THE chief executive of activist supporters’ group Leeds Fans Utd has declared “we are the closest we’ve ever been to achieving our aim of fan ownership at Leeds United” as it seeks to maintain momentum behind its push for an ownership stake in the Championship club.
The group, led by internet entrepreneur Dylan Thwaites, had previously announced on October 30 it had agreed a deal “in principle” to buy the club from its owner, Massimo Cellino.
Although that quickly turned sour – Mr Cellino, who is appealing against a Football League decision to ban him from running the club, told the group that he “no longer wished to sell to Leeds fans” last Wednesday – the five days when it appeared possible saw Leeds Fans Utd make giant strides forward.
The group had been formed with the aim of taking a minority stake in the club but has shown it could work on a bid to own Leeds United if the need arose.
“We are in substantially better position now than ten days ago,” said Mr Thwaites. “We have proved we can play at minority or majority level. Massimo is now out in the open and engaged in selling the club.
“Potential buyers have seen the appetite for fan ownership at Leeds, with the effect that ‘bad buyers’ have been scared away or at least been forced to alter their plans, while ‘good buyers’ have been encouraged to push on.”
He set out four “next steps” for the group – to revert to the position of seeking a minority stake but with much greater ability to influence and partner with interested parties, to work with a range of parties to help bring people together, to encourage a united fan base, and to have a strategy for every scenario.
