Imraan Ladak - Who Are You?

Imraan Ladak's comments and subsequent retraction have caused quite a stir this week, as has his handling of alleged racism. Certain Kettering message boards have suggested that Peter Jackson has 'form' and therefore his claims do not hold any weight. The case point is his touchline ban for an outburst in his first game in charge over Chester City.

So LCM decided to have a quick look at the form of Imraan Ladak, and see if there was anything in his past that might suggest more than a passing interest in the media spotlight.

Back in January 2007 the Times ran an article in the wake of Ron Atkinson's appointment as director of football. They revealed on their website that that when they appointed Paul Gascoigne as manager in 2005 they instantly became "one of the most publicised teams in world football", and the article continued that Atkinson's appointment gave Ladak the chance to 'hold court on his greatness once again'.

However former youth team coach Kristian Heames gave the following comment at the time "It's disappointing to see him bringing in people like Ron Atkinson when he still won't pay us what he owes us". Heames, one of seven former youth-team coaches was preparing to take legal action against the club in a bid to recover wages he claims the seven were owed. "We've left phone messages, gone through intermediaries and sent registered letters but Mr Ladak has simply been ignoring us for months. All in, we're owed over £11,000, which I guess isn't much in football terms, but some of the guys only work part-time and have families to support so it matters to them."

The article continued with a comment by chartered physio Nathan Ring." I've been diddled too. The staff I've talked to have been sympathetic but they say everything has to go through Mr Ladak and he's just been ignoring me." Ring claims he quit after months of toiling without pay.

Ladaks response at the time was: "I know that some people submitted invoices with the incorrect rate; once they charge the correct rate, they'll be paid." He was apparently quizzed on whether he'd been ducking the claims, and replied" I don't think there are that many people, and as far as I know they're aware of the rate problem."

Of course before any of this there was the Gazza saga. Gazza arrived at Kettering in a much publicised move as part of the consortium taking over the Northants side. At the time Ladak claimed Gascoigne had made a "substantial investment" as part of the deal.

At the time Gascoigne admitted he was nervous, but seemed up for the challenge.

"Things have changed for me these past three or four years - I've tried to become a better person, for myself and the people around me. If this job had come up then, I couldn't have taken it because I wasn't in the right frame of mind.

"I'll have to earn the respect of the players, I'm not going in there saying, 'I'm Paul Gascoigne, I want respect'. But I've always been a good person and that's why I've never fallen out with any of the managers I've worked with these past 23 years. They respect me and not one has advised me not to do it. I've just got to make sure I do the right things as a manager. I won't be making the club look like a circus. I shall be doing the job properly like the top managers."

However just 39 days later it all ended in tears, keeping Kettering Town under the media spotlight..

Ladak claimed that eh time the former England player was "under the influence of alcohol before, during and after several first-team games".

Gascoigne admitted that he once drank a double brandy before a match. But he raged against the decision to sack him, accusing Mr Ladak of meddling in team affairs (more of this later), failing to produce promised funds, and not dressing smartly enough.

Gazza was also dismissive of Ladaks knowledge of football "He told me he's been watching football for 20 years, five days a week, and knows how football should be played. Well, the guy can't trap a bag of cement as far as I'm concerned. I won't walk away. I'll do it my way and I'll keep doing it my way. I've had all the players on to me and they're all behind me, the staff are behind me, and Kettering Town are behind me,"

Ladak on the other hand had different views on the player / manager who had brought the media spotlight on little Kettering Town. He claimed he had to deal with "37 incidents ... since the appointment of Paul Gascoigne as manager". He said: "I have tried to help Paul through this difficult period but gave an undertaking to the board prior to my takeover that if Paul hit the bottle I would remove him as manager. Paul has not reacted well to the news and has made numerous threats that if I do not sell him the club he will use his name and the media to turn the players and supporters against me. This has already begun, with Paul calling a number of the first team last night, under the influence of alcohol. Paul even told players not to report for training."

Ladak, a 30-year-old businessman who owns a recruitment agency that specialises in medical personnel, said at the time: "I would not sell Kettering Town FC for £100m. I have been extremely disappointed with the way things have worked out with Paul."

After Gazza came Big Ron Atkinson, fresh from the 'Big Ron Manager' debacle on Sky. At the time Ladak made the following statement (again widely covered by the media) "Having spoken to Ron over recent months, it was clear he still held a deep-rooted affection for Kettering and would love to come back and help in any way he could. We hope his experience will enable us to win promotion."

"As to what's happened in the past, Ron's moved on and as far as I'm concerned actions speak louder than words. Ron was a pioneer of giving black players a chance at the highest level."

Ladak was of course commenting on the infamous racism row that engulfed Ron Atkinson prior to his performances exploiting Peterborough Utd on Sky. Ironically of course he was initially installed as advisor to Iffy Onuora at Swindon, but Iffy cut the program short after just a few days.

"He picked players purely on their ability." Continued Ladak, "I have no worries. I have no issue with it at all and Morell (Kettering manager at the time) has known Ron for years. He's an honest man and he's not going to work for someone he has no respect for."

Just four months later Atkinson was gone, following his disapproval at the sacking of manager Morell Maison. Once again it seems that once the media furore had died down, there was no substance to the decisions that grabbed the headlines.

Ladak is currently pursuing a new purpose built stadium for Ketetring, who actually face automatic relegation in March as they only have a 5 year lease on the Rockingham Road 'ground', and conference rules state they need a 10 year lease. There is also little doubt that the stadium would not be fit for League football, and it would appear Ladak isn't planning on spending on the current ground. In a statement a few weeks ago Ladak claimed Kettering have 'never been closer' to a resolution.

That brings us to the present day, and the apparently media hungry chairman's decision to field himself in the side for a 5-1 reverse against Daventry in The Senior Cup. Last night The Poppies bowed out of this season's Senior Cup when a youthful team were well beaten by a strong Daventry Town side. Poppies Chairman Imraan Ladak was named up front and made a scoring debut with a 50th minute consolation goal. Once again the media spotlight will be swinging towards the fame hungry chairman.

So perhaps when it comes to having 'form', Ladak has a little more of it than Jackson, certainly when it comes to playing the media. All this makes for a much more interesting cup tie next Tuesday.