Former managers come to Leeds’ aid

FORMER Leeds managers Peter Reid and David O’Leary are willing to help out the cash-strapped club in its hour of need.

With the Leeds players announcing they will take a wage deferral only as a last resort, acting-chairman Trevor Birch has spent the last few days exploring all avenues in a bid to raise the cash needed to see the club through to the end of the season.

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.

Leeds need between £3.5million and £5m in order to trade over the next four months, yet despite the constant speculation surrounding Alan Smith, Mark Viduka, Paul Robinson and James Milner, they seem set to remain at Elland Road.

In order to generate the cash, required, Birch is considering turning to the three managers sacked by Leeds in the last 18 months Reid, O'Leary and Terry Venables and asking them to defer their severance payments, along with a number of players.

Leeds are in the middle of paying out a total of £7m to the trio, and Birch is eager to put payments on hold and use the money to help keep the club afloat.

None of the managers has formally been asked to defer, with Birch initially seeing if the plan is viable in order to present it to the bondholders and creditors on Monday and gain a further two-week extension to the 'standstill agreement'.

Reid, who lasted just seven months before being sacked in mid-November following a 6-1 hammering at Portsmouth, is willing to assist in Birch's campaign.

Reid, believed to have been awarded a 12-month severance package of £850,000, said: "If Leeds want to defer payments I am happy with that.

"As long as I would eventually get what I am owed then I don't have a problem with it."

O'Leary recently revealed he is helping Leeds by accepting payments of his £4m compensation every six months, but the next instalment of £500,000 is apparently due in March.

Under Birch's plan, that would be put on hold until the summer.

However, that is unlikely to pose a problem to the Irishman, according to his representative, Michael Kennedy.

"There has been no formal approach as yet, although doubtless there

will be.

"If there is I am sure it will be looked upon favourably by David," said Kennedy.

Venables was in charge for only nine months, but still received £2m after his departure last March, and is now close to being paid off.

"You are supposed to be paid up straight away," said Venables.

"But they asked me whether I would accept payments over 12 months which is sort of a deferral anyway and I said that I would.

"I have now nearly been paid up."

Former Leeds striker Robbie Fowler is one of a handful of players Robbie Keane, Olivier Dacourt and Paul Okon the others who could be approached over the next few days with regard to deferring the monies owed to them.

As part of his £6m move to Manchester City last January, Leeds agreed to pay Fowler £10,000 per week over the length of the three-and-a-half year deal he signed with the club.

With Fowler to receive more than £1.5m from Leeds up to the summer of 2006, and £160,000 for the remaining 16 weeks of this season, again it is money Birch is in desperate need of.

Houllier hails return of goal king Owen

Paul Walker

GERARD HOULLIER is banking on a return of Michael Owen's goal power to settle the breakdown in confidence at Anfield.

Liverpool face another critical week with an FA Cup fourth- round tie against Newcastle, followed by the Merseyside derby against Everton both in front of their own fans.

Houllier admitted his under- pressure side were showing frayed nerves in the draw at Wolves in midweek.

However, the Liverpool manager sees a return to form and fitness by Owen, coupled with a massive FA Cup encounter, as the ideal way to boost morale.

And for Owen, the Newcastle clash is the perfect opposition to rekindle his own form after three months of injury agony.

Owen has hit 13 goals in nine games against the Geordies, the most he has scored against any side, and is two short of his 150 for Liverpool a total only seven other players have managed for the club in its history.

"We are aware of his record against Newcastle, and so is he," reflected Houllier.

"He will score against Newcastle, or an yone. He will score or make goals.

"Michael needs a couple of games to fire up again after his absence, he always does, but this game has come at just the right time for him."

Houllier added: "Everybody gets a lot of stick, the manager included, and that does not help with confidence. Fortunately the majority of fans are behind us.

"But you go through periods of adversity. The season has not been lucky for us, there have been dodgy decisions that have hurt, so it's a matter of maturity and experience.

"A lot of the players are young, and what is happening to them will be extremely helpful when they are successful, and they will get there.

"A change of luck would help. But you make your own luck, things will change."

And just to underline the months of injury problems at the club, Houllier points out the Wolves game as one which at last saw his key men available again.

He said: "That was the first time since the beginning of the season that we had Harry Kewell, Michael Owen, Steven Gerrard and Dietmar Hamann in the same team, and it is almost February. That shows the problems we had.

"All four are world-class players, and in a few weeks they will all have fired up more and we will do better."

Houllier will also be heartened to hear Hamann say he wants to stay at the club, with his contract up in the summer of 2005.

Hamann said: "Now is not the right time for me to be discussing contracts. We have a job to do on the pitch first and foremost."

Houllier and Liverpool expect to hear Owen making similar commitments soon over his new deal, and insist nothing has changed over recent announcements that talks will begin in the coming months.

The Liverpool manager needs Owen to start hitting the net again as well, just three games into his comeback.

Owen will make only his third appearance at Anfield since October, so the stage is set and Liverpool need relief from the unrelenting pressures while seem to be taking a toll on confidence.

Houllier said: "At Wolves we showed nerves, when normally we would have kept our cool.

"So what happened was a great reminder to the players because they now know it is so important to retain your focus and concentration.

"It is something that comes with experience."

And the FA Cup clash gives Liverpool breathing space and a chance to rediscover their form.

Meanwhile, Newcastle boss Bobby Robson has played down talk of a transfer-window swoop for a striker despite the club's interest in Alan Smith and a fresh link with Eidur Gudjohnsen.

"We have (Craig) Bellamy back in two-and-a-half weeks; Shola (Ameobi) was awesome on Wednesday in the reserves; we're playing (Kieron) Dyer up front with Shearer, and (Michael) Chopra got a hat-trick for the reserves," he said.

"We'd have to pay an awful lot of money to bring in a striker to better what we already have in this club, I tell you."