Chief executive of football club takes an early bath

IN the transient world of football club managers summary departure is a constant fear for the man in a suit, barking orders from…

IN the transient world of football club managers summary departure is a constant fear for the man in a suit, barking orders from the touchline. For those other men in suits, devising a financial game plan in the boardroom, life is seemingly equally perilous. This week Robin Launders, chief executive of Leeds United, took an early bath after less than a year in the job. The board of Leed's parent company, media group Caspian, voted unanimously in favour of putting their chief executive on the transfer list. Apparently the board is disappointed with the financial performance of the group which, apart from Leeds FC, has business interests in the media. Caspian produced a half time loss of £2.6 million for the six months to end December last with transfer fees of £8 million only partially off set by a profit of £5 million on the sale of the company's children's television business.

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