Caddick's money was without doubt the key. Without the injection of cash, nothing could have been achieved. However, I've also heard that very little club debt has actually been paid off over the tenure of the ownership and a major debt liability still remains in existence. The sale of green belt land for aspirational, neoliberal, yuppie housing development was to address more than just the redevelopment of two stands at Headingley.

On the playing side, the club benefitted from the junior development structures which were put in place earlier by the likes of Dog Laughton and Dean Bell. Laughton in particular always had a good eye for emerging or potential talent. Wasn't it him who spotted a young kid from the Oldham area called Sinfield?

Interesting times ahead, and particularly so if Caddick wants out.

True and I don't think for a second anyone would say it was a one man effort. On the flip side of what you've put I don't see anyone else like Caddick taking any of the stick GH is.



So blindingly obvious that people predicted preseason we were done for several seasons in a row. Let's not forget quite a few of the keyboard CEO's on here would've started ripping the team apart after 2010 and every season thereafter especially at the end of 2014. That they didn't brought us several more trophies whilst who knows what would've happened had we followed the paths some on here wanted to take.....I'm sure in their minds the changes they would've made would've been amazing and guaranteed successful but we really don't know that.

I'm hearing allsorts of conflicting stories about the club and its financies I don't know what to believe.

It took 9 years minimum to build that side that won the GF in 2004. Might be similar to do it all again.

"I've heard"

Always makes me laugh when fans discuss a clubs finances and what they've "heard", when the financials statements are free and available for all to see on Companies House. Also what you describe at 'major' is subjective and doesn't necessarily mean doom and gloom. Plenty of people have big mortgages, 80%-90% LTV in some cases, yet they're manageable. I assume you're just trying to stir it, as usual

A quick look at the latest Balance Sheet (Aug 2015) shows a net asset position of £2.3m, pretty much the same as 2014, minus the small P&L loss. The creditors position is £4.6m owed, versus a debtors position of £5.7m.

Jumping back to 2008 the BS is in a net liability position of £79k, so financially Leeds are in a much healthier position now.

Actually it only took 2 years to build a top side, we got to the GF in 98 and won the CC in 99.

But, if we want anther period of sustained success (if that is possible) then we need to revert back to investment in the academy and a reserve team, which can be supplemented by the odd signing of quality.

Caddick is just an investor would you expect the shareholders in M&S to get the same stick as the CEO and board of directors for continued under performance? Caddick would have left GH in charge of all matters re running the club on a day to day basis.

2015 masked what has been a gradual decline in the squad/academy output since 2012. As discussed previously 2015 was a perfect storm where a number of things came together to deliver that outcome.

The point for me is that GH seems to be getting himself into pickles that a well thought out well presented CEO shouldn't be getting into. There was no need to promise the SS until it was cleared - the planning process is known and the meeting open to the public. If he didn't think the well to do of North Leeds weren't going to object he didn't do his homework. Suggesting the boxing day game was the last chance to watch a game from the historic stand was just plain stupid - he knew it wasn't true and that it would come back and bite him.

He had no need to say anything about Segayaro until he had it sorted and under control. He must have known from the meeting with his agent he wanted out - he again seems to have been had over like he was with the Robbie Farah?

It's the period of sustained success that I was referring to. Those sides in 98 and 99 had very few players that formed part of the 2004+ teams. The sustained success took longer to build.

I'm sure Leeds are still pursuing that philosophy that you're saying they should "get back to". Perhaps it's just that you don't get clutches of talent like Sinfield/Burrow/McGuire/Bailey/Diskin etc coming through at the same time very often?

Taken in context when you look at the club's history it's maybe just that you've entered another fairly barren period as regards success.

I'm guessing GH's hands are tied in some way (no Kath jokes, please). The way the club's currently being run in no way resembles the past approach. A lot of reining-in cost-wise IMO.

GH lost he plot when he failed to move McDermott on at the end of last season. He should have gone end of 2015 after the treble. A coach can ultimately only fail. The job ahead of McD was beyond him and GH should have seen this and moved him to a different position within the club or asked him to look for a new challenge somewhere else.
The Segeyaro situation is comical only because it was so f*****g obvious what was going to happen. I hate deliberate ignorance, and this is a classic case of a CEO deliberately ignoring the obvious and trotting out the "he's contracted to us and will be returning" BS when he knew that the moment Segeyaro got off the plane in Australia after playing in a $h!t side against second division opposition (and English second division at that), that he was not coming back. It's stupid on so many levels but mainly because it means we have no other options in place to fill a critical on field position that caused huge issues last season to begin with.

Personally, Segeyaro didn't excite me. His distribution was dubious at times (a lot of forward passes not seen thankfully), he defended well up the middle but is so small he can't really dominate a tackle. His size should have made him quick but he barely ran from dummy half and certainly wasn't the attacking menace he was bigged up as. I'm not surprised he wasn't picked up by an Australian club.

Couldn't agree more.

They are, but by his own doing, and as a result of not planning for a situation again.

Here is a list of Out of Contract NRL Hookers:-

Chris Adams
Adam Clydsdale
Krys Freeman
Jayden Hodges
Martin Kennedy
Kierran Moseley
Ryan Simpkins
Matt Srama

Unsure if anyone is available from the ESL but I doubt it.

That's my fear too. Just because they play(ed) in the NRL, doesn't mean they are hot.

Out of the Hookers we might have access to in the British Game, I'd be looking at Shaun Lunt or Liam Hood to tide us over.