Mike's Blog

The Guardian published a story yesterday which was ostensibly a match report about their win over West Ham United at the weekend. What it did contain, however, was a few paragraphs that haven't been mentioned on the radio or the television at all, and are somewhat shocking.

According to a former Leeds executive, Chris Middleton, the Yorkshire-based consortium that owned the club for most of the past year was so desperate to reduce the club's wage bill that increasingly outlandish discussions took place about how to get rid of the most expensive players.

Middleton claims that he and Simon Morris, a former Leeds director and still a major shareholder, discussed spiking Michael Duberry's Parmesan cheese with drugs and arranging for Manchester United fans to break Gary Kelly's legs in a pub car park. Morris, denied the allegations and unsurprisingly called them "outrageous and unsubstantiated" and dubbed Middleton "a rogue former employer who has grievances." Middleton said the club tried to sack him but he resigned. No other Leeds directors are said to be involved in the plot.

It could well be that other media outlets are avoiding this story because of the potential of publishing libellous comments about the former Leeds board, though in my experience, this story looks legally watertight. Either way, it's without a doubt one of the most alarming - yet also fascinating - stories I've read this football season.