It has finally come to pass. As the Mayans predicted many centuries ago, December 21st 2012 saw the beginning of a new era, and the next phase of the Leeds United calendar began with GFH Capital holding a press conference at Elland Road.
The new owners are promising that exciting times lie ahead, saying “It’s a club with history and pedigree” and that the potential to take Leeds back into the Premiership was one of the reasons they chose to invest in little old us. But they were also keen to stress that they will not be going for a Ridsdale-style gamble with the club’s future, saying that “We are not going to be spending money like crazy, we want to make the investment sustainable.”
And they have also quashed speculation that they might have loaded debt onto the club to fund their takeover, in the manner of the Glazers at Old Trafford. “We are very transparent. We bought the club wth cash.”
They have every confidence in Neil Warnock, and will be backing him for the rest of the current season. “We are going to try our best to help Neil Warnock in January but we will not say how much we will be spending. He is our man and he was one of the reasons why we decided to buy this club in the first place. The guy is a legend in English football and it was a requirement in the contract."
And while some fans are suspicious of the motives for keeping Ken Bates on as Chairman, the new guys have promised he will have nothing to do with the day to day running of the club. David Haigh said "Ken will remain as Chairman until the end of the season. We've brought on board new members from GFH Capital in Salem, myself and Hisham. Ken is the Chairman, but we are very much in charge and the buck stops with us”.
Looking slightly further ahead, they will be looking to purchase Elland Road, but can’t yet say when that will take place. The stadium is currently owned by the Teak Trading Corporation of the Virgin Islands tax haven, an outfit that Bates claims is nothing to do with him (even though the company was incorporated at the time he bought Leeds United and he has done business in the Virgin Islands in the past).
For all the fans who are inspired by this brave new world and want to come flocking back to Elland Road, ha