Leeds struck deal for O'Neill

Former Leeds chairman Peter Ridsdale claims Villa boss Martin O'Neill was all set to take over the crisis hit Elland Road club.

Ridsdale has lifted the lid on his controversial reign as Leeds chairman in a new book 'United We Fall'.

And the man who signed the cheques for the lavish spending which took Leeds to the brink of glory before their spectacular crash believes it might have turned out so different if he could have seen through a plan to bring in O'Neill nearly five years ago.

Ridsdale says that he had persuaded O'Neill to leave Celtic and struck a pre-contract deal with the man who would be Villa boss back in January 2003 when Terry Venables was struggling after replacing David O'Leary.

He claims that he had repeatedly tried to lure O'Neill and finally succeeded as the Irishman entered the final six months of his Celtic contract which left him free to talk to other potential employers.

In extracts printed in The Sun newspaper today, Ridsdale writes: "Martin had come down to discuss terms and reach an agreement in a deal approved by the board.

"At long last, I'd captured the signature I had been chasing for so long – the man I'd wanted before David O'Leary, the man I'd wanted since George Graham's reign.

"This was a coup I couldn't wait to announce. "Excited and animated, he talked about the strengths and weaknesses of each Leeds player, which players he'd like to bring in.

"That day I'd agreed to pay him £2m a year to become the new Leeds manager."

Ultimately, events overtook Ridsdale's plan as an improved run of form delayed Venables' sacking before the financial crisis engulfed the club and cost the chairman his job.

O'Neill went on to leave football to attend his wife Geraldine through serious illness before being recruited by Villa in the summer of 2006 but Ridsdale's 'near miss' over one of the game's most coveted managers is not the only subject matter from his book which will interest claret and blue supporters.

He condemns O'Leary's role in the collapse of a team he took to the European Champions League semi-finals and also reveals how he was 'hoodwinked' by former Villa chairman Doug Ellis in the signing of Alan Thompson from Bolton nine years ago.