Leeds United’s inability to raise £300,000 cost them the signing of Chris Burke from Birmingham City, according to former manager Neil Warnock. Warnock said a “shortfall of several millions” in the finances at Elland Road denied him the freedom to pursue certain targets in the January transfer window, with Burke among the players he asked United owner GFH Capital to buy. The Scotland international was attracting much interest at the time, with Birmingham beset by financial problems and prone to offers for their leading players. United, who struck deals for Ross Barkley, Steve Morison, Stephen Warnock and Habib Habibou during the last transfer window, received £200,000 through the swap deal which brought Morison to Elland Road and sent Luciano Becchio to Norwich City on deadline day. Talking in his autobiography, The Gaffer: The Trials and Tribulations of a Football Manager, Warnock said: “I asked for a further £300,000 so we could sign Chris Burke but I was told (the club) had a shortfall which ran into several millions. “Whether the owners knew about that when they came in, or it had taken them by surprise, I don’t know but it meant I was unable to bring in the players I knew we needed.” Couldnt raise 300k for a player that could well have made the difference of the seven points we were short of for playoffs. Tells me all I need to know about our esteemed leaders
Got to hand it to Bates - only a genius of his ilk could find a bunch of skint arabs working in the gulf financial sector
That's the one thing which worries me about GFH that they have no idea of how to run a football club! That extra 300k could have been worth 90 million, it probably wouldn't have but you never know... Only time will tell i suppose!
If they could not afford the 300k then better not to gamble on 90 million. Anyone remember that scoundrel Ridsdale?
If they couldn't raise that to have a decent rattle at the Premiership then they are clearly in a worse financial position than most want to believe
I hear you and it is not good news. Nevertheless, I cannot believe that any of us want the club gambling again.
I don't think they're bothered about the Premier League (though they wouldn't admit that for obvious reasons). They're an investment bank whose sole intention is to make a profit on their investment, initially selling the club off piece by piece. If promotion should somehow be achieved on a shoestring whilst they're still at the helm then that's just an added bonus. They're money people as opposed to football people, investing even a few million on the off chance of promotion would be considered too much of a high risk financial strategy. Having said that I'd rather them than Bates any day of the week. At least they've attempted to do something positive with the pricing structure re season tickets, encouraging younger fans to return etc. The best thing about GFH is that Bates is finally gone (well almost). The worst thing is it appears we're still skint and still hoping for someone to take over with some serious money to spend (and it doesn't even have to be that much, maybe £5M or £6M for transfers should do it).
If PB (Post Bates) means not spending money foolishly on non-footballing infrastructure (restaurants, etc) , a significant reduction in consulting fees and other payments to related parties and elimination of certain other discretionary (Bates) spending, then the club should hopefully generate sufficent funds to be used to improve the footballing side of Leeds United. That is my hope and expectation.
Exactly Jonny, after Ridsdale and then Bates they're actually a breath of fresh air. At least they've appointed a seemingly competent manager.
One thing is for sure lads. Average gates of 19k will not generate enough cash to make any investment in the playing squad especially when a lot of the season tickets are mortgaged away. Cheap tickets will not bring substantial extra numbers through the turnstiles if there is only dross to watch on the field. We've been crap for a decade now which means a whole generation of potential supporter has been lost. Unless serious money is found to put a proper team on the field of play, these GFH bankers are only kidding themselves
I can't help but feel like Warnock is trying to get fans turned against GFH with all of his comments... He is just sore about losing his job when he thinks he is the best manager in the world We always knew with the takeover happening in december that this season was gonna be a write-off. Looking back on it I never truly expected them to splash out in January, it was a case of getting promoted with the current squad
This has nothing to do with splashing out though. It was about finding 300 k that they could have recouped at any time by reselling the player, to have a good go at promotion. What did they do instead, let be becchio go for 200k and a walrus. As mentioned above, they haven't a clue what they're doing and that's the real worry
The manager made the decision to sell Becchio for 200k and what you call a "walrus". He wanted an extra 300k ontop of the funds he'd already been given. And don't talk about Burke as if he was somehow magically gonna get us from relegation candidates under warnock to a top 6 finish. We were all disappointed by our January activity but this is just Warnock's way of trying to shift the blame from himself to whoever he can, in this case GFH
It's not just Warnock saying it though. Most of us could see Januarys activity for what it was. The summer had better he a hell of a lot different or we could still be relegation candidates
Your owners are bankers (problem) they will sanction anything that has a guarentee saving or shows a profit, Eg: swapping Becchio for Morison plus 200k was GOOD BUSINESS. a like for like player plus 200k what didnt matter to GFH was that Becchio was a natural goalscorer and Morison is a carthorse They will not risk any money on gambals which is good for Leeds Utd. and its future but not good news for you fans who just want the new players signed at what ever the cost. sell a player - buy a cheaper player, or sell a player get a player on less wages will be fine thats how all clubs should be run in all honesty not the RIDSDALE WAY.
Another Eg: Sell Byram for 8M and buy 3 or 4 players with the dosh WONT HAPPEN 3 or 4 times his wages BAD BUSINESS with no guarentees. SELL Byram and buy another player on same or less wages and pocket the profit GOOD BUSINESS
Agree mighty. But swapping inferior players for better ones, which has been the norm for us for far too long, has one inevitable ending and it wont be promotion
Yea we could all see that but as I said on hindsight we all knew that nothing was going to happen in January. Their real test is this summer
Eire thats where the manager comes in he has to find these players Big problem for Leeds is Warnock has brought in a load of old dross and i cant see to many players being SOLD. they may leave for FREE which means you can only replace for FREE. thats how it is at both yours and my club but in all honesty im happy we are not being run like the Leicester City,s of this world
Point taken Mighty but I'm not advocating doing a Leicester. There is a middle ground between their antics and our policy of doing nothing year on year. It's up to these great bankers to come up with a moderate fund. Thats all were hoping for at the moment. Could you just imagine their antics if they did fluke us into the Premiership
