Leeds verdict may not be until end of season

[Seasider78]

Hear Hear.

I would like to underline that excellent analysis by saying that Leeds can disappear up their own arses as far as I am concerned.

Have you READ what those idiots post everytime one of the Nationals does a story they can comment on? I have yet to see one who has had the good grace to admit that Leeds are in a situation entirely of their own making and therefore deserving of whatever punishment the League dishes out.

No humility, no care for the other clubs they are walking all over with their absurd challenge. Utter shite.

That is exactly what makes me so angry about the Leeds fans response to this.

On countless forums you see the same shit being bleated out 'don't blame Leeds blame the system' and 'your club would do the same in our circumstances'

No our f*cking club would not as we have had to manage our finances and have not overspent as have countless other sides in this and other leagues.

 

[Jim in the West]

I don't know why we don't just give up on this shambolic affair and give Leeds their points back. No one wants them in League 1 - they are a bunch of prima donas with an unfortunate hard core of violent fans who generally manage to cause trouble. OK, it's nice to have a full stadium for ONE home game a season, but that's about it. As far as I'm concerned I couldn't give a f*ck about Leeds....I'd just feel very sorry for Carlisle or Doncaster (or potentially Walsall, or even us) if the arbitration decision deprived someone of rightful promotion.

The authorities must be sincerely hoping for a Leeds win at Millwall today, and defeat for Walsall and ourselves. They can then quietly give Leeds 5 points back, and everyone's problems are solved.

The only downside is that Leeds could FAIL to go up via the Play-offs, then we'd have to put up with them next season.

 

[Icy Gull]

Is giving them their 15 points back and chucking them out of the league an option? Seems the best solution to me, they shouldn't have been allowed to start the season in the 1st place but grabbed the opportunity to do so with a points deduction. Is chucking them out of the league something they can realistically hope to challenge succesfully if they get the points decision that they agreed to reversed? They would have not been allowed to start the season, without the points deduction as I understand it, so let's go back to square one and ask for our ball back and show them the door.

Everybody except Leeds would be happy..and they made their bed etc so will the other clubs give a shite after all the shenanigans of the last few years.? Leeds name is synonomous with all that's bad in the game over the last few years.

 

[The Auditor]

They would have not been allowed to start the season, without the points deduction as I understand it, so let's go back to square one and ask for our ball back and show them the door.

 

[Nemesis]

all ending with dougie ramming the trophy up mawhinney's arse at full time

That's if Bates hasn't stolen it and sold to the pikeys outside Wembley.

 

[bristolseagull]

Sky Sports | Football | League One | News | Leeds to get swift decision

 

[SeagullRic]

Anyone else seen the peice in the guardian today about all this? Dick is interviewed and I agree with everything that he says.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Matt Scott
Saturday April 19, 2008
The Guardian

Rivals angered as Leeds verdict is delayed for a fortnight

Uncertainty turned to anger last night as Sir Philip Otton's panel arbitrating on the Football League's 15-point penalty against Leeds United confirmed it had reserved another fortnight to deliver its decision.

Dick Knight, the chairman of Brighton & Hove Albion, who are two places and four points behind sixth-placed Leeds in League One's final play-off place, criticised as "a farce" the announcement that a verdict should not be expected until May 1. That is 48 hours before League One's final round of fixtures and only eight days before the play-offs begin.

"Either Leeds have a case or not and I wouldn't have thought it was beyond the wit of an independent tribunal to make a decision after three days," Knight said. "It's fine to try to make a judgment but when it makes a nonsense of the competition itself then you need a review of how arbitrations are made.

"At the very beginning the tribunal should have resolved to make a decision before this round of fixtures. This means the administrative tail is wagging the dog."

There is particular upset that Leeds initially accepted the penalty since the alternative was for the club to have been denied the Football League share that gave them the right to play in the competition. Leeds consider this choice to have been "unfair and unreasonable", prompting the appeal through arbitration.

The club's case predictably centres on the strict interpretation of whether the league had the right within its rules to impose the penalty and it is this that Otton and his fellow panellists, the QCs Peter Cadman and Peter Leaver, a former Premier League chief executive, are considering.

Ron Martin, chairman of fifth-placed Southend United, believes his club to be "unaffected" by the verdict. But in the interests of the competition, he hopes the league's judgment prevails. "I am not sure the league rules account specifically for that sanction," said Martin. "But the league works under the auspices of the Football Association rules and they can fix those rules as they see fit as a regulator. Nobody will be delighted if Leeds get the points back, whether they are affected or not. So if those rules aren't allowed then they will be ratified in the summer."

Other clubs who will be directly affected by the situation are considering their options. "The clubs who might be affected have spoken to each other, obviously, about what we can and can't do," said Doncaster's chief executive David Morris, whose third-placed club's hopes of automatic promotion would be shattered if the panel finds in favour of Leeds.

"Us and Carlisle are in a dogfight and we can have it snatched away when we're putting the cup to our lips. If it's taken away in a court of law then the club has to consider its position. But if the points are returned and we take a class action or any legal recourse we don't know who that would be against. We can't do anything against Leeds because they'd have been proved to have done nothing wrong."

Morris and other club executives believe that Leeds, under their combative former manager Dennis Wise, were able to make a competitive virtue of the 15-point penalty, and that reinstatement would distort the integrity of the competition. If that is the case, it would compound what other clubs perceive to have been an unreasonable advantage garnered when Leeds went in to administration.

"The points were deducted for failure to comply with insolvency rules," Martin added. "If you write off £30m-plus of debt, then you start with an advantage over your competitors. So that's why they started with the points deficit."

 

[Barrel of Fun]

I did and I agree.

Edit: Beaten by the fastest finger in the South.

 

[SeagullRic]

There shouldn't be any reason for them not to have made a decision yet. Surely 3 days is long enough to work out what to do. I think theres something pretty fishy about it all.

 

[Horsham Gull]

Well said Dick Knight

 

[Ernest]

I hope us and Walsall win and Leeds lose today then see what the spineless fuckers at the FL do.

 

[pasty]

I hope us and Walsall win and Leeds lose today then see what the spineless fuckers at the FL do.

Not beyond the bounds of possibilty either.

Leeds away at Millwall, Wallsall at home to B'muff and us, well you know that one.

 

[SeagullRic]

I hope us and Walsall win and Leeds lose today then see what the spineless fuckers at the FL do.

That would be brilliant. If the decision was made on may 3rd, just before the last games of the season with us and Walsall still in the hunt and some points were returned to leeds we could fight the FL together.

 

[Brixtaan]

Matt Scott
Saturday April 19, 2008
The Guardian

Rivals angered as Leeds verdict is delayed for a fortnight

"The points were deducted for failure to comply with insolvency rules," Martin added. "If you write off £30m-plus of debt, then you start with an advantage over your competitors. So that's why they started with the points deficit."

I'm only taking an interest now that we're involved but this sums it up in a nutshell so it's plain WRONG for them to get their points back.Very back and white to me regardless of previous owners behaviour and i hope they rot in hell like we've done for 10+ years.

But we should remember to be nice to them because of Westlake so well done Dick.

 

[beorhthelm]

There is particular upset that Leeds initially accepted the penalty since the alternative was for the club to have been denied the Football League share that gave them the right to play in the competition. Leeds consider this choice to have been "unfair and unreasonable", prompting the appeal through arbitration.

we return to the heart of the matter. lets for a moment ignore all that preceded with CVA, insolvancy, HMRC etc. lets just look at the bare fact that all the contracts, registrations and ground lease were transfered to a new company which was not eligible to play in the leauge. they did this on the eve of the season to hold the FL to ransom - give us the share or miss two fixtures, alot of money to many clubs.

I cant see how the arbitration can fail to take this into account and regardless of the league action being fair or otherwise they had to do something. Leed08 had no right to be in the leuge at all, a special concession had to be made to even allow them to join. The panel must uphold the FL decision, f not the precedent weill be set and clubs will run up debts, declare bankruptcy and reform every year.

 

[Lord Bracknell]

Has the situation changed, now that the Albion stand alone as the ONLY club that can theoretically keep Leeds out of the playoffs?

 

[Barrel of Fun]

Duplicate

 

[Barrel of Fun]

We could be fighting it alone!

The Leeds fans still do not see what they have done wrong. Where would the game be if everyone wrote off their debts and signed a whole new team?

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If you can't read that thread, here is what was said.

"How much does it hurt that, based on our performances on the pitch, we should be celebrating our promotion back into the championship tonight.

Yet due to the illegal actions of the FL, and the disgraceful kangaroo court, we might still face play off matches.

We keep hearing from the other bastards how unfair the return of our points would be for them.

Well after the 6 years we have had, nothing is as unfair as this. No one has greater cause to cry foul than us.

Do the right thing, Otton "


Plus...

"if any club deserves a change in fortunes it is us"

Or Bournemouth? Or Rotherham? Or Scarbrough? Or Wrexham?

 

[clapham_gull]

"The points were deducted for failure to comply with insolvency rules," Martin added. "If you write off £30m-plus of debt, then you start with an advantage over your competitors. So that's why they started with the points deficit."

The last bit is technically inaccurate since Leeds had already been docked points for going into administration.