Although Gao Shen had only been the club owner for two months, he already felt the burden deeply.
It was even more intense than what many people experienced in two years and completely overturned many of his previous impressions.
Perhaps this was the benefit of viewing things from a different perspective.
Compared to the chaos at Leeds United, managing Manchester City felt almost effortless and pleasant.
After all, he had invested a great deal of time and energy into the Blue Moon over the past two seasons. Now, he no longer needed to worry about much. His assistants and staff took care of everything.
For example, Brian Kidd handled communication with upper management. Carlo was in charge of training. Buenaventura and Pintus were responsible for the summer training camp. Even if Fernando Lucas and Borrell left, Lucas' right-hand man Carlos Vargas could immediately step in. There would be no disruption.
But Leeds United was clearly a different story. There were far too many problems to handle.
For instance, just two days after Gao Shen returned to Manchester from the senior management meeting in Leeds, Fernando Lucas came to him again.
Of course, he didn't do so on purpose. He also lived in Cheshire.
But he had run into a headache—a legacy issue from the club's past.
…
To talk about this legacy issue, one had to revisit the bleak days when Leeds United was on the brink of bankruptcy.
It was like a drowning man grasping at straws.
So, back then, club chairman Gerald Krasner came up with a plan that now seemed absurd: launch a 20-year season ticket package.
Yes, a full two decades.
In 2004, Leeds United truly did sell season tickets covering the next 20 years at very low prices, ranging from £3,000 to £5,500.
This was the equivalent of a buy-one-get-one-free deal—twenty years of tickets for the price of ten.
You couldn't make this up.
This issue had surfaced during due diligence, and while Gao Shen and the team were aware of it, they hadn't treated it as a pressing matter. But regardless of the size of the issue, it still had to be resolved.
These legacy packages would significantly disrupt Leeds United's current season ticket sales plan.
The main problem was the chaotic approach to ticket sales at the time.
"According to our current statistics, about five to six hundred of these 20-year tickets were sold," Lucas said, clearly troubled.
Since taking over the club, he'd been overwhelmed with urgent matters, and this ticketing issue had been delayed again and again. Now, as the club prepared to launch its season ticket campaign for the new season, it could no longer be avoided.
Five or six hundred tickets might not seem like much, but they represented hundreds of thousands of pounds—another major expense.
Gao Shen turned to Su Qing. "What do you think?"
Su Qing thought for a moment and replied, "We definitely need to buy them back. We can't leave that kind of agreement lingering. Twenty years is just too long."
Back then, Leeds United had reached the limit. It was likely that even if they had wanted to mortgage future ticket revenue to a bank, no bank would have accepted it. So, they resorted to that desperate scheme.
"Do we still have enough money now?" Gao Shen asked.
"We're okay," Su Qing said. She was in charge of the club's finances.
"Then buy them back at the original price." Gao Shen made a quick decision.
This meant forfeiting seven seasons' worth of ticket sales, but it would eliminate a lingering headache.
More importantly, those fans who had paid thousands of pounds in advance for two decades of tickets were the most die-hard supporters. At the time, Leeds had nothing left to sell.
If the club had gone bankrupt, those season tickets would have become worthless.
So, these loyal fans had to be retained and treated well. They were the club's true core assets.
"Understood. I'll ask Eddie Gray to help with it," Lucas said.
"How are the current season ticket sales going? I know they weren't great before. How's your plan progressing?" Gao Shen asked.
While Leeds United's attendance figures were solid, season ticket sales had long been underwhelming. This was directly tied to the mismanagement of ticket pricing over the years.
Simply put, the pricing system was a mess.
Why do fans buy season tickets?
Some say it's about loyalty. Others say it's to support the club. And those things matter. But the most fundamental reason is: it's cheaper.
Season tickets are wholesale. Individual tickets are retail.
But if ticketing is mismanaged, it's easy for the average price of single-match tickets to fall below that of season tickets. That hurts the trust of season ticket holders and causes people to stop renewing.
This is disastrous for a club.
Why?
Season ticket revenue is pre-paid. The club receives a large amount of money before the season begins, providing financial flexibility.
But now, with poor season ticket sales, everyone is waiting for single-match promotions. That's a big problem.
If this continues, Leeds United's match day revenue will collapse.
The club's previous management hadn't valued this at all. They expected fans to hand over money unconditionally and never thought about improving services or ensuring the club's long-term sustainability.
Ticket prices at Leeds United hadn't risen in over a decade.
That was almost a miracle.
Now, although the management had changed, many fans were still stuck in their old ways. They still hoped to buy individual match tickets on discount.
This created a vicious cycle. Season ticket sales declined, the club relied more on single-match tickets, fans waited for discounts, the club's situation worsened, and the discounts became deeper.
It was like that joke: "If I don't buy today, I might get 200 off tomorrow."
It was human nature, of course. But it was terrible for Leeds United's finances, and it had to be fixed.
"As we discussed earlier, our plan this time is to focus on developing local fans. So we plan to announce restrictions on individual match tickets, tighten pricing, and reorganize all sales channels," Lucas explained.
He understood the critical role of ticket sales for the club and was taking it seriously.
"But from a management perspective, this might backfire. Fans will be unhappy, and it could hurt our image and long-term development. So we'll be launching a promotional season ticket offer under the slogan of 'Promotion to the Premier League' to bring core fans back."
Gao Shen glanced at Su Qing, who smiled and nodded in agreement.
Clearly, she supported this plan.
"We'll promise all season ticket holders this season that prices will remain unchanged for three years. If the team is promoted to the Premier League, they'll get a refund of up to 50%, depending on ticket level."
"Refunded in cash?" Gao Shen raised an eyebrow.
"Of course not," Lucas laughed. "The refund can only be used to purchase next season's season tickets or match day goods."
Gao Shen couldn't help but smile. Just as he expected.
It was a simple strategy, but highly effective.
"The key is to convince fans we're serious about stabilizing individual ticket prices," Gao Shen reminded.
Only when fans believed that would they start considering season tickets as the better option.
Lucas nodded. "We're confident we can sell at least 20,000."
So far, only about 6,000 had been sold, but that was already the best in recent seasons.
With an average price of £350 per season ticket, selling 20,000 would generate £7 million in early revenue. Combine that with single-match ticket sales, and that's a significant cash injection.
What about that 50% refund?
They'd cross that bridge if they actually made it to the Premier League.
If that day came, no one would care about a few million pounds.
As long as the shirt sponsorship was secured, combined with jersey sponsorship, match day revenue, and their share of Championship broadcasting rights, Leeds United's funding issues this season would be resolved.
Of course, as for turning a profit in the Championship—that was a fantasy. Breaking even would already be a success.
Gao Shen had made massive investments across the board. Staff salaries had also gone up significantly.
On one hand, the era of inflated player salaries was over. Wages now were much lower than before. Even top earners like Pogba were paid less than Schmeichel had been.
But in the past, many Leeds players were on loan and had their wages covered by parent clubs. Now, all players belonged to Leeds United. Not a single one was on loan. This was extremely rare in the Championship.
Just this one change had greatly increased wage demands.
On the other hand, Gao Shen had hired many professional staff, driving up salary expenses further.
In short, Leeds United should forget about making money in the Championship.
If they didn't generate more revenue, they'd need even more investment.
That was why Gao Shen took the upcoming investment trip to China so seriously. If he had time, he'd personally go to support it.
His presence alone could attract massive attention.
Su Qing would take the lead this time. She had strong connections in China and had already begun preparations through her domestic network.
Right now, many Chinese brands aiming to go global still lacked international exposure. Leeds United wanted to offer them that chance. The UK market still held importance in Western business circles.
At the same time, Gao Shen reminded Fernando Lucas that while they traveled to China to attract investment, the team's training and preparation for the new season must not be affected.
He had met with Sarri's staff. They were excellent.
"Don't worry," Lucas reassured him. "Rudolph and I have already coordinated with Sarri. Everything's on track."
Gao Shen nodded.
Paris Saint-Germain's spending was more aggressive than in his previous life. The shockwaves they were sending were stronger. The consequences would be more severe.
That meant player prices and wages across Europe could spike even faster.
There was less and less time left for Leeds United.
If they couldn't adjust and stabilize during this transfer window, they might not survive the coming storm. And they didn't have the deep pockets to ride it out.
Su Qing and Lucas were both fully aware of the looming crisis.
Gao Shen glanced at Su Qing. There was a trace of apology in his eyes.
He had originally planned to get married this summer. But everything got too busy, and the plan had been shelved.
Su Qing, however, seemed perfectly at ease. She returned his gaze with a soft smile.
Everything was understood without needing to be said.
(To be continued.)
***
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