Bleed White: The Fall and Rise of Leeds United... to Be Continued

Bleed White is the story of Leeds United in the new Millennium. At the turn of the century a young vibrant team had ambitions to challenge the domination of Manchester United and Arsenal and by the 1st January 2002 they sat proudly at the top of the Premier League arguably the best league in Europe. But disaster was around the corner. Mismanagement both on and off the field saw the club fall into serious financial difficulty. Managers and players came and went and the club was relegated from the Premier League in May 2004. The downfall continued and they were relegated from the Championship in May 2007 and started in the third tier of British football for the first time in the club's history. The club had also been put into administration and to make matters worse they were forced to start the next season with a fifteen point penalty following a dispute with the Inland Revenue which caused them to break Football League rules. But the club is on the way back and after three long years in Division One, the future is looking much brighter. Ken Bates the Chairman has restored financial stability and Simon Grayson an excellent young manager who happens to be a fan and ex Leeds player has given the fans hope at last. This story is a fan's view of what happened at Leeds United Football Club during those eventful years. The book covers issues both on and off the pitch and has been written from two different perspectives - wearing a level headed business hat one minute and a passionate Leeds United baseball cap the next. Business objectivity meets football fan emotion and they hate each other.

Phil Merrick is a former senior executive with one of the biggest banks in Europe. He has a track record of building high performing teams and is an expert in change management and business transformation. Phil has spent a great deal of his career in trouble shooting roles and helping businesses improve performance, particularly through the organization and management of people. His more recent roles include merger and integration planning, the development and implementation of business strategies and overseeing major change programmes. Phil's passion is football. He has played and managed at amateur level and for the last fifteen years or so has been a season ticket holder at Elland Road. Born in Pudsey he is a life long Leeds fan and now lives in North Wales with his wife Sian, and daughters Gemma, Hannah and Kate.