Daily Archives: 04/03/2014

Leeds Fanatic? Get Involved With the Life in the Leeds United Universe – by Rob Atkinson

Posted on 04/03/2014 | 22 comments

This blog has been going over a year now, but only since last September has it benefited from the wider exposure that the NewsNow aggregator affords. This has seen reading figures go through the roof, and the blog has also gained an inspiring following of committed Leeds fans who are ready, willing and able to contribute their own views on the full range of topics inspired by our club, as well as various other aspects of the game. It’s a thriving blog, I’m glad to say – and I hope it will continue to grow. What is needed is continuing and increased involvement from the people who read it. From you – and for a very good reason.

There are a variety of ways in which a variety of people can get involved and help this site. The reason I’m putting this out there now is that I need more time to devote to a book I’m writing about the seventeen years between my first match as a Leeds fan in April 1975, and the last old-style Football League game I saw at Elland Road in 1992, just prior to the inception of the Premier League and the start of Murdoch’s domination of English football. So Leeds were reigning champions in that first game I saw, as they were again when Norwich visited Elland Road to bring down the curtain on the Football League Championship competition as we’d always known it in the last game of 1991-92. In between were years of decline, stagnation and, eventually, recovery – to take us back to the top.

This period encompassed the second division years of 1982 – 1990, a largely neglected period that I wish to chronicle – because I believe there are thousands of fans out there who fondly remember that time, and some of the characters who passed before our eyes as we travelled the country from Plymouth to Carlisle by way of Shrewsbury, Millwall (Old Den) and sundry other delightful spots. I think it’s a book that will evoke great memories of the time between two Champion teams and I’m enjoying working on it – when I can.

What I really need are contributions of various sorts – so if there’s any of the following ways that you can help, then please do so if it’s not too much trouble. Basically, I need memories, commissions and cash. That cash thing is obviously a sticking point when times are hard and friends are few; but if a good many people donate very little – even a quid – then it all goes towards affording me the time to work on this and other projects. So if you’ve ever enjoyed reading an article on this blog, perhaps you would be kind enough to click the PayPal button and contribute – just a little will help. Those who can afford to be a bit more generous – a fiver or more – will be remembered when complimentary copies of the book are distributed, whether they are e-books or the genuine paper type that grows on trees. As those of you who have already donated know, I always email to say thank-you – and those who have given five pounds or more in the past are already – for what it’s worth – firmly on that complimentary copy list.

Any financial contribution will help me devote more time to the book, but commissions of various sorts would also help me work from home for a greater proportion of my time, and therefore enable me to spend more time on researching and writing my Leeds United project. So, if you’re involved with any concern which needs a freelance writer who can write to a specification – then please consider me, perhaps drop me a line via the Contact page of this blog. If you’ve read my stuff, you know what I can and can’t do – I’m happy to be judged on that basis.

Equally, for the executives and company owners out there – if you would consider advertising on this blog, I’d be very happy to hear from you. I average in excess of 100,000 views per month and it’s growing all the time. Any way in which I can attract some investment in the blog will spare me more time to continue with the groundwork and writing of this book. Incidentally, you may have noticed that I consistently fail to refer to the book by a title – for the very good reason that it hasn’t got one yet. Any suggestions?? The idea I have is of a long fallow period between two peaks of success, so anything on those lines could be considered, or if you want to be more imaginative – go ahead. Again, the person who comes up with the best suggestion will be remembered and will benefit – if they consider a free copy beneficial.

For those who read this and feel that I’m selling my soul for personal gain – it’s really not like that at all. I have this project gnawing away at me and it’s got to come out. Don’t forget, any help is to be given entirely of your own free will – anyone who is offended by the very idea of an appeal for help should simply turn away from it. On the other hand, anybody of massive wealth who is inclined to be extremely generous should feel absolutely entitled to do just that. I’m not going to be an inverted snob about this, and if there’s a benefactor out there, he or she is enormously welcome!

Fans’ own input is also going to be invaluable. There must be so many fantastic memories out there that just pass to and fro across the bar-room table – it would be wonderful to have some of those to supplement the material I already have to hand. My own time supporting Leeds is something I can draw on, but I’d be immensely grateful for the memories of those who wish to contribute their own anecdotes. Anything between the start of the 1974-75 season and the end of 1991-92 (including the following season’s Charity Shield match) would be great. I’m especially interested in the thinly-documented years of the second division eighties – the Eddie Gray/Billy Bremner era. But equally, the brief near-glory of the Armfield/Adamson years, with that Jock Stein 44 days in between, are times I would love to cover in more detail, with illustrative anecdotes – there was even that short spell in the UEFA Cup that hardly anyone remembers these days. So please – cudgel your grey cells, and get those reminiscences sent in. Credit will be given as appropriate.

Please help, if you can – whether it’s a monetary contribution, an offer of work, an advertising or sponsorship proposal or – last but not least – your recollections of following Leeds between 1974 and 1992. I know there are a lot of fanatics out there, real Leeds United nutters, people who love our club every bit as much as I do, and more. We’ve all known the pain and joy of being Leeds fans, we’re all part of a common experience. I want to reflect that in every word I write as part of what will, I trust, be a work that makes it clear what it is to be a fan of the greatest club in the world. I know there are thousands out there who share that belief, that knowledge. Many will be going through hard times, and all I will ask of you is your good wishes, and perhaps a story or two. And equally I know that some of you have a fair bit of clout in one direction or another – so if you’re minded to, and able – please consider helping with this undertaking in any way that you possibly can. After all – we’re all Leeds, aren’t we?

Thank you – and MOT.

22 Comments

Posted in Football, Leeds United

Tagged advertising, appeal, collective, donations, Inspiration, Leeds books, Leeds United, Life, memories, new book, readers, supporters, the Universe & Everything

Should Cellino Take a Leaf out of Cardiff Owner Tan’s Book? – by Rob Atkinson

Posted on 04/03/2014 | 34 comments

Tan – fit & proper?

With the Leeds United takeover still dragging on and on, it’s possible to imagine that Massimo Cellino is taking a glance around the rest of English football – and wondering what he’s done so wrong that the game’s highly-respectable and august authorities appear to be wrinkling their noses at him.

Should he, for example, be following the example of Cardiff City owner Vincent Tan? Here is a man who has breezed into the club he’s bought and started treating it exactly like the plaything he obviously feels he’s acquired. Riding roughshod over supporters’ vehement objections, he’s now got the Bluebirds playing in red, he’s sacked the manager who did such a sterling job in getting them elevated to the Premier League for the first time since Noah was a lad – and he’s been heard disconsolately enquiring why the goalkeeper doesn’t score a few goals here and there. The latest Tan bright idea was to offer his players a £3.7m bonus to avoid relegation, an incentive swiftly withdrawn after it was pointed out to Vapid Vincent that this was illegal. Just to show they couldn’t be bought, his players went and lost at Spurs anyway. Cardiff were certainly struggling under Malky Mackay – as is only to be expected in that perilous first season up. But now, one ill-conceived managerial change later, they look doomed to relegation. Fit and proper? I wouldn’t want him at Leeds, thanks very much.

Allam – fit & proper?

Or there’s the chap at Hull City, Assem Allam. He doesn’t have much regard for history or tradition either. He’s not going to change the strip though, as Mr Tan so controversially did at Cardiff. No, Assem likes the strip, and he likes the Tigers nickname that goes with it. So much so, that he wishes to rename the club Hull Tigers, exposing their horrified fans to ridicule from the rest of the football fraternity. (Tigers, Tigers, rah, rah, rah!!) To those who protested, adopting “City till we die” as their rallying cry, kindly old Uncle Assem has commented: “they can die as soon as they want”. Fit and proper? Hmmmm.

Sullivan/Gold – fit & proper?

And further south still, we have those upright, downright pillars of the community who run West Ham – porn barons Sullivan & Gold. Their avowed mission, to provide prurient entertainment, salacious scandal and gorgeous, pouting tits by the barrow load to every UK breakfast table, has not caused even the slightest of ripples at the FA or Football League.

Cellino – de facto LUFC owner

Meanwhile, Massimo Cellino, having exchanged contracts with the useless GFH, is the de facto owner of Leeds United. He has kept us going through what appears to be a cash crisis which would have brought the club to the brink of administration and disaster, were it not for his financial support. Instead of going to the wall, United have been able to carry on, with Cellino paying off Enterprise Insurance – which has led to the sulky withdrawal of their petulant winding-up petition – paying the staff wages on time, funding the acquisition of two high-quality loan additions in the past fortnight and generally acting like a responsible – dare I say it? – fit and proper person to take Leeds United forward into a much more assured future – as compared to the last decade or so under a succession of potless chancers who the League appeared quite happy to see screwing things up.

Shaun Harvey – digging

Really – it’s almost as though the Football League, under that model of propriety Shaun Harvey, have a neat set of double standards and principles so flexible they might very well be called totally bent. All those dodgy geezers in charge of other clubs, and not an eyebrow raised anywhere until this latest Tan gaffe. And there’s poor old Massimo, doing his best, funding our skint club – and they seem to be digging deep for any excuse to tell him to get lost. Perhaps the King of Corn should be trying to emulate the Kings of Porn in order to gain this elusive acceptance. Perhaps he should change the Leeds United strip to pink with green spots, or start offering illegal bonuses à la Tan at Cardiff. Or maybe he could sweetly advise the denizens of the Gelderd End to accept a change of name to Leeds Peacocks, or end up sleeping with the fishes? Any of these seem to attract more official approval than the Italian’s current, inoffensive and supportive stance.

It does make you wonder – doesn’t it?

34 Comments

Posted in Football, Leeds United

Tagged Assem Allam, Cardiff City FC, fit and proper, Football League, Hull City, Leeds United, Massimo Cellino, Shaun Harvey, Vincent Tan

Roll Up! Roll Up! A Slice of Leeds United Injustice & Misery for Just £2!! – by Rob Atkinson

Posted on 04/03/2014 | 27 comments

Back to the drawing board…

As tempting offers go, it’s right up there with the revolutionary “fork for your soup” innovation – or perhaps the indispensable head-mounted toilet roll dispenser, for those of an out-and-about nature who happen to suffer from a runny nose. The decision of Leeds United’s Online Superstore to offer us lucky people a DVD of the ill-fated 1975 European Cup Final match against Bayern Munich is pretty much as inspired as that of Decca to turn down the Beatles, on the grounds that “guitar groups are on the way out”. At £2.00, this product is over-priced by about a fiver. Why on earth would any Leeds fan wish to own it? It’s like wanting to pay hard cash for the privilege of picking scabs in intimate locations, or perhaps hiring someone to punch you in the kidneys at intervals throughout the day. It’s not, in short, a commercially viable offer – at least, not in my opinion.

It’s strange, though, what people will buy. Perhaps Leeds United have identified a gap in the market here, and there really are those out there who wish to relive an occasion of acute pain over and over again, at their leisure. At £2 a shot, it would appear that they are not targeting the discerning, nor yet those who demand pleasurable entertainment for their hard-earned coin. This would appear, on the face of it, to be a promotion aimed at what might charitably be termed mugs – those who are not that thoughtful or choosy about the disposition of their two quid. What other explanation can there be?

It’s tempting to wonder whether our beloved club should instead have aimed at the export market, and flogged these undesirable items in Bavaria, Germany – where they might perhaps be better appreciated. The novelty of watching their favourites triumph to an English commentary highlighting the injustice of Lorimer’s disallowed goal, the scandal of two obvious penalties not given to England’s Champions, the craven performance of a French referee in thrall to der Kaiser Franz Beckenbauer – all of these unique selling points might go down better in the vicinity of München rather than Beeston. After all, Schadenfreude has a piquant appeal to the otherwise humourless inhabitants of the Fatherland – much more so than masochism around LS11.

Perhaps there are those that are willing to fork out a coupe of quid to be able to appreciate the beauty of Lorimer’s disallowed volley, which left a keeper of the quality of Sepp Maier helpless and was actually voted into a high position in one poll of Leeds United goals of the century – despite the technical flaw of it not actually counting (by order of der Kaiser).

All in all though, I have to call this particular commercial promotion a failure. It’s on a par with Germany themselves flogging copies of their effortless 1-5 defeat against England at the start of this century. That was a defeat that left teutonic jaws sagging across the whole of Deutschland, and – as you might expect – there has not been a high demand in Germany for the privilege of owning that particular debacle.

A few weeks ago, Leeds United were offering a tasteful scarf for sale at about this price. That’s more the sort of thing we’re after, chaps – particularly while there’s still a nasty north-easterly nip in the air. It might be a good idea to consign that batch of Bayern DVDs to a convenient landfill site somewhere and come up with something the average Leeds fan might actually want to own. And before some bright spark suggests the 1973 FA Cup Final – forget it, eh?

Just saying.