The New Board At Leeds

Last updated : 22 January 2005 By Kevin Markey

Yvonne Todd

A loyal servant to Bates at Chelsea, where she served as finance director for 17 years. When she joined in 1988, the club were on their way to relegation from the old First Division. By the time she left last year, they were an established top-six Premiership club with a redeveloped stadium and a star-studded team. But the holding company was also £80m in debt before Roman Abramovich stepped in. Insiders say Todd worked well with Bates but that it was clear who held the purse strings. The most complex deals she assisted with were a series of moves in the early 1990s to transfer the club's assets into a new holding company, saving the club from the threat of insolvency.

Mark Taylor

While Bates was at Stamford Bridge, Taylor worked on a string of complex deals on behalf of the then chairman and Colin Hutchinson, then chief executive. He was Chelsea's lawyer of choice, advising on a string of deals which he handled through his own company Mark Taylor & Co, culminating in the £60m deal that saw Abramovich take over and netted Bates £17m.

Thanks to The Guardian for the above.