Kenneth blasts Lowy in Radio Bates interview TSS April 15, 2010 Leeds United 98 Comments Ken Bates did his best to ensure anyone interested in investing in Leeds United were scared off with an angry response to the speculation on Yorkshire Radio. In the interview, Kenneth also took another swipe at a former Leeds United chairman, Gerald Krasner. Bates has already gotten himself into trouble before for disguising his own failings beneath a campaign of hatred directed at previous chairmen to whom he blamed everything on. His last smear campaign culminated in Mervyn Levi’s contact details being printed in the matchday programme, in an obvious attempt to have Leeds United fans harrass the man and his family. A judge dealing with that case famously said Bates’ explanation of the events was ‘riddled with inaccuracies’ and ordered Bates to pay a fine and court costs totalling £1.5m. David Conn of the Guardian quickly picked up on the whole story and showed the full extent of our chairmans failings to a national audience. Conn, who most Leeds fans will remember for trying to uncover our illusive owners was subsequently banned from Elland Road for his work. With a potential takeover bid from Frank Lowy hitting the headlines, Leeds United fans have been eagerly anticipating any news, but it seems Ken Bates was as puzzled by the rumours as everyone else. Unlike everyone else however, Ken Bates seemed surprisingly annoyed by the suggestions that Leeds United’s ownership was being looked into and came out on the attack; “I had never heard of [Lowy], I know of this story now because someone sent me a printout of an Australian newspaper the report was in but it is the usual rubbish – a source said, somebody claimed, and nobody was available for comment. “This Lowy, I think he runs Westfield, the property company. Aren’t they the one that has completely buggered up the town centre of Bradford? Hardly the best reference for someone who wants to buy a football club 12,000 miles from home. Interestingly he [reportedly] has a Leeds-based agent examining Leeds United – let’s hope it’s not Gerald Krasner. “It is no secret we would welcome further investment. But we are quite blunt – name and money. The moment you say that they all disappear.” Although we have no idea of whether Lowy is actually interested or not, let’s assume for a moment he is. I fail to see why Bates would react in such a manner unless he’s concerned about what Lowy’s people may unveil. Frank Lowy is an extremely wealthy man with infinite resources, so if there’s something to find, you can guarantee he’ll find it. Bates comments about Lowy not contacting him first are at best, laughable. Bates and FSF would be the last people any potential buyer would contact, as anyone serious about buying a football club would have their own independent research done first. As an example, imagine you’ve seen a car your interested in down the road with £13,000 on the window. You wouldn’t just turn up with that kind of money. You’d probably have a vehicle check done on it’s registration first and then check the list price to see how much it’s true value is. If all is well, that’s when you contact the owner. The reason why we use these £5 text message services to have vehicles checked out beforehand, is because we want to make sure the seller isn’t hiding anything before we commit to such an investment. The same is true of anyone interested in a football club. You have people investigate it first so there are no shocks down the line. It’s standard practice because everybody lies, and Bates knows this all too well, so why he’s reacted with such an attitude is baffling me? Whether Lowy’s interested or not, Bates’ comments aren’t doing us any favours at all. With the Krasner fiasco still fresh in everyones memory and Bates’ mouth running off again, not many people are going to want to get involved with him for the damage it could potentially do to their reputations.