D-day looms again for Leeds as time runs out for survival bid

CRISIS club Leeds face yet another day of reckoning today as they seek a further stay of execution from administration.

Having been given an extension of a week to secure a £5million injection to keep the Elland Road club active until May, acting chairman Trevor Birch has explored various routes to survival.

Last month Leeds agreed a ‘standstill agreement’ with their creditors, to whom they owe a combined sum in excess of £80million, which gave them breathing space.

And former Chelsea chief executive Birch has explored various options to generate the cash, without venturing into player sales.

Birch has made it clear no player is to leave before the transfer window closes next Saturday, which would undermine the battle for survival for the Barclaycard Premiership’s bottom club.

He has considered turning to the Yorkshire club’s three ex-managers Peter Reid, David O’Leary and Terry Venables, along with former players, to ask whether severance payments could be deferred.

Leeds are currently in the middle of paying out a grand total of £7million to the trio of bosses, a sum which would help keep them afloat over the next four months.

It may be the most viable proposal to present to bond holders and creditors today in order to gain a further two-week extension. However, there are also rumours of a Yorkshire-based consortium which is believed to be ready with a £20million offer to save the club.

It is understood Birch will again approach the players to take a wage deferral this week.

As things stand, Leeds would not be penalised if they went into administration, although the Premier League board is set to discuss a proposal to deduct nine points in future cases.

Richard Scudamore, chief executive of the Premier League, said: “It is a coincidence that we happen to be having a meeting to discuss the possibility of a nine-point deduction.

“We started to discuss it in the summer and we brought it forward in the autumn.

“However, there were some technical concerns really about the way the proposal was written, it was written a little bit too starkly.

“Clubs wanted some grounds for appeal, that has been written into the regulation, and clubs will be looking to vote on that this week.”

Scudamore is concerned, however, that Leeds’ plight and potential future regulations should be treated mutually exclusively.

“It is entirely coincidental that Leeds have got themselves into a situation which is very current and I, as chief executive, will be reminding clubs we have to entirely separate the two issues,” Scudamore said.

“One is an ongoing issue that has been on the stocks for a while and the other is a very specific issue that has to be dealt with in a separate way.”

Given their precarious position at the foot of the Premiership, Leeds have struggled to attract firm investment interest from outsiders and relegation would impact heavily even on their current predicament.

Andy Hosking, joint-administrator of Wimbledon, said: “If they were to be relegated, television money will drop from just under £20million to nearer £6million with the rescue payments as well as Division One money”.

Meanwhile Leeds today denied newspaper claims they are in discussions to sell Elland Road and ground share with a local club.