Les Ferdinand tells Gary Neville difference between QPR and Leeds United
Les Ferdinand has shared a key issue that QPR had to deal with that clubs like Leeds United don’t while in the Championship.
Ferdinand was the director of football at the west London club before leaving in the summer of 2023, and oversaw several seasons in the division during his time.
But while appearing on the Stick to Football podcast (26 March), the former Newcastle and England striker admitted that he faced big hurdles to help keep the club sustainable financially, and namechecked the Whites as a club that don’t have to deal with those issues due to Elland Road.
“We couldn’t spend more money, that is why we were bringing in frees and loans,” he said. “We had to do that for the club to be sustainable.
“A lot of clubs, like you go to Leeds for instance, every other week they get 30 odd thousand [fans]. Plus during the week the stadium is used, the boxes are used for business meetings.
“QPR because of where it is, there’s no parking. It only became sustainable on a matchday, there’s no other income coming in.”
Leeds United are a Premier League club in the Championship
In case it wasn’t already evident and clear from the performances on the pitch this season, Leeds are quite clearly a top-flight club who are playing in a division below.
The infrastructure of the club means that financially the 49ers Enterprises have got the team in a fantastic position off the pitch since taking over from Andre Radrizzani, and there is very little chance of any chaos ensuing any time soon.
Part of that is because of how amazing Elland Road is, with a host of uses in the stadium bringing in extra money but also because fans are able to sell it out most weeks.
There has been talk of a potential expansion of the stadium to help the club bring in even more cash and that would only help to widen the gap between them and the Championship.
Leeds look set for a return to the top flight and if their performances on the pitch can continue to shine and they can stabilise themselves, then there are no limits to where they can push up to.
In other Leeds news, a journalist has shared the chances of two Whites loanees returning to the fold next season.
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