Transcript of Leeds United Supporters Trust Chairman, Gary Cooper, interviewed by Martin Kelner this morning on BBC Radio Leeds...
MK: The takeover of Leeds United could be confirmed by the according to a supporters group who say that they have had contact with the potential new backer. The Leeds United Supporters Trust believes that a deal is close to completion. Last week Leeds confirmed that an unnamed investor had made a credible offer for the club and had been given permission to look at its finances, in what is called due diligence looking through the Leeds United books, which will make some interesting reading. Joining us now is the Chairman of the Leeds United Supporters Trust, Gary Cooper. Gary good morning to you.
GC: Good morning.
MK: Are you alright?
GC: I'm very well thank you.
MK: Good, good. Now just remind us where we are with this takeover.
GC: Well, none of us are exactly sure but our best guess is that we are in the final stages and that a deal, a formal deal, is imminent.
MK: And where are the new people from? We hear that they are from the middle east which is a bit vague, but what do we know about the people who want to buy Leeds United?
GC: We know that they want to tell you who they are themselves so unfortunately I can't do that Martin.
MK: No, can you give us a little hint or anything?
GC: There's been an awful lot of speculation and everything, some of it has been fairly accurate. I think its not a secret any longer that there well may be middle eastern interest in this.
MK: Middle eastern interest but with a British representative, yes?
GC: Yes.
MK: Tell us exactly what the Supporters Trust has been doing, and what influence you've had.
GC: We've been busy working since January really trying to answer Mr. Bates' call to show him the money. We put together, as you are aware, the Vision Statement working with the supporters of Leeds, the members, the other Leeds United groups like the RMC's and the Supporters Club. We held a couple of meetings and it was very clear from those meetings that the fans wanted to see some ambition and we put together a Vision Statement in January based upon what we were told and it's that Vision Statement that we have been trying to sell to people.
MK: And you've been selling it to Ken Bates himself, presumably.
GC: We've always been willing to work with Ken Bates. The issue was never an anti-bates thing for the Trust the trust very much wanted to work with the club and will work with whatever owners the club gets, it makes no difference.
MK: And is Ken Bates himself keen to sell?
GC: Yes, we think so. I'm not so sure how long that has been the case, but I think that, as the club's first statement said, they're trying to get the best deal possible deal with the club. I think is probably been by the board that the club does need pushing on now. We've had a difficult season where we don't seem to be able to sell our best players and bring in players that are able to replace them, or even improve on what we've got, and I think that the club has recognised that it's time allow someone to come in who can push us on to that next step.
MK: As far as the Supporters Trust goes, the general view is they have played a blinder because the supporters of football clubs are full of where you wear your heart on your sleeve given its your club and you live it, its always very emotional. But you seem to have taken a more hard-headed approach.
GC: All we've done really is what a Supporters Trust should do. We've looked at our constitution, we've worked with our members, we've listened to the wider Leeds fan base, we've worked with the other Leeds groups and we've really taken the lead from them. I know the Supporters Trust seems to be getting a lot of credit at the moment, but, the credit really should go to the fan-base, to the fans. They are the ones who have pushed us on to this. The board of the Trust is a group of volunteers, we're just ordinary working men and we needed the direction. This time the supporters of Leeds United gave us some direction and we've responded to that.
MK: When we look at the timetable of this takeover are we right in saying that, and probably will, be confirmed by the end of the week?
GC: I'm pretty hopeful that that's the case, yes. That's my personal point of view, I've been of that opinion for two or three weeks. Don't get me wrong, due diligence can throw up a spanner or two that would need to be sorted out before formalisation but I'm very much of the opinion that we'll hear something positive this week. There isn't a lot coming out of the club so it's a best guess.
MK: There are good owners and bad owners, we were mentioning this earlier on, there's Sheikh Mansoor at Manchester City, brilliant, loads of money, get the best players in the world, then there's the Venkeys at Blackburn Rovers where it just led to complete chaos. Do we know into which camp these new owners might fall?
GC: I'm very much a glass is half full kind of guy and I'm hoping that the new owners will share the ambition of the fans, will make the necessary investment and work with us to put Leeds United back to where we think we deserve to be.
MK: And Neil Warnock's future? I read in one Sunday newspaper that he might be going to Nottingham Forest, is that just unfounded rumour?
GC: That rumour has been around for some time now and its understandable why, but, I thin that Neil Warnock is a man of his word and he said he came here to do a job and that job was to do his very best to get Leeds United promoted. I think he's a genuine and honest man and I think that he'll stay and do that.
MK: Thank you very much for joining us, Gary Cooper there who's the Chairman of the Supporters Trust at Leeds United.
