could be seen as a prized asset and sold to the highest bidder in the summer with ominous noises that Manchester City are hot on his trail.

So maybe we should not be too hard on the GFH "suits", after all they did achieve something many of us had campaigned for a good two years for and that was the removal of Ken Bates!

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