Why is Ridsdale destroying Leeds?

[kenodoki]

It wasn't too long ago when Ridsdale tried to convince us he was a fan and was trying to take the club to new heights. Now all he seems to want to do is sell all our best players. Selling Fowler I can understand (we still have some decent forwards), but Woodgate as well? What happened to Woody being part of the 'untouchable' group with Smithy, Kewell and Robbo?

Not only that, but we were told that if Fowler went then Woody would stay. But that seems to have gone out the window since Newcastle has upped their bid and now Leeds are 'thinking about it'. Even Ken Bates had a pop at Ridsdale. When someone like that has a laugh at your expense, then you know you're a donkey.

Does anyone have any ideas to what's going on?

[The Rule]

you only have Smith and Viduka who are actual strikers left until bridge comes back,Kewell is more of a winger IMO.

as for Ridsdale,he's a business man first and a fan second,he's ruined what could have become a great team

[kenodoki]

It's short Termism if you ask me. At this rate we won't qualify for the Uefa Cup and it would make the debts even worse. It would also mean that we become a normal unfashionable club and therefore Sky will only televise the minimum ammount of our matches they that have to. This would mean even less revenue. If this guy actually run a proper Business he would have been fired a long time ago.

[The Rule]

i was listening to him on the radio last night and i heard him say, "like all leeds fans i'm sorry to woodgate go.......but it's good business". no it pissed me off,i'd hate to think how you must feel

[kenodoki]

He's lost the plot. He actually thinks football is about buying and selling players and paying didvidends to shareholders. I always thought it was about getting a decent squad together and playing football. Obviously I was wrong. It's really sickening. What's even worse are the lies we are being told. We don't know if this is the last player to go or if the Leeds Player Discount Store will be open again in the summer.

[The Rule]

Look at what you could have if you hadn't sold anyone from last seasons squad.

GK:Robinson-Martyn
RB:Mills-Kelly
CB:Ferdinand-Duberry
CB:Woodgate-Radebe
LB:Matteo-Harte
RM:Bowyer-Milner
CM: Dacourt-Bakke
CM:Johnson-Batty
LM:Kewell-Wilcox
ST:Fowler-Viduka
ST:Smith-Keane and Bridges

now for me this is a 23 man squad which is more than capable of winning the EPL.

Now you've got Okon,Lucic and Barmby and you've lost Ferdinand,Keane,Dacourt,Bowyer,Fowler and Woodgate(if he agrees terms).Seems a bit lobsided to me.3 average players at a cost of £3million brought in to replace 6 topclass players who have been sold for £52million(£57.5MIL if Roma opt to keep Dacourt).

Now you had alleged debts of £77million and you've made a profit of almost £50million so far on transfers, so you're debt should only be around £25million,right??wrong,figures in last weeks papers still said £60million,so where's the cash gone??Ridsdale has destroyed what could have been the best squad in the EPL.He also cost you a great young manager and gave you one of the dino brigade.Disgraceful carry-on if you ask me.

Another point i'd like to make,is that Ridsdale said in the interview i heard last night,that you had raised £12million in funds with a further £3m to come for Fowler,now to me the term funds would mean Transfer funds but in this case i think, as Kenodoki said, it's funds to pay the PLC and the shareholders their dividends.

He also made the statement that he was acting on the behalf of the PLC and board,he is putting the blame on them to take the heat off himself,he is a coward, a liar and he should do what's best for the club he supposedly "loves" and leave.not just resign as Chairman,he should sell whatever portion of the club he still owns and leave.

i know i've rambled a bit here and i do apologise but i think what's happening at your club is disgraceful.I genuinly feel sorry for the real Leeds fans.

[kenodoki]

Well said mate. You've said it all. I've just watched the press conference on the internet and Ridsdale said 'We didn't have to sell Woodgate, it was a conscious decision, but now at least we have money in the bank to move forward'. Move forward where? No players are coming in and I get the feeling more will probably leave in the summer. I don't think we'll qualify for Europe. Our squad is not good enough and I can name at least six sides that I believe will finish ahead of us.

And Terry Venables did not look happy. And he shouldn't be. He was lied to like the rest of us.

As The Rule said, where has the money gone? I think one journalist asked that and he was fobbed of with 'our finacial report will be published march' (or it could have been april but that's not the point). I just can't wait to see it.

Got to say it was the most patronising press conference I've ever seen and I think he knows he is going to have to resign.

[rshepherd1000]

im going to stand up for ridsdale, hes a good man and i thought he was superb in that press conference. i know the fans must be upset right now but he talked an awful lot of sense just now.

terry looked desperately unhappy but i think he'll stay

[kenodoki]

I just thought some fans would like to invest in one of these:

http://www.football365shop.com/store/comersus_viewItem.asp?idProduct=873&idaffiliate=wfs209235

[JD]

that kenbates quote was funny
Leeds will end up with more directors than players
(bates is such an unashamed shit that he is quite amusing)

Leeds got2 the CL semi's and wanted to take the next step
O'Leary believed he could build a team to challenge for the title AND perform in the CL - Risdale (and the Leeds fans) believed it too

after a HUGE investment o'Leary's team stayed the same whilst others moved on
this talk of the uefa cup is a red herring - as we were singing to the Liverpool fans on wednesday 'channel5 channel5 channel5!' uefa gives u pennies (£100k pergame TV money)
wot Leeds needed - wot they budgeted for was CL football
2seasons in a row (each with greater investment and further mortgaging of the future) they came 5th - might as well have been 17th for Leeds finances

they have no assets apart from their players (Elland Road is virtually derelict and belong to the council) the transfer market is spiralling down. and basically no player is a real financial asset until he is sold - Bowyer was one of their key 'assets' and they have ended up selling him for £100.

Leeds debts haven't really dropped because it wasn't simply a case of releasing capital it was easing the MASSIVE monthly wage bill.
rio ferdinand was a record investment IN THE WORLD as far as defenders go. ManYoo, arsenal and liverpool wouldn't push the boat out enough to tempt wetsham but risdales leeds did - mills. duberry, matteo, bowyer, dacourt, batty, wilcox, fowler, bridges and viduka where all established 1st team players at clubs in top divisions signed not only for good money but on high wages. smith, kewell and woody where all given the golden handcuffs - long term very well paid contracts.

O'Leary was given every backing possible (Wenger has never spent £18M! for example) but failed to deliver what he said he could - consistent champions league football - u can say O'leary never finished outside the top5 but the reality is he failed to deliver and financially broke leeds.

risdale believed he was doing the best for leeds then
HE KNOWS HE IS NOW
it's simply immature for Leeds fans to believe they can ignore their creditors and sail on failing to make payments

their future was hanging by a thread - a fiorentinaesque collapse was on the cards andrisdale has shipped out players in a dead market - Woody was the only regular 1st teamer under el tel and they got £9M for him (more than cannavaro this summer) they also took a £12M profit on Rio - £30M is an amazing figure!

they are now saving about quarter of a million a month and have a substantial transfer budget for next summer - in a market where buyer are at a premium and bargains are there to be had.

Venables won't quit (he's never turned his back on money in his whole life - he's sold the same company to two different people the fraudster!) chucking it in at Leeds would save them MILLIONS (haven't paid off o'leary yet have they?) becos it looks like they r goin nowhere (another reason to sell woody - venners off the wage bill2!!!).

Maybe that is what the sale really IS about - they can't sack venables because they can't afford it but if they can't make him quit by selling players (never happen) at least they can generate the cash to pay him off.

[kenodoki]

Good points but the £9mill for Woody wasn't actually needed. He said it himself he just wanted money in the bank. Maybe he feels that he has done the best for Leeds but Woody was one of our best performers and as Rule said they have got more than the £30m champions league cash would have brought plus a smaller wage bill. So why do they need to sell more players? I think we are being fed more lies. This is a PLC and dividends need paying. Ridsdale saud his first concern was shareholders and not fans or anyone else. Obviously no one is bigger than than the club, not the players, not managers, not the fans, not the directors, not the shareholders... oh wait, the shareholders are bigger than the club it seems

But at the end of the day what pisses me off are the lies. Read this article and you will know what I mean

http://news.bbc.co.uk/sport1/hi/football/teams/l/leeds_united/2712701.stm

[The Rule]

Originally posted by rshepherd1000
im going to stand up for ridsdale, hes a good man and i thought he was superb in that press conference. i know the fans must be upset right now but he talked an awful lot of sense just now.

terry looked desperately unhappy but i think he'll stay

what sense did he talk???we are selling our best players to keep the shareholders happy......he's bleeding the life from the club.He's an imbecile and he should go.

[The Rule]

Originally posted by JD
1.that kenbates quote was funny
Leeds will end up with more directors than players
(bates is such an unashamed shit that he is quite amusing)

2.Leeds got2 the CL semi's and wanted to take the next step
O'Leary believed he could build a team to challenge for the title AND perform in the CL - Risdale (and the Leeds fans) believed it too

3.after a HUGE investment o'Leary's team stayed the same whilst others moved on
this talk of the uefa cup is a red herring - as we were singing to the Liverpool fans on wednesday 'channel5 channel5 channel5!' uefa gives u pennies (£100k pergame TV money)
wot Leeds needed - wot they budgeted for was CL football
2seasons in a row (each with greater investment and further mortgaging of the future) they came 5th - might as well have been 17th for Leeds finances

4.they have no assets apart from their players (Elland Road is virtually derelict and belong to the council) the transfer market is spiralling down. and basically no player is a real financial asset until he is sold - Bowyer was one of their key 'assets' and they have ended up selling him for £100.

5.Leeds debts haven't really dropped because it wasn't simply a case of releasing capital it was easing the MASSIVE monthly wage bill.
rio ferdinand was a record investment IN THE WORLD as far as defenders go. ManYoo, arsenal and liverpool wouldn't push the boat out enough to tempt wetsham but risdales leeds did - mills. duberry, matteo, bowyer, dacourt, batty, wilcox, fowler, bridges and viduka where all established 1st team players at clubs in top divisions signed not only for good money but on high wages. smith, kewell and woody where all given the golden handcuffs - long term very well paid contracts.

6.O'Leary was given every backing possible (Wenger has never spent £18M! for example) but failed to deliver what he said he could - consistent champions league football - u can say O'leary never finished outside the top5 but the reality is he failed to deliver and financially broke leeds.

7.risdale believed he was doing the best for leeds then
HE KNOWS HE IS NOW
it's simply immature for Leeds fans to believe they can ignore their creditors and sail on failing to make payments

8.their future was hanging by a thread - a fiorentinaesque collapse was on the cards andrisdale has shipped out players in a dead market - Woody was the only regular 1st teamer under el tel and they got £9M for him (more than cannavaro this summer) they also took a £12M profit on Rio - £30M is an amazing figure!

9.they are now saving about quarter of a million a month and have a substantial transfer budget for next summer - in a market where buyer are at a premium and bargains are there to be had.

10.Venables won't quit (he's never turned his back on money in his whole life - he's sold the same company to two different people the fraudster!) chucking it in at Leeds would save them MILLIONS (haven't paid off o'leary yet have they?) becos it looks like they r goin nowhere (another reason to sell woody - venners off the wage bill2!!!).

11.Maybe that is what the sale really IS about - they can't sack venables because they can't afford it but if they can't make him quit by selling players (never happen) at least they can generate the cash to pay him off.

1.Bates is an idiot but he had a point.
2.He did build a team capable of winning the league,he wasn't given a chance to allow it to develop.
3.There were a number of problems within leeds last season,most notably the Woodgate,Bowyer court case.
4.Elland Road is hardly derelect,but since,as you say they don't own it,it's worthless to them.
5.Good point, but Rio wasn't worth the money,Ridsdale over-paid.
6.Wenger has never been allowed to spend £18million on a player,he had a hard enough time getting £11million to buy Henry.The point is that Ridsdale should not have backed O'Leary to such an extent.It's one thing spending that much money in such a short period of time if you are Man.Utd,but when you are a mid-level team it's very very stupid to do so.Ridsdale keeps talking about business,he showed he was a very bad business man with his obscene out-lay on players who simply weren't worth te money(Rio,Fowler,Johnson for example).
7.Again the point is that he should never have allowed the situation like this.He has only himself to blame.
8.Again,teams over-paying for Rio,as Wenger said £30million was £20million too much.Cannavaro(a far better defender than Rio) was £15.4million,but that's beside the point.
9.i wouldn't be so sure about the "substantial transfer budget" you mention.That money is likely to disappear in other directions.
10.They just reached an agreement with O'Leary(a £2million pay-off!!!!!!!) but this thing about "can't afford to sack him"is a load of crap,West Ham are at the same shit with Roeder.But is it not better to sack the coach and survive/prosper, than to get relegated??
11.He's waffling again about considering his future,but you're right,the man is only in the game for the money,He takes a job and makes sure the contract has a nice fat pay-off written into it.and then pricks about til the club have no choice but to get rid of him AND HE JUST LAUGHS ALL THE WAY TO THE BANK.

[kenodoki]

Good points, Rule

[The Rule]

i know ;)

[LORIMER]

Originally posted by The Rule
you only have Smith and Viduka who are actual strikers left until bridge comes back,Kewell is more of a winger IMO.

as for Ridsdale,he's a business man first and a fan second,he's ruined what could have become a great team
I totally agree with you gert rid of Ridsdale all he is interested in is money,money,money

[Juan]

Yeah, you would think what is left of Leeds is enough. Get the act together, regroup, and rebuild.

[derek kelly]

Anybody who thinks Ridsdale alone is destroying Leeds is misguided. in my view he is just a figurehead the decline of my beloved club began when it became a PLC Football Clubs and PLC's just do not go together (remember QPR) if you are keeping the fans happy by buying top class players and paying them exagerated wages then the shareholders are not going to be happy, likewise if you are selling top class players the shareholders will be happy but the fans won't at the end of the day Mr Ridsdale is well aware of where his wages come from and unfortunately it is not only from gate receipts. i still feel that as a chairman Mr Ridsdale would have the best interests of Leeds United at heart if he were allowed to run the club without the interference of the other PLC board members I would urge Mr Ridsdale to show his passion for Leeds United by forming a consortium and buying out the PLC come on Mr Ridsdale we can be great again with you leading us.

[OzWhite]

When posting on any Internet Forum and giving ,so called expert , comments it is usual to know the facts about which you express an expert opinion.

Even a basic fundamental cursury glance at the LUFC financial accounts for 2002 will tell you that as at 30/06/02 the tangible fixed assets of the club were 42,537,000 (hardly nothing)of which 35,127,000 is described as Freehold Land and Buildings.

Those are facts.Your comments are just bullshit and totally misleading.

[kenodoki]

Originally posted by OzWhite
When posting on any Internet Forum and giving ,so called expert , comments it is usual to know the facts about which you express an expert opinion.

Even a basic fundamental cursury glance at the LUFC financial accounts for 2002 will tell you that as at 30/06/02 the tangible fixed assets of the club were 42,537,000 (hardly nothing)of which 35,127,000 is described as Freehold Land and Buildings.

Those are facts.Your comments are just bullshit and totally misleading.

Sorry if I'm missing a point, but who is this aimed at and what are you trying to say?

[OzWhite]

JD : Role : and others who agreed by not correcting:
Comments re LUFC ground being derelict and owned by LCC : Having no assets except players :totally incorrect and bullshit.