Leeds went through the majority of the season 2010-2011 in the playoff spots however, they ended up in seventh position, barely being left out of the playoffs.
In May of 2011 the news broke in May 2011 that Leeds Chairman Ken Bates had bought the club and was now chairman of Leeds. Prior to the game against Middlesbrough around 300 Leeds supporters protested against the perceived lack of investment in the team side. Bates replied by saying that the protesters were "morons".
Although he was able to secure promotion into the Championship, Grayson was sacked because he was unable to mount an ongoing challenge to be promoted towards the Premier League. Neil Warnock was appointed as the new manager of the club on February 18 His initial contract running through the close this season.
On the 21st of November, 2012 the Middle Eastern-based private equity company GFH Capital finalised a deal to take over Leeds and acquiring an all-inclusive share of Leeds' club. The deal was also announced that Ken Bates would remain as chairman until the conclusion of the 2012-13 campaign and later become the club's president. The transfer was officially concluded on the 21st of December, 2012.
Despite reaching the quarter-finals of both the League Cup and the fifth round of the FA Cup (albeit with both games ending in five-goal defeats at the hands of Chelsea as well as Manchester City respectively), Leeds's league performance during the 2012-13 season was generally poor and the club was never even a serious challenge to the play-off spots. Warnock quit with just six games left, leaving Leeds only five points clear of the zone of relegation. Brian McDermott replaced Warnock, and Leeds took three victories in the last five matches of the season which was enough to prevent being relegated. The following summer, Bates stepped down as chairman, and then quit the club within a couple of weeks due to a dispute regarding the cost of expenses.
On January 7, 2014 Leeds United's chief executive David Haigh was involved in Sport Capital, a consortium which included the Leeds United's primary sponsor, Enterprise Insurance, Andrew Flowers. Sports Capital came close to closing a deal together with GFH Capital that would have granted them 75% of the company.
On the 30th of January the takeover of Sport Capital fell through due to the insufficient "financial support". Haigh issued a statement acknowledging that the company was unable to close a deal despite having two months ago agreed to buy 75% of the club from its owner Gulf Finance House. Haigh stated that the club along with Sport Capital had "injected substantial amounts into the club to ensure its survival" however earlier in the week , fellow consortium members Andrew Flowers, the managing director of Leeds' shirt-sponsor Enterprise Insurance, stated that GFH had "breached their contract against us" after soliciting a rival offer by Massimo Cellino, the president of the Serie A club Cagliari Calcio. Haigh's statement stated:
As you may have heard that the company signed an share purchase arrangement in conjunction with GFH Capital at the end of the year. That meant, as I saw it that we were in the position to move things ahead and complete the deal before the transfer window in January. ... Unfortunately, a few of the supporters of the consortium did not feel they were able to give the financial support we wanted to get in order to move the club ahead.
The 31st of January, 2014 under circumstances that were controversial there was a report in the media that club Manager Brian McDermott had been removed from his post as the club's manager due to several poor performances and the ongoing controversy over the club was settled. New captain Ross McCormack expressed his support for the former manager. On February 3, online casino malaysia reported that McDermott was contacted by a lawyer for Massimo Cellino "and informed that he was removed from his duties". But, Cellino had not yet control the club, since his contract with the Football League had not yet given its approval to his purchase, meaning neither he or his lawyer could dismiss the manager. McDermott was, therefore, still in his position.
Following weeks of speculation about the acquisition from Leeds United, on 7 February 2014, Leeds United had announced that they traded contracts to sell Leeds to the Cellino family's group Eleonora Sport Ltd. The deal resulted in the Cellino family purchase 75% ownership stake in the club, subject to the approval of the Football League.
In its meeting on March 23rd, 2014 The board of directors of directors for the Football League decided unanimously that Cellino's conviction by an Italian court indicated that he was not able to meet the directors and owners criteria, and therefore could not assume the role of Leeds United.
As a result of Cellino's purchase, Leeds suffered an appalling second part of the season, being pushed down from the play-offs to the margins of the relegation fight. The poor performances of teams below Leeds ensured that Leeds were never really in risk of being relegated as a late streak of victories put their survival in doubt before the close to the campaign. Yet, McDermott still resigned his job a few months after the end of the season.