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Leeds United’s new shirt sponsor is netflights.com.

Netflights.com is one of the UK’s largest independent travel operators and is the UK’s number one operator to the increasingly-popular destination of Dubai.

Netflights stepped in to replace another sponsor that could not complete a sponsorship deal due to contractual difficulties.

Netflights has signed on for a three-year deal which is good news for the club and the fans who won’t have to get a new shirt every season because of sponsorship changes.

The deal with Netflights will mean that lucrative replica shirts can finally be sold by the club and the new-lit with logo will make its debut at Elland Road on Saturday in the home friendly against Belgians FCV Dender.

Netflights is more than just a commercial sponsor of Leeds. The MD of the company, Terry Fisher, is a lifelong Leeds United fan despite being a former chairman of his local club Huddersfield Town.

Older Leeds United fans will be pleased to now that there is a connection to the Revie era with the new sponsorship. Netflights owns Sellers Travel - a company operated by none other than former Leeds United and England defender Trevor Cherry, whom Revie signed from Huddersfield Town.

Terry Fisher commented about the deal,
“For me the deal is even sweeter as I have followed Leeds since I was a small boy and this is a relationship that will bring mutual benefit to all parties.”

Ken Bates said of the deal,
“The shirt sponsor is the principal sponsorship opportunity at every club and netflights.com will become part of Leeds United history alongside the other companies that have benefited from being a previous sponsor.

“We are delighted to sign a three-year agreement with a new sponsor to the club which further illustrates the confidence there is in Leeds United from the business community.

“I would like to welcome netflights.com to the Leeds United family and we look forward to working with them for what we all hope will be a mutually beneficial partnership.”

Head of commercial development at United, Steve Lewis said,
“We are delighted to welcome netflights.com as our new shirt sponsor – they have been a real white knight for us. We had signed a deal earlier in the year but contractual difficulties left us a without a sponsor just weeks before the season starts”.

Gary McAllister
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Following their working lunch a week last Tuesday, Ken Bates indicated that he and Gary McAllister had discussed all the Gary’s transfer targets and that there would be no further comment until signings were made.

This has been the sensible stance taken by Ken since he took over Leeds and we have generally managed to avoid the media circus surrounding equally famous clubs.

However, with the pleasing exception of Jonny Howson signing a new contract there has been nothing concrete to report for eight days and Gary McAllister has come out to speak to the official Leeds United website to reassure Leeds fans that he and the club are indeed working hard to land the players they want but their approach is that of a poker player rather than a nutter on a shopping spree with someone else’s credit card.

“We’ve had thousands of names thrown at us from hundreds of agents and it’s a case of going through every proposition and looking at the players I think can make us better,” said Gary.

“Some of the players you have seen us linked with I have spoken to, and we’re looking at that calibre of player. It takes special players to come here who can play in front of a big crowd.

“We are looking at the other end of the scale as well for young players who can excite the crowd. We want to play an attacking style, and we’ll continue to look.

“Ideally you would like the players here knowing they are doing their pre-season here, but at the same time we’re not rushing in.

“It is quiet at the moment and it’s a case of being patient, but I am happy that we are moving along quite nicely with certain things.”

McAllister referred obliquely to the rumour that he is using his Anfield connections to bring two of their exciting, rising reserve players to Elland Road,

“We are looking at youngsters at Premiership clubs and making loads of enquiries.”

“The facilities here are that of a Premiership club and hopefully the players will realise they will play the proper way here.”

Finally Gary turned his attention to the on-off departure of Anthony Elding to Crewe Alexandra which only ended when Elding decided to stay and fight for his place at Leeds United; though he didn’t give Elding much room for hope,

“I’ve spoken with Anthony and like the majority I can’t guarantee him regular first team football. He wants to play, of course, and it may be that he finds that somewhere else, but while he’s here he is a Leeds player.”

So Gary’s message is be patient, we are looking to build for the medium term future as well as next season and we’ll let you know when we strike paydirt!

All of which is eminently reasonable if a little disappointing in terms of hard facts - but better than absolute silence!

To the relief of some Leeds United fans, former Newcastle United chairman Freddy Shepherd has ruled himself out of buying a stake in Leeds United alongside ex-Chelsea chairman Ken Bates.

Although most Leeds fans would welcome an injection of investment cash from whatever source, the revelation that Shepherd had merely dined with Bates in September 2007 caused huge speculation and a negative outcry from Whites supporters.

But today the logical decision seems to be the favoured option as Freddy Shepherd is rumoured to be looking at buying a stake in his local Spanish team Real Mallorca.

“All I can say is we’re in discussions, We now live in Majorca most of the year and they have always been our second team.”

“Leeds is too fookin’ cald! - I divna want ta freeze ma nuts aff fer another ten years like I did at the Toon!” said Freddy… (or maybe we made that last bit up).

Image via Wikipedia

Everyone seems to be getting worked up over the ownership of Elland Road.

Once again there’s plenty of smoke but no fire.

Leeds United confirmed today that Elland Road is still owned by Teak Commercial Limited.

Ken Bates spoke to the YEP,

“The allegation that we’ve bought back the ground is absolute rubbish. The long and short of this is that we haven’t bought the ground back and we don’t own it. The ownership hasn’t changed at all.”

Elland Road and Thorp Arch were sold off by Gerald Krasner in 2004 to try and avoid administration, before Ken Bates took over. Doubtless Ken and the board of Leeds United 2007 Ltd would love to re-acquire the properties, and currently they have the have a right to do so, but the cost was recently quoted, by Bates himself, at £19,142,806. So the League One club must continue to pay £2m in rent annually.

Shaun Harvey, United’s chief executive, said,

“We do have an option to buy Elland Road and Thorp Arch back, but we have not as yet exercised that option. We still intend to do so at the earliest opportunity but the situation is as it was.”

The interest in the fate of Elland Road seems tied to the fact that the owners, Teak Commercial Limited are registered in the British Virgin islands and, therefore, the details of the owners of the company are confidential and protected by law - it is a criminal offence to reveal the shareholders of such a BVI company. Once you tell someone they can’t know something ,that’s all they seem interested in!