"January s a month Of the transfer window: excitement, rumours, -rusintormatlon double-deali'l9 ar-c s"'adOw boxing.

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THE PROPHETS OF DOOM ARE FRUSTRATED
SO good riddance to 2011 AD and hello to 2012 AD. Last year ended on a disappointing note after a good start. At one time we looked like promotion hopefuls, doing the double over the ultimate champions QPR, but finished in a disappointing seventh place. After a slow start to the current season, we got into our stride, looked comfortably in the Play-Offs, but had a lousy Christmas once again and fell out of the top six. We have 20 games and 60 points to go, and 11 of these 20 are at home. However, we need everybody at Thorp Arch to take a good look in the mirror and ask themselves, "What can I do differently - whether it's training, fitness, tactics or discipline - to go that extra mile and deliver that little improvement to achieve the results that Leeds United and the fans deserve?" To say nothing of the huge bonuses and hopefully, new contracts that the Premier League will deliver to them. We have one of the largest squads in the Championship, which will be helpful in March and April when we have no less than 13 games in a little over just eight weeks. The numbers will be a cushion against suspension, injuries and loss of form. January is a month of the transfer window; excitement, rumours, misinformation, doubledealing and shadow boxing. All the fun of the fair. Meanwhile, the club's management have to cope with all this while still running the club. In Leeds' case, we have bought Danny Pugh, obtained the loan of Andros Townsend, extended Maik Taylor's contract and are in contract negotiations with a few players who are already at the club. "Where's the money gone?" is the latest chant from the vociferous few. Well. I'll tell them! Simon Grayson's player budget was 9.Sm for the year. As I write, we have so far committed 11.722m, over budget by nearly 23 per cent. It's bad business practice but a demonstration of how we have backed the manager and continue to do so. Incidentally, income from Season Tickets and matchday ticket sales just about equals those figures. Consequently, all the other costs of running the club have to be earned from other sources. Unfortunately, sometimes the players who were fancied most are a matter of disappointment, one example of which is Andy O'Brien. He collected his loyalty bonus at the end of October and less than two weeks later, said he didn't want to be selected to play. We assumed he had resigned but then he claimed he had been misunderstood. The tribunal to adjudicate on that dispute has been set for the week commencing February 27. I wonder why it's taken so long? Another fear expressed is falling gates and loss of interest. We haven't noticed it much. The postbag is as full as ever with the same mixture of optimists and pessimists, all as normal. As I have explained previously, we prepare our budgets well in advance of the following season. Last January we made our calculations, took the recession into our deliberations and assumed an average gate of 24,000. Before today's game, we are just 366 below that with most of our attractive games still to come. To counterbalance that, we have greatly exceeded our cup, friendly games and TV targets, so we are comfortable. The prophets of doom are frustrated, at least for the moment. With the opening of the main entrance to the East Stand, the works as far as the fans are concerned are now complete, other than the usual teething problems which accompany any building project. The East Stand has now been finally completed - some 17 years since it was first started. My thanks to all our corporate members who have been incredibly patient, to all the Lower Tier fans who have also been inconvenienced, and to Caddicks who have magnificently achieved their contract despite horrendous rain and dangerous gales. (Barbados Bill - off you go!) Last but not least thanks to the Leeds United staff who have continued to run the club under almost impossible working conditions and always came up smiling.