ALL THE REST…

BackBeat first brought you news that Leeds were to sell Elland Road months ago. Remember the story about the group of City-based Reds who'd agreed the basis of a deal with the previous Leeds administration? Now their training ground is set to follow, from the Guardian:

Leeds United have admitted for the first time that their Thorp Arch training complex could be sold, with the news coming on top of the abrupt resignation yesterday of the managing director David Richmond.

Gerald Krasner, who took over as chairman in March after heading a consortium that saved the club from liquidation, said Thorp Arch was included in discussions to sell Elland Road and lease it back over a 25-year period.

Discussions over the ground and Thorp Arch, seen as prime real estate in nearby Wetherby, were continuing though Krasner said the board had yet to see a deal it liked.

Confirming that Thorp Arch is part of the talks, he said: "Everything is possible."
But he added that he is bemused at the fans' outcry over reports that the ground was up for sale. "The position has not changed since March. It's bad enough when you're criticised for changing your mind but we've said that the sale and lease back of Elland Road has been an option since day one."

Wages have been slashed over the past two years from £57m to £41m last year and now stand at just over £18m but Krasner said yesterday there would be further departures, even after the pending move of Danny Mills to Manchester City.

"We will have to trim the squad slightly more," he said. "That is largely because we are still having to subsidise the wages of some players we have got rid of.
Unfortunately in most cases there is no other way of reducing our wage bill."

Krasner said the sale of the ground for up to £15m would not mean the end of football at Elland Road.

"Leeds fans are entitled to be angry if they think we will not be playing football at Elland Road but we have always said that, whatever happens, football stays at Elland Road. It is not in the club's interests to accept a shorter lease than 25 years," he said.

"In the talks we're having there is also a clause to buy back the ground. That's at any point during the lease, not necessarily at the end of it."

The measures are required because the club is believed still to owe at least £50m.

What seems to be overlooked here is just what fuckwit would buy Elland Road only to lease it back to Leeds for 25 years and give them a buy-back clause as part of the deal? What's the bet this is just the first step to an outright sale of the ground, and, as BackBeat claimed, Leeds will be sharing at Oakwell or Hillsborough (as looked into by Leeds' board back in January) should they still be in business in the near future.

THROWING GOOD MONEY AFTER BAD

From the Guardian:

Manchester City have ignored growing fears over their worsening finances by handing the former England full-back Danny Mills a five-year contract which will cost them around £30,000 a week.

It effectively equates to a long-term commitment of more than £7.5m for a club whose debts swelled to £50m for the 2002-03 season. That figure is likely to be grimmer now because Kevin Keegan has added high earners to the squad with very little sell-on value such as David James and Trevor Sinclair.

Mills completed his free transfer from Leeds United yesterday, with City using the lack of a fee to bolster the wages they could offer.

City have been able to finance the move because, like Leeds, they have raised money through securitisation, borrowing £30m against future ticket sales.

Mills had four years left on his £40,000-a-week deal at Leeds, who will continue to pay the balance of £10,000.

The move has amazed financial analysts. "At a time when most clubs appear to be regulating wage bills to offer a five-year contract is very generous," said Vinay Bedi of Brewin Dolphin Securities.

"We are seeing the majority of deals being done without transfer fees. There's a cash-flow benefit to clubs as they do not have to hand out large sums straight away.

"Yet the long-term implications connected to that wage, as Leeds discovered, are quite severe if you suddenly find yourself in financial difficulty. Five years is quite a long-term commitment and getting rid of players is a hell of a lot harder than bringing them in

DIV

Former England football star Trevor Sinclair has been arrested for allegedly assaulting his wife. The Manchester City player was taken into custody at 2am on Saturday, questioned at Wilmslow police station and later freed on bail.

It is understood his arrest followed a row with wife Natalie at a party. A spokesman for Cheshire police said: "On July 10, a 31-year-old man was arrested on suspicion of assault.

"He has been interviewed and is currently on police bail".

Last night, Sinclair, 31, was at home in Lower Withington, Cheshire, with Natalie and their two children. His agent was unavailable for comment. But friends of the winger said he and Natalie were still together and claimed the row was nothing more than "a storm in a tea cup".

And a spokesman for Manchester City said: "We never comment on the private lives of our players."

From the Mirror:

Real Madrid will hold a secret meeting with Patrick Vieira's advisers in Spain today as they line up a £30million move for the Arsenal skipper.

Madrid's re-elected president Florentino Perez has given the go-ahead for the deal after talks with coach Jose Antonio Camacho.

The dramatic move will hinge on whether Vieira, rated the best midfielder in the world by Perez, is willing to quit the Gunners. And the indications are that he is.

Madrid are claiming that Vieira asked his French international team-mate
Zinedine Zidane to help arrange the move out of Highbury.

The pair chatted during France's ill-fated Euro 2004 campaign, and Vieira is believed to have told Real star Zidane that he is now keen to join him at the Bernabeu in an attempt to win a Champions League medal.

This has prompted Zidane to contact Perez to urge him to make his compatriot's dream come true.

Real's negotiators have swung into action, and while Arsenal could hold out as they did a year ago when Chelsea tried for the French star, the difference is that they had the player in their corner on that occasion.

However, this time the glamour of Madrid and Real's name may prove too much for Vieira to resist. He is currently holidaying in America but if he says he wants to go it seems certain that the move will go ahead.

If Arsenal lose Vieira a bid for Liverpool skipper Steven Gerrard is likely to be their first move. However, the fear that Vieira will go is growing and may explain why Wenger made noises recently about deciding on his own future in October.