He waived his loyalty bonuses that were due.
Loyalty bonuses tend to be huge, hence the reason players don’t like putting in transfer requests – if they do then they forfeit loyalty bonuses. I would imagine he was on a pretty good contract at Leeds at the time, being a supporters hero, having won supporters player of the year twice on the trot, and given we know what Ridsdale was like at that time dishing out contracts. Bearing all that in mind I would think £1m is a conservative figure. The other bit of information you and your ilk seem to be forgetting is what Lorimer said at the start of the season.. he basically said that Smith had no choice about where to go or the fact he was going. The club needed cold hard cash, urgently, or face going into administration etc etc. Man Utd were the only team who were offering the full amount in cash, up front, so the directors only saw 1 solution to the threat of going into admin – sell Alan Smith to Man Utd. He was told that. He was told if he didn’t sign for them Leeds United, the team he supported all his life, was in real danger of being wound up. Alan Smith is nothing more than a good honest pro who loves Leeds United, who was willing to publicly get egg on his face (having said he would never play for them) and risk alienating the fans who adored him (and we all did). He not only did this, he waived a huge amount of cash to further help keep the club alive. In fact, thinking about it, if there is one saviour of Leeds United over the past 8 years or so it is Alan Smith. But I doubt you will change your mind, you would rather believe in Roy of the Rovers stuff, and be prepared for the current team to suffer because of it. Not that him coming back is likely to happen anyway, but I think I owe it to him to speak up for him. For many years I took vicarious pleasure watching him play. He was (and is) one of us – lest we forget.. From: Ian Murray [mailto:[email protected]] Sent: 05 November 2010 17:04 To: humphries mark Cc: [email protected] Subject: Re: [LU] Leedslist Digest, Vol 5, Issue 5 Firstly, how do you know he gave the club 1 mill? The fact is you don't. Secondly, even if he did, (which he probably didn't) it doesn't make him 'more Leeds' than me. How much was he getting paid at the time and how much has he earned since? How much of my hard earned have I ploughed intothe club during my adult life and how does this look relative to my earnings over the sane period? I rather suspect that my percentage of earnings contributed would compare quite favourably. Finally, the whole 'i'm more Leeds than you' is a ridiculous argument in any event. It is written, ye shall reap what ye shall sew. Or summat. I Sent from my iPhone On 5 Nov 2010, at 09:59, humphries mark <[email protected]> wrote: Get over it! This was the bloke who gave up a million quid or so to help the club out. I suspect he is more Leeds than you are, dont think you'd just give £1m away to the club? I think he will help the team immensely, first he has the passion for the club, whatever you and others like you think, and second he has been playing a holding midfield role for the last few years - apparently exactly what we need. I for one hope this is true and that it happens. On 5 November 2010 08:51, Ian Murray <[email protected]> wrote: "Alan Smith is willing to take a massive paycut in order to join hometown club Leeds on loan in January transfer window. Leeds have an option to make the transfer permanent next summer." Has this been done? I don't want the guy. Anyway, he's 'not a championship player'. I Sent from my iPhone On 5 Nov 2010, at 04:57, [email protected] wrote: Alan Smith is willing to take a massive paycut in order to join hometown club Leeds on loan in January transfer window. Leeds have an option to make the transfer permanent next summer. _______________________________________________ Leedslist mailing list Info and options: http://mailman-new.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist To unsubscribe, email [email protected] MARCHING ON TOGETHER _______________________________________________ Leedslist mailing list Info and options: http://mailman-new.greennet.org.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist To unsubscribe, email [email protected] MARCHING ON TOGETHER
