Jun 3 2007 - Yorkshire Evening Post

As Leeds United faced their most important fixture of the year, it was perhaps fitting that Helene and Adam Littlefair, a twentysomething couple from Armley, should be celebrating their wedding day in one of the suites at Elland Road.

If any club has tested the loyalty of the ones who truly love them in recent years, it is United.

'To love and to cherish, 'till death do us part,' is part of the marriage ceremony for many couples and it is a similar devotion that football fans show towards their club.

The presence of a bride and groom at Elland Road, therefore, seemed a good omen for Ken Bates, whose CVA was being voted on at the creditors' meeting in the Banqueting Suite. Surely a club who have been the very embodiment of sickness in the past three or four seasons would now emerge in rude health?

Well, not quite. After six hours of deliberations and accusations, the result emerged. There wasn't one. A replay, 10am on Monday morning, was required.

A handful of creditors leaving shortly after 6pm broke the news that the meeting had been adjourned to the media and fans waiting by the main gates. The sense of disappointment was tangible.

The chairman of the United supporters club, Ray Fell, spoke for many when he said: "It is all a bit bewildering and, to be honest, worrying.

The biggest concern for supporters is the middle of August and what sort of team we will have for the first game of the season. Player recruitment is vital but the longer this drags on then the more we will fall behind the other clubs. And from what I heard at the meeting, this could run and run even if Ken Bates gets the CVA through.

"There was talk of it being taken to the High Court and that would hold us up even more."

The adjournment, which is to allow the administrators KPMG time to undertake a recount due to Bates's plan receiving fractionally over the 75 per cent of votes needed to regain control, took everyone by surprise.

Not least former United chairman Gerald Krasner, himself an insolvency practitioner, who had told the waiting media at 5pm: "The result will be in in about an hour and I think he (Bates) will get in by one per cent."

Asked if he was planning a legal challenge if Bates did indeed win the vote, Krasner added: "Me personally? No. I am just trying to help the creditors who have lost money.

"But there may well be challenges in court, that remains to be seen."
Minutes later, one of the mystery rivals bidding against Bates emerged. Simon Franks, co-founder and chairman of the Redbus group, also believed the Leeds chairman would win the vote and that the saga was destined for the courts.

He said: "From our point of view, I am not sure we would want to be involved in that. It is very messy for the club and it delays things.
"Every fan of Leeds United and every fan of
British football wants to see Leeds back in the Premiership. If we are spending months fighting this out in court, this will delay that," he added.

"No-one wants that outcome but maybe it is unavoidable."
As the creditors started to leave Elland Road an hour or so later after the adjournment had been confirmed, an air of disappointment and frustration had descended.

The view of Andrew Simister, managing director of Stl Systems, was undoubtedly shared by many of his fellow smaller creditors.
He said: "From what I heard in the meeting, I don't think I want to come back on Monday morning."

It was an unsatisfying end to what had been billed as Leeds United's D-day and it is to be hoped the Littlefairs' wedding night did not end in a similar anti-climax.