‘With Leeds's annual results expected to be the worst for
any Premiership club when they are announced tomorrow, the
former chairman's painful legacy will be plain to see.
‘A loss of between £45m and £50m is grimly anticipated, with
Trevor Birch, recently of Chelsea, expected to be confirmed
as chief executive. Birch will oversee the day-to-day
running of the club while the chairman Professor John
McKenzie turns his attentions to refinancing the club's
debts, likely to remain at around £79m despite a cull of the
club's highest-earning players. The plc board is putting in
some money to help.
‘This year's deficit may be up from last year's £33m loss
but it is historic, the figures loaded with the last
legacies of the Ridsdale era, whether those be write-downs,
one-off provisions or impairment charges. They will include
the former chairman's pay-off - equivalent to his salary of
£383,000 - as well as compensation owed to the former
directors Steven Harrison (£224,000) and David Spencer
(£200,000).
‘The prospect of relegation, with its loss of television
revenues, will hardly improve the mood. While the downturn
in results continues, the pressure on Peter Reid mounts.’