By Phil McNulty
Chief football writer |
Leeds United may be forced into the quick sale of key players like England goalkeeper Paul Robinson as they struggle to put together a final rescue package for the ailing Elland Road club.
Chief executive Trevor Birch has negotiated a deal to give Leeds a stay of execution after creditors gave the club until 19 January to avoid administration as they struggle with debts of around �83m.
Birch confimed on Monday an agreement with principle creditors that extended the deadline for another week.
He said that will give Leeds time to put the cash in place to fund the crisis club for the rest of the season.
But Dr Bill Gerrard, professor of sport management and finance at Leeds University Business School, fears the "elastoplast solution" may not stop enforced players sales.
Dr Gerrard believes Leeds, who are bottom of the Premiership, may be raising the cash by asking players to defer wages - but may also sell one prize asset to secure their future.
 Leighton is chasing a rescue deal |
He told BBC Sport: "It sounds like this is an agreement that will keep Leeds ticking along until the end of the season, at which point there will be certainty about Leeds' position in the league."
Gerrard believes the only credible consortium has been put together by Leeds' former deputy chairman Allan Leighton, but the potential loss of �20m if the club is relegated has put the deal on hold.
He said: "Hopefully at the end of the season a deal will be done and potential investors would know exactly what they are investing into.
"The 'elastoplast solution' as I would call it, is not worst case scenario, but it is probably a less satisfactory outcome than Leeds supporters like myself would have hoped for.
"We are not getting any indication that a deal is close with creditors and what Trevor Birch is looking to do is keep the company trading until May or June, when a deal could then be done.
 |  You can't rule out administration, but both creditors and investors see it as very much the worst case scenario |
"If the announcement says Leeds can continue for another week to 10 days and make a decision at that point, I think that could be for one or two reasons.
"It could be that a deal is close, or it could be that they haven't got the working capital in place to keep going until May and they need another week, probably to negotiate a wage deferrment with the players or player sales."
Dr Gerrard added: "The major worry is that it might involve player sales to further weaken a threadbare squad.
"The speculation is that in the first instance if might be Paul Robinson because the make-up of the Mark Viduka deal means it might not help financially, and Alan Smith has made it clear he isn't going.
"This approach would bring about certainty, but probably only the certainty Leeds fans dread, which is relegation.
"You can't rule out administration, but both creditors and investors see it as very much the worst case scenario.
"I think it is now touch and go between an announcement that progress is being made to reach an eventual deal with the creditors, or the creditors have said what's on the table is unacceptable at this stage and will look at it again at the end of the season.
"It will then be up to Trevor Birch and the board to find a way of putting together the working capital until the end of the season.
"Certainly there is no indication of adminstration, so there is probably enough cash to keep it going for 10 or 14 days, which will give Trevor time to either sell a player and/or defer some wages to keep it trading until May."
Dr. Gerrard added: "I think there is one consortium to put money on the table, and I have always felt there has only been one consortium in town, namely Allan Leighton's.
"But I don't think there is enough money because of the threat of relegation, and that consortium is ring-fencing �20m of its pot to cover the possible eventuality of relegation."
MMIX
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