‘I made mistakes, but I am leaving this club in a much better shape...’

FOR Ken Bates, the past eight or so years as Leeds United chairman have been far from easy.

The return to the Premier League he targeted on day one after riding to the rescue as the Elland Road club threatened to buckle under ruinous debts has, much to his frustration, proved elusive.

He has also been the subject of a hate campaign that led to the United chairman’s mobile phone number having to be changed along with that of his fax machine in Monaco.

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Despite all that, the 81-year-old insists his time as Elland Road chairman has been a happy one and that he remains proud of many things. Not least, that Leeds still has a football club to support.

“Leeds, as a club, were on their last legs,” recalls Bates when asked by the Yorkshire Post about the deal that saw him take charge of United on January 21, 2005.

“If I hadn’t taken over, the club would have gone into liquidation. I am certain of that. The tax debts alone were terrible and there just wasn’t the money about elsewhere to do what had to be done.

“Certainly, no-one one in Yorkshire was going to get involved. That is what I always say to any critics. What was the alternative?”

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When Bates took charge, United had been relegated from the Premier League only eight months earlier. However, the ramifications of that demotion had become all too apparent with Elland Road and Thorp Arch having been sold by the previous board.

The sale of Leeds’s last two remaining assets had only bought time with the first month of 2005 bringing a winding up order from the taxman over an unpaid £1.2m bill.

Matters were so bleak, in fact, that then captain Paul Butler issued an impassioned appeal through the pages of this newspaper for United to be put in administration – and incur a 10-point penalty – so the players would know where they stood in the fight against relegation.

Bates’s arrival ended such talk. Transfer funds were soon found as the second and final parachute payment from the Premier League allowed Rob Hulse to be bought for £1.1m as another £2m was spent on Richard Cresswell and Robbie Blake.

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Defeat to Watford in the 2006 Championship play-off final, however, proved to be a fatal blow from which United would fail to recover. Within a year, Leeds were not only in administration but also League One and a fraught summer ensued before Bates regained control ahead of rival bidders that included former director Simon Morris.

“What killed Leeds off was Peter Ridsdale’s contracts,” recalls Bates. “They were too long, the players were paid too much and the club just could not support it.

“The syndicate I brought in at the start of 2005 put in and lost more than £30m. It was a huge blow.

“Mind, money isn’t everything. It has never been my be all and end all. Instead, I love building things and doing things.

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“It is why I have not taken a penny out of the club in wages, the first (chairman) since Leslie Silver to do so.”

After coming out of administration in the summer of 2007, United won promotion at the third attempt.

A seventh place finish followed in 2010-11 but Leeds slipped to 14th last term.

This time around, they sit 13th going into what will be Bates’s final home game as chairman when Brighton head to Elland Road tomorrow.

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He said: “Some things have not been nice, such as the personal campaign waged against me. I had abusive phone calls, while all sorts of nonsense was sent to my fax machine in Monaco. I had to change my numbers.

“In that respect, football follows society and society is nastier than it was and more vicious. Twitter has played a part in that. It’s why I don’t do that or e-mail. What those chanting ‘Bates Out’ and causing problems fail to realise is how much damage they do while trying to be clever.

“In recent years, we have had three different first-class potential investors who did due diligence with a view to getting involved. But then, once they had witnessed the abuse meted out to me, they walked away. They didn’t need the hassle.”

On his time as Elland Road chairman, Bates added: “I am disappointed not to have got promotion to the Premier League, of course I am. That was the plan when I came in.

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“But Suzannah and I have thoroughly enjoyed the last eight years. We have made lots and lots of good friends, who will remain so for life.

“I’d also like to thank the overwhelming majority of Leeds United fans who have shown unswerving loyalty during my time as chairman.

“It is just unfortunate that the majority have been silenced by the empty vessels who make a lot of noise to the detriment of the club they profess to love.”

When Bates and his financial backers took charge in 2005, he became United’s fifth chairman in less than two years.

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Clearly, therefore, tomorrow’s game against Brighton will mark the end of an era.

He said: “I am proud of what we have done. I have made mistakes, I admit that. No-one in the world can claim to not making mistakes.

“But I am leaving the club in much better shape than I found it. Leeds United are in a stable condition. And that could never have been said about Leeds United in 2005.

“It is up to others to take the club forward now. And I have been assured that GFH have the financial resources to build on what we have done.”