Gerald Krasner

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This article or section does not adequately cite its references or sources.
Please help improve this article by adding citations to reliable sources. (help, get involved!)
This article has been tagged since September 2006.

Gerald Krasner is a partner in Bartfields, a corporate recovery firm based in the United Kingdom. He is a former chairman of the West Yorkshire football club Leeds United A.F.C.. Krasner, on behalf of Bartfields, was part of a team which worked with the DTI in its investigations.

[edit] Leeds United Takeover

In 2004, Krasner led the consortium of local businessmen which successfully took-over the club Leeds United (1). They were playing in the English Premier League at that time. After a reckless spending spree, the club was in severe difficulty due to the resulting lips. Those responsible, a previous board of LUFC PLC, headed by chairman Peter Ridsdale had been forced out by the scandal, as the magnitude of the situation incurred by them became clear. (2). The repayment of these loans were dependent on overly optimistic ideas for the future UEFA European Champions League qualification. As well as corresponding increases expected to be taken in receipts which were never fulfilled. What followed was a fire sale of some of the finest players in the English game including established international stars such as Rio Ferdinand, Robbie Keane, and Olivier Dacourt

Despite the 30 million takeover by Krasner's Leeds-based consortium to save the club from administration, the Investors in the public limited corporation Leeds United (LUFC) received little compensation. After replacing the financial expert Professor John McKenzie as chairman of Leeds United, Krasner, unsurprisingly due to his previous record, attempted to recoup as much as he could from the Ridsdale regime's disastrously unsound strategies. One of the key problems of this financial crisis was the extortionate wages being paid to even fringe players in the Leeds United squad, not to mention the star players such as Mark Viduka, Harry Kewell and Robbie Fowler. They were signed amidst the euphoria of the David O'Leary years. When Leeds had narrowly missed out on the league title in the 2000/2001 season and were also defeated in the Semi-Final of the Champion's league after a great run.

But by 2004, the only realistic thing for Leeds United's fleeting troops was the club’s estimated £105 million debt pile (3). Which Krasner and his new board would spend their entire tenure grappling with. Predictably, and in a manner which under the circumstances was perhaps understandably ruthless (except maybe to the clubs supporters), all assets which could bring much needed capital back into the club were sold off. Including what remained of Leeds United's top class players, as well as emerging youngsters from their still successful youth academy, which in the past had produced players such as Alan Smith, Paul Robinson, Jonathan Woodgate and Aaron Lennon. The Elland Road stadium, and the clubs state of the art training facilities were sold (4), on the condition that they would be leased back to the club indefinitely.

Krasner's reign witnessed the relegation of Leeds United from the English Premier League when a 3-3 draw against Charlton Athletic wasn't enough to beat the drop to Division One (6) (since re-branded the Coca Cola Championship ). Popular choice and Leeds legend Eddie Gray failed to rejuvenate the club after he was called in to a caretaker manager role, replacing the sacked Peter Reid midway through a torrid 2003/2004 season. Gray was largely blameless for the performance of the team, with the entire foundation being sold out from underneath him. The players faced the prospect that their wages might not be paid from one month to the next, as Leeds United seemed on the verge of terminal liquidation.

In the event under Krasner's stewardship Leeds United managed to tread softly until they could be thrashed out for their now clearly unrepayable debts. Large amounts of which had to be effectively written off by the clubs debts as they had been taken out in the name of the now insolvent LUFC PLC. Krasner and his consortium eventually sold the club to former Chelsea supremo Ken Bates, a flamboyant character who had himself recently sold Chelsea FC to billionaire Russian oligarch Roman Abramovich. Chelsea had reportedly been carrying similar levels of debt to Leeds before Abramovich transformed the West London team into the dominant force in English football, and one of the most feared sides in Europe. Bates had been in the market to invest after being ousted from his position at Chelsea by Abramovich. His maneuvering included a well publicised failed takeover bid of former greats Sheffield Wednesday.

By this time, and perhaps to his credit, Krasner's essential mission; managing the clubs massive debts to acceptable levels, was now accomplished. Like his predecessor Professor McKenzie, his appointment and the consortium he led, were little more than a stop-gap solution. Krasner's personality or background were never that of the traditional "footballing chairman". His consortium lacked the financial muscle for the re-investment needed in the team to prevent it from slipping further down the footballing divisions. Due to these realities, he and his board were more open to the advances of Bates than the South Yorkshire outfit. Kenneth Bates was unveiled as Leeds United's new owner and chairman in 2005 and continues in that role to the present date.

It is doubtful that supporters of Leeds United will ever look back on the "Krasner era" with much fondness. These were arguably the darkest days in the entire history of the football club. But from a financial perspective it could be said that Gerald Krasner and his consortium were successful in their aim when they launched their takeover, which was to save the club from the very real possibility of extinction. Krasner has since retired from the public spotlight to focus on his previous role at Bartfields.