Leeds board prepared to hold crisis meeting

THE Leeds board is to hold a summit meeting next Tuesday should the club be relegated to the Nationwide League this weekend.

A Manchester City victory at home to Newcastle on Saturday combined with a Leeds defeat at Bolton on Sunday will see United back in football’s second tier for the first time in 14 years.

The irony is if Leeds are relegated, it will come three years to the day since they faced Valencia in a Champions League semi-final first leg.

But it will plunge the club into further financial chaos and spark another fire sale of players less than 18 months after a host of other top names were sold to ease the burden created by the club’s desperate attempt to maintain their status at Europe’s top table.

In employing an agent to sound out a number of clubs who have expressed an interest in the likes of Alan Smith, Mark Viduka, Paul Robinson and James Milner, the groundwork is being laid for the drop.

Such plans are certain to be given the green light on Tuesday when chairman Gerald Krasner meets with his fellow directors, although potential new owner Steve Parkin could still have a say as talks remain ongoing.

Leeds’ crippling wage bill, though, cannot be sustained on a First Division income as Krasner said: “We are not going to discuss the financial side of things.

“But we will stick to our plans and if we are relegated then we will sit down as a board on Tuesday and go through the second strategy and deal with it.

“We obviously cannot do anything until the end of the season with regard to the players. All I would say is, if there are clubs interested then they should declare their interest.

“But we’ve a hard match ahead on Sunday and if we are still in the Premiership race then I shall be saying the same things next week.”

Managing director David Richmond has conceded the club “would be negligent” if they failed to explore all options available, which includes selling the top names.

Former Leeds star Allan Clarke, though, fears the club will spend years in the Nationwide League wilderness should they be relegated. Clarke feels Leeds will have no chance of making an immediate return if the majority of the squad are sold.

“I think it could get worse before it gets better,” said Clarke, who made 364 appearances for the Whites between 1969 and 1978, scoring 151 goals.

“If they do go down then there will have to be a big rebuilding job, by that

I mean the club is going to have to produce its own players again. You are not talking two or three years, you are talking five years to bring youngsters on and there are going to be hard times ahead.”

Clarke is hoping the players who do pull on a Leeds shirt from next season show more bottle than a number of the present crop, who have undeniably let down the club and the supporters.

“I just hope that when these young lads do come through they are prepared to die for that famous white shirt like the players who put this club on the world map,” added Clarke.