KWB knows a pot of old when he sees 1 fellas & he seems to love the cream off the top too

Interesting article off another website.

Further to some analysis that someone posted earlier tonight - i think what needs to be investigated is the 'costs' section of the accounts. I've looked in the past, and if i remember rightly, there was no breakdown of what these 'costs' involved, unlike the accounts of other football clubs.

Just recently, Uncle Ken has announced that he has completed the purchase of Forward Sports Fund ("FSF" Limited for an undisclosed sum. FSF Limited is now owned by Outro Limited, which is wholly owned by Ken Bates."

Hmmmmmmm. I wonder why this was suddenly announced?

To quote a recent article from the Guardian:

'But that raises fresh questions over who owned FSF Limited, the firm that held 73% of the club's holding company, before Bates bought it for an undisclosed sum, and his motivations for doing so now.'

The key part of the above statement is the 'and his motivations for doing so now.'

Further on in the article it states that:

'The move follows pressure from the ongoing parliamentary inquiry into football governance and the Premier League's insistence it would interpret its rules in a "more stern" manner than the Football League if Leeds were promoted.'

Even more interestingly, it goes on to say:

'It is believed that Bates recently met the Premier League chief executive, Richard Scudamore, and was told the club would be expected to provide more transparency if Leeds were promoted.'

My take on all of the above is as follows:

1. Bates was worried about the disclosure requirements of the premier league.
2. Should Leeds be promoted, he would have to provide information that was not already in the public domain.
3. Bates knew that this information would makes his position as chairman untenable, as it would reveal the extent to which he (and no doubt others too) had been taking money from the club over the last few years.
4. Outro 'takes over' the highly secretive 'FSF'
5. Should Leeds United be promoted at any point in the future, the disclosure requirements would be placed on 'Outro' and the FSF 'secrets' would remain hidden. Bates has openly admitted the he owns Outro, therefore ownership disclosure is all hunky dory and the past is buried somewhere in the Cayman Islands.

Of course, all of the above is just my opinion.

However, when Outro 'bought' FSF, it was all very hush hush and came from nowhere.
If the previous owner was not Ken Bates, then why was a full sale procedure not put into action? Surely the previous owner would want the best price for the club and would want as many offers as possible, so as to push the price upwards?

The only reason this didn't happen, and why it all came out of the blue, is because Ken Bates (in my opinion) owned it in the first place.
He just wanted to 'bury' all the previous dodgy accounting that had been going on, and start to comply with premier league disclosure rules by being the open and honest owner of Outro Ltd.


Just to complete the picture - i believe that, under the 'previous ownership', millions left the club through 'admin' and 'consultancy' fees and were paid to other, equally shady offshore companies and trusts, of which the ultimate beneficiary would've been none other than Ken Bates and his associates and family members.

The above is what i believe. The above is the reason that i now attend 2 or 3 games a season, instead of 15 to 20.
I refuse to line his pockets. I may have some details wrong, i may not understand at all, however, I do know that something very dodgy is/has been going on, and i'm no longer financing it.

I suggest others do the same.

very good read imo.

comment by whiteroselufc (U2093)
posted 1 hour, 29 minutes ago
"If you think Ken Bates is intelligent then it's no wonder you're called Nobofleeds."

But that's a bit of a self-defeating proposition, whiterose, as I'm only called that by morons, such as yourself

Does anybody honestly think Ken Bates stepped in to save OUR club from the goodness of his heart? Ha! By hook and crook he purchased this club knowing the potential for income and has taken every penny he can ever since.

The bloke can't even lie straight in bed.

Peacock, are you referring to the incident where he cheated on his first wife?

Hahaha! Just saying I wouldn't trust the guy as far as I could boot his Chelsea ar$e!

Peacock, many morons are with you on that!

I'm a moron..... i'm proud to be a moron .........

As for Bates ....... as he likes to call others ... well he's just a complete Shyster ................

Jonty

...are you referring to the incident where he cheated on his first wife?...



We could probably level that accusation at 50% of the married people in the world.

What's that got to do with anything Eric? It was humour. Ever heard of it?

leedssdeel

Oh and I suppose Jonty needs you to speak for him? And yes I have heard of it, perhaps my response was on similar lines? You wouldn't know would you?