CHAIRMAN MAKES STATEMENT
Ridsdale stated:
"Over the last few weeks, there has been an understandable call from the majority of Leeds United fans to be told what is going on.
"Until now, it has been impossible to answer, given the transfer window and the uncertainty of which players we may have received offers for.
"A year ago, I said we had six too many players on the payroll. A lack of Champions League football and the cost of acquiring players and their wages meant that we had to reduce our overheads.
"With a second successive season of failing to get into the Champions League, it became even more acute that reduced and made sure we had sufficient cash in the business.
"A lack of Champions League football has meant a loss of income of approximately £30 million over two seasons.
"In addition to the above, it is acknowledged that the transfer system has imploded, with few - if any - football clubs having money to spend on the scale we had become used to.
"It is against this backdrop that we have listened to offers where we believed it was right, for the long-term financial stability of the football club.
"In the case of Olivier Dacourt, he is currently on loan to Roma, with a view of a permanent move for this coming summer.
"Lee Bowyer informed us he would do a Bosman in the summer, and we therefore allowed him to go now.
"This allowed us to recover the money owed to the club in legal fees, in addition to a small amount of transfer income, rather than nothing later in the year.
"In the case of Robbie Fowler, he was not playing regularly after his recovery from injury, his family had relocated to Liverpool and the offer was significant in a transfer market that was almost non-existent.
"Jonathan Woodgate was a player we did not want to sell. We are, however, a public company.
"An offer of £9 million is significant when set against the backdrop of the company only being valued at £15 million on the stock exchange.
"By accepting this offer, we give financial certainty in a marketplace that is still very fragile.
"As a supporter, I did not want to take the offer. The manager did not want Jonathan to go and he made that absolutely clear to me, and has been consistent with that.
"As chairman of Leeds United, I have a primary responsibility to the shareholders to take the right financial decisions.
"However much I agonised - and I did - I am here to make the right decisions, not necessarily popular decisions.
"I have always tried to stand up and lead. While I am doing this job, I will continue to do so.
"If someone else had been chairman this week, it is no good believing that this decision would have been different.
"It was the only decision that could have been taken to give us all peace of mind for the future.
"Should we have spent so heavily in the past? Probably not, but we lived the dream, we enjoyed the dream.
"Only by making the right decisions today can we rekindle the dream once again in the future, and that is what we intend to do.
"I am currently the chairman, with all the responsibility that brings. I have not shirked from the responsibility.
"Whatever the future holds, I will always be a fan.
"The future is brighter for all Leeds United fans today because we took the tough decisions."
