The #LUFC Breakfast Debate (Tuesday 26th January)

Good Morning. It's Tuesday 26th January, and here are the latest headlines from Elland Road

San Francisco 49ers Increase Ownership Stake in Leeds

The San Francisco 49ers have increased their investment in Leeds United by a further 22 per cent to bring their minority ownership in the club to 37 per cent.

As part of the new deal Leeds owner Andrea Radrizzani has appointed their Chairman and close friend Paraag Marathe as vice chairman of the Whites. He has been on the Leeds board since 2018.

"We are delighted to welcome further investment into our club from 49ers Enterprises and I am confident that this latest partnership will help Leeds United continue to grow and develop into the team our supporters deserve,"

"I have always been open to bringing partners on this journey with me, as long as these actions can benefit the long-term strategy of the club.

"Paraag and the team at 49ers Enterprises are uniquely positioned to collaborate with myself, Angus Kinnear, Victor Orta and our management team to help us achieve our goals."

In reply to Andrea Radizzani's comments, Marathe wrote the following in this mornings edition of the Yorkshire Evening Post:-

Dear Leeds United family, staff, partners and supporters, Nearly three years ago, Andrea Radrizzani and everyone at Leeds United welcomed me, Jed York, and our San Francisco 49ers family into the club as minority partners. During that time, we have strengthened our relationship, while restoring Leeds United’s place back in the Premier League.

It has been my honour to personally experience what the club represents to the people of Leeds and Yorkshire, on and off the pitch. I have been to Leeds many times the past few years and each and every time I set foot in the city, I can palpably feel the passion for our club in the air around me.

In partnership with Andrea, we will continue to be responsible custodians of your beloved Leeds United, striving to personify the hard-working mentality of those who wear the badge in the stands of Elland Road, at home and around the globe.

Yesterday, we were delighted to announce that our investment group has increased its equity position in the club. We sincerely appreciate the opportunity to work even more closely with Andrea, Angus Kinnear, Victor Orta, the staff and our passionate supporters to achieve new heights and I humbly accept the honour of serving as the club’s Vice Chairman.

We take great pride in our association with Leeds United. I feel deep connections – both personally and through the 49ers – to what this club represents. This is a special club with a remarkable history.

In many ways, this is your club and we are committed to making you proud and strengthening it for the future. We are determined to lend our experience and creativity to help the club continue its journey. Our team has always shared Andrea’s vision to construct a hard-working, winning football club that will instill pride in Leeds supporters – on the pitch, commercially, and in the community – in a way that is inclusive to all.

Andrea has already done an excellent job in bringing the club to this place and I respectfully look forward to the opportunity to help him achieve the next steps of our journey. While the ongoing pandemic has forced me to watch every match from home over the past year, we look forward to the day when we can join you again at Elland Road.

When that time comes, members of our 49ers team and I will also relish the opportunity to maintain a regular presence at club events and within the Leeds community. Until such time, please remain safe, stay strong and take care of your loved ones during these challenging times.

Thanks for welcoming us into your family. We look forward to Marching on Together.

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Bielsa's pre match press conference

 

Good morning.

The initial investment isn't going straight into the squad. Radz has already made it known that improving the training facilities and stadium are important to his long term ambitions and Paraag Marathe has a history of delivering on stadia so everything is falling into place.

It looks as though we have owners with genuine top six ambitions and the ability to make it happen. I was gutted after the loss to Brighton but the news coming out of Elland Road in the last few days is worth far more than three points.

 

Morning all,

Good news about the investment. After so many years of being owned by incompetents, shysters, leeches and crooks Radz is a breath of fresh air.

Can you imagine any of the last few owners paying out £300k for a temporary pitch? Can you imagine the 49'ers wanting to work with the likes of Bates or GFH or Cellino?

 

Building Stadiums and what goes into the stadiums and makes money is a 49ers speciality. But dont forget that we also have the man that sold Highbury and built the Emirates Stadium and the man that sold WHU historic ground and di the deal to get the London Stadium for West Ham. Kinnear knows his stuff and its that strong board that Leeds have now, which covers every aspect of football, sports in general and making cash. TV rights, marketing, broadcasting platforms..

 

Morning all.

Does this all point to a new stadium as opposed to developing Elland Road ?

 

I can't see an entirely new stadium but I wouldn't want to end up with the emirates or olympic stadium anyway. The new Spurs ground isn't bad though...

 

My concern Doc and I think it's a legitimate one, is that as usual any/all development will come from borrowed cash against future incomes. That's the way of the world and unless you have a billionaire owner it's how all of football is.

So the question is...can we be a guaranteed PL club for the next 20/30 years to pay for everything we need ?

Our history suggests not if I'm being honest.

The alternative however is to stagnate and eventually decline anyway. Which means we're now potentially entering another Risdale era of boom followed by bust. High stakes indeed, but hey let's go for it as it sucked being down with the dead men

 

All good points mate, and well made. My own view is this:
We will not be building a new stadium we will however be expanding ER to seat 50,000 and have concourse sales for catering and superstore. the Matthew Murray Project will commence which means very shortly after Thorp Arch will be closed and the club will save a lot of money and have a new revenue stream and council is involved. We have a great relationship with Leeds City Council since Radz took over and they are fully behind everything we are doing. Long term partnership with the council is crucial and therefore a plan for the long term of Leeds Utd a sustainable plan. The whole area around ER and Holbeck will become a sports village due to ER and Academy and Sports centre with Leeds City Council putting funds in too

 

Let's a have a quick look at who has the stadia to maximise their match day income.

Man U around 75,000 capacity
Spurs 60,000
Arsenal 60,000
West Ham 60,000
Man City 55,000
Liverpool 53,000
Newcastle 52,000

Everton have plans to build a new 52,000 stadium as well.

It's clear if we want to join the elite of English football that a 60,000 redevelopment of ER is required. If we look at West Ham for example they now seem to be more stable in the PL and can support the team financially with far better signing than they were capable of when at their old Upton Park ground. They're not challenging at the top but they have moved up a level.

So big challenges lie ahead for Radz & the 49ers.

 

That would take some doing to achieve sixty thousand. West stand holds eleven as it stands. So that would need to double and north stand and corners need another level too.

 

Good morning all

I was going to post my concerns about the 49ers investment but those before me have made some very valid points. It shows how far we have come when some of us have concerns about the 49ers investment. I understand it being used to develop other areas rather than player purchases, it is a bit of a gamble though. Three points against Newcastle will have me feeling much better but I better stay in a darkened room on my own if we lose.

 

On the West Ham point it must be recognised that they are getting an unfair advantage and in reality the tax payer is subsidising them. They made a bomb from selling Upton Park and Kinnear got a great deal in rent terms for the London Stadium. They maximise their fan base comfortably in a new ground, pay rent/lease and the tax payer owned ground gets tax payer money to pay for the upkeep. In effect we own that and it was basically given away to another arm of government and private partnership who are responsible for it. They even make money from catering sales. The tax payer has had nothing in return, WHU have made millions in selling their ground and only pay rent now

 

Obviously done in phases.

The West Stand will be first to be redeveloped as it's where the corporate money lies, along with new changing rooms, media facilites etc etc.

We'll need to successfully negotiate the changover from Bielsa to another head coach pretty soon so nothing will happen in the short term. The relocation of TA seems to be the primary focus so that's also likely to take precedence.

 

We shouldnt be unhappy about success mate. We moaned and groaned and hid behind the settee for 16 years and since Radz took over we have been on the up. We have played some fantastic football, we have never had fans as happy, we win promotion to the big time, we look to be already safe in the Premier League and now we see a long term investment plan by a world famous sports brand. Try and look on the bright side for a while and keep healthy

 

One thing nobody has mentioned regarding the investment and the cash required to remodel ER and develop the academy infrastructure in Holbeck. Its the missing £40m we will not get this season due to no fans and covid. Yes we are now able to survive that and that will put us ahead of the game in the Summer when looking at bringing new players in. £40m would have been handy and we haven't been able to cash in on premium Premier League pricing for hospitality etc yet

 

If the plans are so well-defined, why are we not making a start whilst the stadium is empty?

£50m appears to already have been earmarked for redevelopment, plans are already drawn up, and with such a good relationship with LCC, Planning Permission should surely be able to be rushed through. We could avoid the future loss of income that will come with a later development.

Seems to me that we have an open goal, in football parlance.

 

So we are on BT sport tonight, wonder what blithering idiots we will have to endure giving their "expert analysis".

 

Aye but we have Bamford at the club and he missed it.

 

Pitch already starting to look the part