Blackwell wins Bates over
27/01/2005 - 16:04:43New Leeds chairman Ken Bates believes manager Kevin Blackwell has done “a marvellous job” in steering the club to a mid-table position in the Coca-Cola Championship.
Bates admited he knew nothing about rookie boss Blackwell when he completed his £10m (€14.5m) takeover last week.
But the 73-year-old former Chelsea chairman backed his manager to the hilt at an Elland Road press conference this afternoon.
“I came in here with an open mind where Kevin Blackwell was concerned,” said Bates, “but then I found out what a magnificent job he had done since August.
“There was only him and Gary Kelly here in June but he has created a young team and got 40 points.
“He has done a marvellous job and I have told him he has my unqualified support. The footballing decisions are his and not mine.
Bates also backed chief executive Shaun Harvey who had done “a fantastic fire fighting job”.
Leeds were reported to be £24.5m (€35.5m) in debt when Bates took control and he insisted the club’s problems were “to an extent overstated”.
Bates, who revealed he had some knowledge of what was going on at Leeds from talking to former Leeds and Chelsea chief executive Trevor Birch, said: “The debt has now come down. There is not a great deal of debt.”
Asked how he saw the club’s future, Bates replied: “I promise Leeds fans, to borrow Cilla Black’s phrase, we are gonna have a lorra lorra laughs.
“A couple of weeks ago Leeds had their head above water gasping for their next breath. Now they are on the surface swimming against the tide. The next job is to get them swimming with the tide.”
Leeds fans have seen a string of players sold while the club was gripped in a financial crisis and Bates offered hope that the selling days might be at an end.
“We have had a few approaches for our young players this week and they have been turned down,” said Bates, who may have been referring to promising teenage midfielders Aaron Lennon and Simon Walton.
Bates paid tribute to the outgoing board led by Gerald Krasner and to Birch: “There wouldn’t be a Leeds today if he hadn’t have been here,” but stressed that the latter, who is now back in the accountancy world, would not be returning to Elland Road, although he has offered his “advice and support free of charge if we need it”.
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