"Salem Patel has already made it clear that the club will oe run on proper business-like lines and

is therefore more likely to ensure safe, stable growth as we proceed back to the Premier League"

KEN
LOOKING BACK AND MOVING FORWARDS
So five wins in seven Championship matches sees us In ninth place after the Boxing Day fixture which was a Gulf experience - Kuwait (Nottingham Forest) versus Bahrain (Leeds United) which will add a tittle spice to the future fixtures between the two clubs. Due to printing deadlines over the holiday period. Of necessity. I am penning these notes before tt>e Huu G~ game result but hopefully we avoided them dong tl'e double over us. These are, of course. my first programme notes since me acquisition of the club by GFHCapital so it is perhaps time to have a respice and prospiee moment a~ ~wouId. haVe saved an awful lot of money in WlIlE!CE'SSal"' t'f1<S. sta."" and compensation but as I say, ;tIat is >tr.;ne llene~ of '''-ndsight ihc lasi egm year5 ilave been a hard slog with the d..'SappOir:;:mem: of relegation and Play-Offs but much has been an ~ ana mere IS much to be proud of. thanks to ~ nam WIld: of me management team which I have 'lad the '1onour "dlleaa. t.eeds United is not just a football team it is a VSj of :.>+e and much has been done to develop the wider am.;ties. '"he Members Qub is a great surress and our chain of oFJcia. Degiooal Members crubs is a most effective way Of reLaWg to fans and their concerns, far better than one or nw lIldividuals talking to the media We have our 0\'." pub, SiJy's Bar. and the Centenary Pavilion is a real "Members dub" on matchdays and great for making a considerable contribution to the club's finances the rest of the year. Remember football clubs only open for business about 25 times a year but the bills keep coming in for the whole 365 days. Then, of course, much has been achieved at Elland RoacL In 2005. it was a wreck and a decaying ruin. Today. it is a venue worthy of the Premier League with some of the best facilities in the country. Our Academy has been reorganised and with outstanding staff at Thorp Arch our scouting and coaching facilities are second to none, as can be seen by the number of home grown players in the first-team squad and the match results at lower leveL Another innovation is that the Academy is separate from the first-team administration, therefore ensuring that a change of first-team coach does not affect the club's future long-term planning.

me

RfSPIU (LOOK BACKWARDS)

It was a chance meeting in the Dorchester Hotel bat In London when a mutual acquaintance introduced me to the one Sebastian Sainsbury who was trying to put together a syndicate to take over Leeds United from the Yorkshire Consortium, who were out of their depth. It was clear that Sainsbury was unable to complete the deal and pulled out which is when my syndicate stepped in on January 21.2005. We paid off the taxman who withdrew the Winding Up Order and let Leeds United continue in business. With the benefit of hindsight, the club should have been put into Administration the day

PROSPICE (LOOK FORWARD)

Today, we welcome 2013, a New Year and a new era with our new owners (ifH capital. an investment bank based in Dubai, owned by (ifH, based in Bahrain. There has been much written about them and a lot of speculation, some of which was inevitable I suppose, but the proof of the pudding is in the eating and fans would be well advised to get behind the team (which is all that