This from Martin Samuel in todays Timesonline.
Dave S Singapore Whites [email protected] November 5, 2007 At a loss to explain Peter Ridsdale Martin Samuel There is something that does not add up about Peter Ridsdales tale of his time at Leeds United: most of it. This is the story of a man who was chairman at a significant plc, yet is depicted as a powerless stooge buffeted by the costly whims of subordinates. It makes no sense. The book, Whoosh - There Goes Another Ten Million, sorry, United We Fall, attempts to lay the blame for some of Leedss greatest excesses with David OLeary, the former manager, except that Ridsdales version of events withstands little examination. Take the time he paid an agent £200,000 to work as a translator in one meeting. Ridsdale states that Dennis Roach was recommended by OLeary as a man whose language skills could smooth Olivier Dacourts path from Lens. If that was all he had to do, it seems a very expensive way of contracting a simple service, common in business, but in the event, when talks began, Bruno Satin, Dacourts agent, spoke good English and translated his conversations with the Lens president from French. All Roach did was nod his approval that this information was being conveyed correctly. He then submitted a bill for 200 grand, plus VAT. Ridsdale paid it, he says, because he did not have a legal leg to stand on, having allowed Roach to remain in the discussions. And at that moment, as was so often the case during Ridsdales tenure at Elland Road, the bulls*** detector sounds loudly. An invoice is not a blank sheet of paper on which any figure conjured from the air is legally due. It is a fair representation of the cost of the services provided. If all Roach did is act as a translator for one day, he is not owed £200,000, no more than a man hired to mow your lawn could arbitrarily submit a bill for ten grand, and you would be bound to pay, because he had already done the work. Something would appear to be missing from this story; something that would explain why Roach was there instead of a professional translator paid an hourly rate. After all, theYellow Pages is full of them. Logic and Leeds continue to part company when Rio Ferdinand is bought from West Ham United. Ridsdale explains Rune Hauges role in the deal by stating that the agent was commissioned by OLeary alone and his letter of authorisation led to the club receiving a bill for £1.75 million from Hauge when the move was completed. Why would OLeary give exclusivity to Hauge without informing the chairman? Ridsdale asks. Here is a better question. Why would any business honour an agreement of that financial magnitude, set up by an employee operating outside company guidelines? If a bill for £50,000 from Ridsdales publishers suddenly arrived at The Times, with a note attached explaining that Martin Samuel, Chief Football Correspondent, had agreed this fee to serialise the fascinating autobiography Looking Down The Back Of The Sofa For Change: Doing Business The Ridsdale Way, sorry, United We Fall, it would be pointed out in no uncertain terms that Samuels job is to do the football and ours is to do the money and frankly, sunshine, you can whistle for it. By comparison, Ridsdale claims that at his company our arms were pinned down by the managers mandate. OLeary launched a vigorous defence against these allegations last week, and who can blame him? If Ridsdale is to be believed and there is no suggestion of corruption around his behaviour, merely extreme foolishness executives at Leeds would appear to have spent much of their time rolling their eyes and offering amused shrugs of resignation as the bills rolled in and the money ran out, while Doris from the canteen independently shouted up ten kilos of beluga caviar and stuck them with the tab. It does not wash. Until managers buy players with money from their own pockets, there will always be an executive somewhere along the line who agrees the fee and writes the cheque. Now his would be a story worth hearing: so where is this man in Ridsdales revelations? Keeping a very low profile, it would seem. _______________________________________________ the Leeds List is an unmoderated mailing list and the list administrators accept no liability for the personal views and opinions of contributors. Leedslist mailing list [email protected] http://list.zetnet.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist 6 in a bloody row!
