Bahrain based businessman Salah Nooruddin joins a long,illustrious list of Elland Road boardroom power brokers as he was named Vice Chairman on Monday and revealed as the "mystery man" who acquired a 3.3% stake in the club thus elevating Mr Nooruddin amongst the greats such as Manny Cussin's, Sam Bolton and how could we ever forget Alderman Percy Woodward?

Times have certainly changed since those mighty men of stature gathered in the oak panelled boardroom in the West Stand in the 1970's. Given the global nature of our ownership these days maybe Skype is the chosen method of communication.

Mr Nooruddin initially arrived on the board of directors as part of International Investment Bank's £2.5m deal to buy 10% of the club shortly after GFH Capital acquired it from Ken Bates.

As well as confirming Mr Nooruddin's seat as Vice Chairman, the club also announced he was the "mystery" director who had acquired a 3.33% stake in Leeds City Holdings last week.

The initial fear was that Ken Bates had purchased the nominal holding, believed to have cost in the region of £800,000, however the club went to great lengths to announce Bates was not behind the purchase. Now these concerns can be allayed once and for all.

However Mr Nooruddin's motives are not clear, the best we can wish for is that he sees Leeds United as a great investment opportunity and the value of his stake holding will soar if the club make it back into the Premiership.

However one sports lawyer was quoted last week as saying the share sale could indicate that there are cash flow problems at Elland Road.

However for now, we will have to make do with the official line which came from Hisham Al-Rayes, Managing Director of GFH Capital who said: "Salah comes with 25 years experience in the investment business in various regions including the UK. He will be working closely with the club's executives to achieve our visions and goals. He will be in regular communication with the club to achieve this.

"We have also had a constructive meeting with Leeds City Council that Salah attended along with Shaun Harvey to discuss how we can work together in the future to our mutual benefit."

Mr Nooruddin himself said: "I am delighted to accept the position as vice-chairman of Leeds United and look forward to working with the club's staff so as to achieve the best possible results both on and off the field."

Photo: Action Images

Leeds United Polls