Leeds sever links with Ridsdale regime

LEEDS have severed all connections with the old Peter Ridsdale regime as new chairman Professor John McKenzie brought in a team of city accountants to help save the club.

McKenzie, who took over from Ridsdale in February as chairman of the club and plc, will be giving up his other business commitments to assume a greater hands-on role at the financially-stricken club while finance director and chief operating officer Stephen Harrison has resigned. A team from accountants Ernst & Young has been given three months to restructure the club.

McKenzie has now become full-time executive chairman with direct responsibility for all the company's operations and to bring in cost-cutting measures. The announcements mean that Leeds' plans to appoint a chief executive or managing director will be delayed for at least several months.

McKenzie said: "I will be taking full control of the club, at least the non-football part. Because of the outcome of the spending over a period of time there is a great deal to do. I'm sure this will be my last full-time job and I'm determined to try and sort things out. I care deeply about this football club and I believe I've got some of the skills we need to get back on track. The administrative side does need sorting out and over the next few months I'll be giving up my other posts to concentrate fully on the job."

Leeds have debts of £78million and Harrison's position has been virtually untenable since the resignations of Ridsdale and operations director David Spencer. The trio have borne the blame for the financial crisis which has enveloped Leeds and not just through the £60m loan which the club will be paying off for the next 20 years. Eyebrows have been raised at the previous business practices at the club. For example, of the 250 people employed by Leeds under Ridsdale, 76 almost one third of the workforce had company cars, a remarkable figure for a business where work-related travel was limited.

Dr Bill Gerrard, a specialist in sports finance at Leeds University Business School, has warned Leeds could go into administration even if they are not relegated and he believes McKenzie's change of role is significant. Gerrard said: "He is now effectively the chairman and chief executive himself, exactly the position Peter Ridsdale held.

"He's clearly changed his role from being a non-executive director. It may even be that in the future Leeds decide not to appoint a chief executive and just look for a finance director to work alongside McKenzie."