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Leeds United Owners Need to Start Playing Straight With the Fans – by Rob Atkinson

Posted on 25/01/2014 | 30 comments
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The fans: the BEST asset of Leeds United

Whoever is currently in charge at Leeds United – and the answer to that question is quite frankly anyone’s guess – they do appear to have a dim awareness that the mood out here in fan-land is not entirely sunny and bright.  They seem a little hurt, not to say bewildered, about this.  Plaintive tweets have been seen, assuring us that hard work is going on and that the West Ham bid for our club captain of seven days standing has been turned down.  That nice prospective Tory MP Mr Haigh would like to remind us all that “we made our intentions clear in the summer” – when of course a succession of bids for Rossco from Smogland were turned down, before a new four-year contract secured the services of our lethal marksman – or so we thought.

All in all, the view from the Elland Road boardroom of the various dissident elements out here appears to be that of a rueful parent bemoaning the ungratefulness of spoiled children.  We’ve done all this for them, they seem to be crying woefully, and see how they repay us!

So are we being ungrateful?  Are GFH/Sporting Capital/Signor Cellino/A.N.Other right in thinking that their sterling efforts are being thrown back in their faces by an unappreciative rabble?  Let’s look at a couple of the main issues.

Firstly, the burning issue on everyone’s mind for some time now.  The takeover.  Now we’ve been told various things about this.  It was all done and dusted, waiting only for Football League approval, and things would be in place in time for the transfer window.  We were told this in December; then the forecast changed slightly, and word was that things might just drag over into the start of January – but that Brian’s transfer plans were not affected, and there was a list of targets for board consideration.  Things dragged on.  Now we were told that it was still on track, just i’s to be dotted and t’s to be crossed.  Brian was looking at four players.  Then we heard that the Football League had asked for more information, that the club was co-operating fully, oh and here’s two loan wingers to shut you lot up.  By this point we’d gone out of the Cup at lowly Rochdale, and we were about to be subjected (with the aid of our two game-changing pacy wide men) to a history-busting defeat at Sheffield Wendies.  Now, here we are in the last week of January, the takeover appears no nearer, the best news we’ve had for ages is a narrow defeat at home to Leicester, there’s been talk of a dodgy Italian convicted fraudster, we’ve had promises of good news for the week just gone (must have missed that) and transfer talk is starting to turn, with a weary inevitability, to the summer window.  Pie in the sky, by and by.

Secondly, there’s this Ross McCormack thing.  Just because we resisted the Smoggies’ overtures in summer, we apparently need our wrists smacked for daring to get all het up when a bid is received from some no-hope East End outfit for our skipper and top-scorer.  Leeds United appear to be wondering: what all the fuss is about?  Why are these people complaining and getting up in arms?  After all, it’s not as if we have a history of selling vital players for a song to Premier League strugglers in January – is it?  Oh, hang on…

West Ham will probably be back – there’s still a week to go and they may just share that annoying habit, common to clubs with some shred of ambition, of being persistent in trying to sign quality players and improve their squad.  You see this kind of thing everywhere these days: clubs splashing the cash, if you’ll pardon the vulgarity, and buying players all over the shop.  It’s enough to give a prudent outfit like Leeds United a bad name.  And you only have to look back over the past few transfer windows to notice that Leeds don’t indulge in all of this “new signings” shenanigans.  No, sir.  They just promise to, that’s all.  And promises are made to be broken.

That’s the nub of it, really.  If the powers that be at Elland Road really want to know why some of us out here are less than happy with the way things are being run, they really need to look to themselves – and try and avoid a few less-than-helpful practices.  For instance – and this is especially important for people who have set their stall out with “transparency and fan engagement” as buzzwords – could we have a bit more straightforwardness, and a few less tantalising tweets, coy hints, teasing smileys and irrelevant bollocks about coffee mornings with random billionaires?  That would be nice.  And again – if you’re going to make promises about transfer targets and takeover completions – why not keep a few of them?  That would possibly go towards filling the credibility vacuum that you currently inhabit.

What the fans really want, in the extremely short term, is to be treated like adults rather than as unruly and demanding children whose expectations have to be carefully managed, lest they become recalcitrant and ill-behaved.  All of this drip, drip of promising but ultimately false rumours will not get us anywhere.  No more Red Bull jokes, please.  Likewise, less of the details about coffee-based pre-prandial engagements – unless there’s something likely to come of it by way of solid investment and the funding of some ambitious plans.  Contrary to what you might think, you suits in the boardroom, we’re all grown-ups out here, and we want to be dealt with fairly and squarely, rather than fed a diet of condescending rubbish designed to obscure what’s really going on.

If Ross McCormack is still a Leeds United player by the end of January, I’ll be happy, if a little worried about his future in the summer and beyond.  But don’t expect me to be all ecstatic just because one preliminary bid has been turned down – recent history has taught me, and others out here, not to be quite so gullible.  It’s taught us to expect the worst of Leeds United, for then we won’t be quite so disappointed when the worst happens – as it has over the recent past, with unfailing regularity.  And don’t expect us to be grateful when promises are made and broken, when expectations are raised and then sent crashing down.  There’s no use pouting away in the boardroom about how unappreciative we all are.  Treat us as adults, tell us straight, stop peddling crap – and then see how the attitude changes.  It’s worth a try, gentlemen, surely?

Just at the moment, all the McCormack talk dominates other matters, and we’re being invited to be happy that a bid has been turned down.  Meanwhile, the last few days of this window slip by, and while we all wait and see if the Hammers come back with an improved bid, we’re not nagging you about takeover completions and inward bound signings – are we?  Well some of us are, and we’ll continue to do so, whatever smokescreens may be put up to deflect us.

There’s an old saying from across the Atlantic: “The wind blew, and the crap flew, and for days the vision was bad.”  Count on it, Mr Haigh & Co – most of the fans of Leeds United are a lot more clear-sighted than you might wish to believe.

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West Ham “McCormack Bid” is the Acid Test for Leeds United – by Rob Atkinson

Posted on 24/01/2014 | 50 comments
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Please….. no more bloody straws…

When a tantalising Sky Sports News tweet appeared today, promising a “major Leeds United transfer development” after 4pm, you somehow knew it wouldn’t be good news – despite David Haigh’s promise of just that for long-suffering Leeds fans sometime this week.  But good news and the January transfer window don’t really go together like fish and chips for Leeds United.  The January transfer window is more of a misery time for us, or at best one of bleak disappointment, leading to dull and resentful apathy.  That’s the way it has been and – despite the usual promises – it’s looked for some time now as though this one will be no different.

So when this Sky Sports story finally broke, telling the world that West Ham United have made a “surprise bid” for our Captain of one week, Ross McCormack, the natural reaction was to laugh bitterly – and the first thought that went through a cynical head was, “Yeah, that’d be about right – why not really rub it in?”  After all, this is the club that sold top-scorer Luciano Becchio just when we needed him most, this time last season.  This is the club that sold our brightest talent and the nearest we’ve had to a Leeds United icon lately, in Robert Snodgrass.  Those were to Norwich, of course, a small club who seemed to delight in being able to pick on a moribund giant.  West Ham could easily be placed into that category too.

A hybrid of two riddles here: what do West Ham and Leeds United have in common – but also what’s the difference between them?  Answer: both are joke clubs – but West Ham are a joke club with some money.  And money talks, as we can all deduce from the deafening silence (apart from those few isolated tweets of promise) emanating from our club this past few weeks – weeks that were supposed to be about making signings and ratifying a takeover, for those who believed all the blarney we were fed in December.

It’s hard to write that riddle thing, even to make a point.  But, with everything that’s gone on at Leeds United lately, it’s difficult to reach any other conclusion but that we are a joke club.  A sick joke, an unfunny joke.  A joke club run by joke people who believe they can get away with feeding the fans crap for breakfast, lunch and dinner – and then expect them to beg for more crap for supper.  And the sickest joke of all is that they probably can get away with it.  The only possible source of resistance is from the fans, and our fans are as divided as any, with some factions for GFH, some wanting the Sport Capital group, even a maverick few still harking back to Bates – and all of them willing indeed eager to have a barney with any of the rest, whilst pouring ridicule on the few real attempts out there at organising support.  Read any Leeds United internet forum, and you’ll see it’s true.  We might all be Leeds, but United we most definitely are not – and that’s tantamount to a licence for the suits in the boardroom to do as they think best – a scary thought for anyone who wants Leeds United once again to occupy a prominent place in English football.

There’s the story of the straw that broke the camel’s back (this is not a middle-eastern consortium reference).  The moral is, of course, that if you go on piling up the burden on the poor old camel, it will eventually collapse at the addition of even one more straw.  In the same way, the faith and patience of the fans – those of us who can smell the stench of what we’re being fed – is surely at breaking point.  What will it take for that faith to finally collapse?  And what happens then?

The only way to register a protest in today’s world is to try and hit people in the pocket, because of that aforementioned fact that money talks.  It’s not the club’s fault that West Ham have seen fit to bid for McCormack.  But it IS the club’s fault – presumably – that this is the only item of news we currently have to chew on, we who are so hungry, so starving for some positive tidings, a ray or two of hope that maybe we have a brighter future.  That positive news, despite many coy hints, smileys and tweets from the usual suspects, has failed to materialise.  Our expectations have been managed; two loans apart, the club has almost managed to negotiate yet another window with no investment anywhere near the scale of the serious players at the top of the league.  That’s taking the mick, and dress it up how you like, it’s not good enough for a club like Leeds United with fans like the fanatical yet deeply put-upon Leeds fans.

Leeds United Football Club need to consider very, very carefully now as to just how much more their loyal body of fans will put up with.  Nobody likes to be made a fool of, especially not in front of a gaping, jeering world of rival fans, workmates and just anybody who feels inclined to rub salt into wounds, ie almost everybody.  The time is approaching when the final straw will be added to that onerous burden, and then some sort of collapse of support is possible.  People will vote with their feet, people will find better things to do with the hard-earned money in their pockets.  Why shouldn’t they?  The club will always preach about loyalty and support – but that’s a two-way street and at the moment the traffic is strictly one-way.  So why should people continue to pay still-exorbitant prices to watch football at a club which seems to have forgotten entirely what it’s supposed to be about?

It may well be that joke club West Ham are kidding themselves if they think they can tempt McCormack to join a team that has just sustained a 0-9 defeat in a semi-final and who are very probably headed for relegation.  But if Leeds United have any say in the matter – and after all, they do – then they need to consider very carefully what’s best for the club and the fans before taking that usual step of buckling and grabbing the cash.  That camel’s legs are trembling, and who can tell how many more straws it will take to complete the job of flattening it along with all of our hopes, our faith, our belief?

This bid for Ross McCormack may well be the acid test.  Can Leeds United pass it?

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Drip, Drip, Drip as the Water Torture Goes On for Leeds Fans – by Rob Atkinson

Posted on 22/01/2014 | 35 comments
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Dear Mr Haigh – some answers, please

This blog has posed the question in the recent past: what exactly is holding up the latest Leeds United takeover?  But however earnest that enquiry was, I did think that by now there would have been some clarity, some answers – maybe even some of the oft-foretold good news after the dotting of i’s and the crossing of t’s. And then, we could move swiftly in the transfer market with still almost two weeks to go – and perhaps resurrect what is turning into another season of crushing disappointment.

But no. Instead of things getting better, they appear to be on the point of becoming worse.  Instead of some welcome clarity, all is obscured confusion, with rumour and counter-rumour flying about like lost souls in some Leeds fans’ purgatory.  After everything else that has gone on since our last real high point – promotion from League One in 2010 – this drawn-out continuation of unresolved anguish and uncertainty seems almost calculated to cause the maximum stress to anyone out here who loves the club, exposing us to ridicule after we’ve been heard to express optimism in the wake of this or that promise or optimistic smiley tweet from one or other of our prospective owners.

It wouldn’t be so bad if some of this incessant to-ing and fro-ing wasn’t avoidable.  If, for instance, we were just dealing with the inevitable complexities of due process that go along with any major deal, we could perhaps smile bravely and deal with it.  But it’s the coy little hints, the periodical hints and promises that elevate the situation from the mundane level of irritation and disappointment to a needless peak of exquisite cruelty.  Did we really need the Red Bull comments to tantalise is?  Do we really need to know about morning coffee with a billionaire if coffee is all it turns out to be??

Now we are getting indications that the whole thing might be about to collapse, having been previously assured that it would all be done early this window and that, in any event, any delay in completion would not hamper Brian in the transfer market.  And there’s the old refrain striking up again: “business is difficult to do in January”.  That, and the new doubts about the takeover endgame are vying with each other as to which negative piece of information can best sicken and dismay the loyal fans out here, waiting for something good to happen.

It seems likely now that this will drag on, until another transfer window has been safely negotiated with no inconveniently expensive signings, just a couple of loans.  Once again, the suits will be able to heave a sigh of relief.  The most significant announcements from the club lately have been of a sale in the club shops of cut price winter woollies.  Ring-a-ding ding.

It’s difficult sometimes to say – which is the worst aspect of this situation?  Supporting a club that has no apparent ambition to compete with the other clubs in the same division, smaller clubs that are forever out-stripping us in investment and the will to win?  Or being made mugs of time and time again?  Leeds United do not even appear to bother finding new excuses; refinements of the same old ones we’ve all heard before will apparently do, as far as they are concerned.  It’s enough to make the most loyal of fans angry.  I’m loyal, I have Leeds United engraved on my heart – but I’m spitting feathers at what the fans are being expected to put up with.

It’s time some for definitive statement to be made.  Clauses requiring discretion and confidentiality are all well and good, but they don’t address the morale of the fans, and they do nothing to ease the growing unrest and annoyance out here.  Players and staff come and go, even the stadium isn’t forever.  But the fans as a body are the continuous thread running through the history of the club.  We ARE Leeds United – so show us due respect and sort this embarrassing mess out – or at least treat us like adults, end this maddening drip, drip, drip water torture situation – and tell us what’s what.

That’s surely not too much to ask for, is it?

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Leeds United Manager’s Position: Stick or Twist? Have Your Say Now – by Rob Atkinson

Posted on 17/01/2014 | 29 comments
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Leeds boss Brian McDermott – Yea or Nay?

Several recent articles on this blog have attracted a gratifying level of comment, with the usual mix of intelligent insight, passionate opinion and a smattering of the frankly bizarre.  These are the contributions that survived moderation, you understand – I do receive a lot of material from people who evidently hate everything about this blog and yet paradoxically cannot resist reading every syllable and then sending an abusive rant which they must know will never see the light of day.  Well, it takes all sorts…

One of the more recent themes has been a small but significant number of people who would clearly be glad to see Brian McDermott replaced.  This category of contributor appears disillusioned with BMac’s tactics, substitutions, recruitment policy – one irate individual even had a crack at his specs.  The recent availability of Malky Mackay, following his idiotic sacking by Cardiff City despot Vincent Tan, has also clearly had an unsettling effect.  Some would evidently be in favour of shipping Brian out to tempt Mackay in, which I suppose is a predictable reaction given the success the Scot enjoyed at Cardiff, before that club went mad.

This blog remains solidly behind Brian McDermott as boss, largely because the main things missing from our club over the past decade or so have been stability and continuity – some sort of consistent thread running through the shifting fabric of the club as it has experienced an era of volatility and change.  The change appears likely to carry on apace, which to my mind makes an even more persuasive case for retaining the services of this one man, identifiable with the team he is building and able to demonstrate a quiet sort of passion and determination to restore Leeds United to something more nearly approaching their natural level in the game.  Brian has been in the press himself in the last day or so, expressing his hope that he will be granted the time to undertake what is a massive task – and re-emphasising his own belief that he can deliver the goods, if properly backed with investment and patience.  In my view, he’s the best chance we have, and I do hope that the owners – whoever they end up being – will be able to resist the “new broom sweeps clean” approach and stick with the steady hand currently at the helm.

However, it is undeniable that many do not agree with this stance, so I would like to ask a simple question with only two possible answers: Stick with Brian, or look elsewhere?   

It would be all too easy to cite the case of a certain Glaswegian manager who took on the job of managing a certain club not too far from Manchester in the mid-eighties.  Although he eventually carried all before him, his first few years were uncomfortable to say the least, with that giant of a club finishing in the lower half of the table for three out of the first four seasons.  And yet I don’t think that case is analogous at all; the era of success eventually ushered in over on the wrong side of the Pennines had as much to do with the intimidating nature of the Glaswegian concerned as it did with his managerial ability or the time he was afforded.  The fact that an Australian tycoon bought the game and gift-wrapped it for this particular club had a lot to do with it too.  No, Brian’s case makes itself; he is of proven ability, he clearly wants to succeed and has a massive self-belief – and given the time and the budget, it would (in my opinion) be foolish to bet against him.  He’s the type of man who can rally support and inspire loyalty – but it’s undeniable that this past few weeks have been a very sticky time for him, and this dodgy patch has solidified a body of protest against the way he is doing his job.

So please, have your say – it’s just a matter of choosing one or other of two choices.  Any more detailed opinions can be submitted in the usual way – but I would ask contributors to this article to make sure that they have cast their vote in the poll below.  After a week or so, we’ll see what the numbers say, take a few of the more expressive comments on board – and maybe we can then have a more detailed debate about what’s best for the future of Leeds United.

I’ve made my opinion quite clear, but it’s all about diversity of opinion, so let’s have your agreement or disagreement registered.  Whatever anybody thinks, subject to the usual standards, their voice can be heard here; let’s see who feels strongly either way, without worrying too much about a party line, or what anybody else thinks.  We’re all entitled to have an opinion about what’s best for the club.  And – we’re all Leeds, aren’t we?

Many thanks

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Ghost of Transfer Windows Past Haunting Worried Leeds Support – by Rob Atkinson

Posted on 16/01/2014 | 31 comments
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Ashley Barnes – blocked by GFH and gone to Turf Moor

If there’s ever a time that no self-respecting Leeds fan is going to come over all misty-eyed and nostalgic for, it’s any one of the last few January transfer windows.  These post-Christmas peaks of excitement have been anything but for United fans in the past few years – and there are now just the vaguest stirrings of discomfort arising out of the growing suspicion that this one may, ultimately, be no different.  In recent times, the diet for the long-suffering Leeds United support has been pretty lacking in variety come window time.  Large helpings of reassurances, seasoned with well-worn platitudes and promises that melt in your mouth but do little to satisfy that incessant, gnawing hunger for squad reinforcement.

So far this January, we have been told that the takeover (still awaiting its “imminent” Football League ratification) will have no effect on the availability of funds for manager Brian McDermott to go out and get what we need.  There have been two morsels landed, both traditional Leeds loanees, but with the possibility of permanence come the summer – depending on what league we’re in.  We’ve also been told that Brian wants to get the deals done early, rather than waiting for that climactic final day, when Sky get all excited, fans of other clubs gather outside their stadia to heckle harassed TV reporters – and Leeds fans pretend not to care and that they have other stuff to do.  The thing is, most of January has already slid by – with just those two wingers, the ones who looked so lost and lonely at Sheffield Wednesday, signed-up so far.

Still, the reassurances come.  There are just i’s to be dotted, t’s to be crossed, before TOMA becomes a renewed reality.  Work has been going on backstage and we are to hope the fruits of that will be seen “in the coming days”.  But the main headline is of GFH blocking a move for a striker that BMcD wanted to bring on board, even though the measly half-mill required was apparently washing around in the club’s coffers.  That’s certainly caused some consternation out here in fan-land, and it’s not difficult to see why.  Have GFH blocked this one because we’re back in dare-to-dream territory, and aiming higher than the likes of the admirable Ashley Barnes?  Or is it for some less palatable reason?  Either way, the lad’s gone to Burnley and our Brian was presumably left less than chuffed.

We really have to hope that this isn’t going to be yet another transfer window where much is promised and yet very little is delivered.  The icy fingers of doubt are beginning to make themselves felt, though, insistently tapping us all on the shoulder while a cold voice whispers in our ear “Haven’t you heard all this stuff before?”

The next couple of weeks might not be make or break for United’s promotion prospects – it may well be that those are doomed to dwindle for yet another season, and we’ll be invited to look ahead with optimism to 2015.  Or 2016, or … well, you get the picture.  But those same couple of weeks could be very significant indeed as far as the grossly over-stretched trust and confidence of the United fans are concerned.  If nothing significant happens – yet again – after all those promises, hints and reassurances – yet again – then surely questions will be asked, not least the pertinent enquiry: “Are you lot taking the mick?”  Because we’re fast approaching that time of the window when we start expecting to be told what a wonderful thing the emergency loan window is, or the summer transfer window, where plans are “already well advanced”.

Quite frankly, we have heard it all before.  Please get real, United.  Please don’t toy with our hopes and fears.  This sort of thing really has happened far too often already – and it’s becoming rather boring.

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Looks Like Today is Leeds United Takeover Day – by Rob Atkinson

Posted on 15/01/2014 | 7 comments
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TOMA complete?

The protracted second takeover in a year of Leeds United looks as if it will be made official today, according to a story carried by Reuters.

According to the news agency, Bahrain-based investment firm Gulf Finance House (GFH) has agreed a partial sale of its stake in English football club Leeds United   The firm said in a statement on Wednesday that the sale was agreed with British investors, whose details the firm did not specify in a bourse statement. The investment firm did not provide details on the stake value or the size of the stake sold.

No confirmation was made of the necessary Football League approval, though it would be highly unusual for the above announcement to be made if that were not now a foregone conclusion, and further developments on this front might well be expected later today.

Leeds United meet Championship leaders Leicester City on Saturday, fresh from a dismal run of results after several poor performances.  The club has been linked heavily with Reading’s want-away striker Adam le Fondre this week, as well as free transfer prospect Luke Moore, formerly of Swansea and Aston Villa.

Despite securing the loan signings of Cameron Stewart and Jimmy Kebe last week, Leeds suffered an embarrassing 6-0 defeat to local rivals Sheffield Wednesday in a televised game on Saturday.  The TV cameras will again be present for the Leicester City clash.

It remains to be seen whether any completed takeover will loosen the Elland Road purse-strings for more team strengthening.  Boss Brian McDermott had ruled our further incomings ahead of the Foxes match, but that has not stopped intense speculation surrounding Moore and le Fondre.  It may well be that other names will now be put forward, but McDermott likes to have business completed before making any comment.

Leeds United stand 11th in the Championship, only a few points outside of the play-off zone.

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Old Man Bates Spotted at Elland Road Shock Horror – by Rob Atkinson

Posted on 23/11/2013 | 18 comments
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Uh-oh. Bates is back, yesterday

Oh dear. Just when you thought it was safe to go back to Elland Road, and maybe even to part with a few hard-earned shekels in the club Megastore, or in purchasing an ambitiously-priced match ticket for the visit of the Smoggies this weekend – watch out.  Bates is back, and it’s not Norman of that ilk, but the supposedly departed and definitely unlamented Kenneth William.

Now, I’ve no desire to be unnecessarily alarmist, so if that opening paragraph sounded like a revolting mixture of recycled blurb from the publicity materials of Jaws and Psycho – then I humbly apologise.  But it’s been a bit of a shock, you see – such a graphically horrible picture. It’s not what you expect or need to see, large as life and twice as hideously old, strutting about outside our sacred stadium as if – well, as if he owned the place. Gulp.

Theories abound as to the possible reasons for the return of Papa Smurf’s reptilian presence to LS11.  None of them are much good.  This is understandable; people are reacting viscerally, out of disgust and horror at such an awful apparition, they need comfort, reassurance – some reason for this ultimate unwelcome surprise, just when we all thought the old get was consigned to the dustbin of history.  It’s a bit like waking from a nightmare of truly terrifying proportions, bathed in sweat and shaking like a palsied trauma victim, relishing that initial feeling of blessed relief that the shadowy horrors were only a bad dream – and then reaching out to touch some slimy monster by your bedside, poised to sink its slavering fangs into your neck and drink your blood dry.  It’s just not nice, not nice at all.

Some of our more mischievous brethren have already been upping the ante in the nightmare stakes, breezily speculating that Papa Smurf is the eminence grise behind The Chief’s alleged consortium.  But this surely has to be the most tasteless of wind-ups. Lucas is a nice guy and Lucas loves us.  He would not – I am certain of this – have anything to do with such a recent and reprehensible piece of flotsam from the arse-end of United’s history.  Lucas would be about renewed hope and fresh starts, concepts as far away from Bates and all he stands for as the average Man U fan is from the Theatre of Hollow Myths itself.  Any coincidence of Lucas Radebe and Kenneth William Bates in the environs of Elland Road must be just that – a coincidence, if a particularly unnerving and distasteful one.

Others have suggested that rumours of Bates’ departure were greatly exaggerated, and that he never really went away at all, but lurked in some dark corner of his restructured East Stand, like a rat under the sink.  Again, this seems unlikely – his proclaimed severing of ties with the club (and vice versa) was acrimonious and was also followed as day follows night by somewhat of a renaissance at the club; players were signed for actual money, ticket prices became marginally less insane – it was a whole new, brave new world.  Still others have suggested that the being in the picture is not The Dark One himself, but some unfortunate looky-likey, doomed to tread the earth in the guise of Beelzebub, lacking only a 666 tattooed beneath his hairline.

By far the most mundane possibility – and therefore the most probable one – is that this is merely something to do with the Regional Members Club conference.  Apparently, the Beast’s consort Suzannah still has loose ties with the RMC’s – and whither she goeth, so the Dark One will be slithering along not far behind.  It is also bruited about though that Bates has offices over the Subway fast food outlet near the stadium.  All in all, it would appear that he’s not quite so completely departed as we would ideally like to think.

Maybe it’s just that not-so-cuddly Uncle Ken still has loose ends to tie up with GFH, against whom, it was said at the time he left Leeds United, he was plotting one of his forays into litigation.  Perhaps this manifestation – loathsome and unwished-for though it may be – is simply to facilitate some sort of agreement over vexed questions such as private jets and withdrawn Presidential privileges.  It is earnestly to be hoped that this is so; that the whole thing is a hell of a lot more innocent than a picture of Kenneth William Bates could possibly ever look.

The fact is as well that, courtesy of the Taxman (may his name be ever blessed), Ken can still only spend so many days a year in this Sceptred Isle, and has to pass the bulk of his time basking on a rock in the Mediterranean, like the reptile he is.  So, nasty though this has been, his presence about the place must be strictly temporary, and there are likely to be ever fewer reasons for it to be repeated, as time goes on and the stench continues to clear.

And one day, of course, he’ll be as gone as gone can be – by which time we might be back in the Promised Land of the Premier League and acting like a big club again.  And for that glorious day, near or far, we all await in pleasurable anticipation – and with an ever-increasing confidence that sooner or later it must surely dawn..

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Radebe’s Confirmed Leeds Utd Bid Shows Immaculate Timing – by Rob Atkinson

Posted on 20/11/2013 | 8 comments
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The Chief – sign him up

Lucas Radebe’s confirmation that he is indeed involved with a consortium looking to buy into Leeds United could hardly have been better timed.  There are frequently distant rumblings around the club to the effect that some or other interested party will be making a move to invest imminently – usually though, such rumours disperse like mist in the morning as soon as any hard details – or wads of cash – are required.

Radebe, though, is a different matter.  A genuine Leeds hero, with undeniable credentials in terms of his affection for the club and also his determination to act in its best interests. Whispers circulating last week which hinted at the Chief’s potential involvement brought an overwhelmingly positive response from the Leeds support.  It was made entirely clear via multiple media portals that Lucas would be welcomed back with open arms.  If Leeds United were a republic, Radebe would be not so much elected as anointed President – he’s that popular.  It’s amazing what a reputation for turning down a move to Man U in favour of staying at Elland Road can do for a Leeds Legend’s credibility.  Poor Alan Smith, a victim of the obverse side of that particular coin, would smile ruefully and agree.

The confirmation via Radebe’s own website that he’s actively interested in getting involved at board level has come at a time when the team are starting to look something like – ideally placed on the shoulders of the play-off pack and with every chance of consolidating that position by the turn of the year.  And then the next transfer window opens.  Leeds fans will be aware that these are traditionally times when Leeds make vague promises which then turn into excuses, all building up to a climax of bleak disappointment on deadline day itself.  But since the name “Radebe” has been whispered abroad, there has been a definite statement from the club; Brian McDermott will have funds in January.  Obviously, that positive position could still dwindle away as per the usual Leeds United policy of soft sawder – and yet with the fans’ hero looming in the background, it’s entirely possible that GFH will feel under pressure to deliver this time around.

The fact is also that they’ve been acknowledging the imminence of some significant investment for a while now.  The possibilities have been vague up to now – mentions of Red Bull and the like.  But the possibility of Radebe coming on board will now be at the top of most Leeds fans’ wish lists, and that’s a factor that GFH will ignore or dismiss at their peril.

Leeds United are doing OK.  But January is the last chance to make a real statement of intent that might affect this current season – and the fans will be looking for as much as possible in the way of positive developments, on or off the field.  Radebe in the boardroom mix and a couple of quality January additions on the park would make for a very Happy New Year for the demanding supporters at Elland Road.

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Radebe Backs New Consortium Leeds Bid? – by Rob Atkinson

Posted on 15/11/2013 | 21 comments

As rumours go, it’s got a lot going for it. Highly attractive, incredibly exciting and with that soupçon of believability about it. Could Lucas Radebe, the beloved Chief of Elland Road really be heading back to the club as part of a UK group with takeover ambitions?

It’s difficult to imagine anyone who could be more welcome back at the centre of things at Leeds United than Lucas Radebe. He’d be a natural target for any serious consortium looking for a fan-friendly figurehead whose whole-hearted acceptance by supporters would be guaranteed. The rumour runs that this consortium have already had talks with fans group LUST, that they see a pivotal role at the club for Radebe, that they aim to guide United back into Europe – even that (and this is where the timescale seems unfeasibly short) they intend to back Brian McDermott’s recruitment plans in January. Surely things can’t move as fast as that? Or could this be the major investment, described as “close” by Salah Nooruddin last month?

McDermott apparently is seen as integral to the group’s plans, and they’re making the kind of ambitious noises that will have any Leeds fan sitting up, panting eagerly and begging. Lucas might be their ace in the hole, but it would have to follow that there are also substantial resources behind any such bid.

Of course at the moment it’s just a rumour – it’s not even been officially denied yet, and hasn’t stirred more than a ripple on Twitter. But it is a particularly attractive rumour, entirely because of the link with that man Radebe who so many that love the club would give their eye teeth to see return home in glory.

Could it happen? Given the timescale being talked about, we’d be liable to hear more pretty soon if this really is a goer. Watch this space – and fingers crossed.

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Leeds Chasing Top Gun – But Who Will Supply the Ammo? – by Rob Atkinson

Posted on 23/09/2013 | 15 comments
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Striker Who??

It’s now an open secret that Leeds United have listened to manager Brian McDermott’s warnings about the lack of a prolific striker at Elland Road, and that they have heeded his words of wisdom. Now, they are prepared – so we understand – to go out and secure a goal-scorer. Such exotic beasts do not come cheap.

Speculation is rife as to who the target might be. Old-boy Becchio gets a mention, as does Leeds fan Shane Long, out in the cold at West Brom. Reading appear to covet another reputed Leeds target in Billy Sharp – could this pave the way for Adam le Fondre, known to his fans as “Alf”, to breeze into LS11?

Whoever gets the nod might be expected to make significant inroads into Leeds’ manifestly limited wages budget – unless the loaning club are willing to do the decent thing and subsidise whatever fat contract their surplus striker is on. Paying a hefty amount of wages would pose a problem for Leeds – namely, how are we going to afford a winger, if we put all our eggs in the goal-poacher basket?

Because, make no mistake, a winger – or preferably two – should be as much a priority as any striker. Our existing strikers have starved for supply for most of the season so far. Ironically, the defeat to Burnley was notable for the amount of chances created and squandered, but this has not been the story of our campaign to date. With better supply, Hunt, Varney, McCormack and even Smith might well have weighed in with more goals. Getting another striker and neglecting to address the problem of supply from wide areas would be like purchasing a lethally-efficient gun – yet economising on bullets.

If GFH have been listening to Brian’s gloomy warnings, as we keep hearing in the Twittersphere – then let’s hope we’ve heard only half the story. Let’s hope that digging deep means really deep, and that the shopping list has “two decent wingers” scrawled at the bottom of it. Otherwise, in trying to solve our goal-shortage problems, we might just be adding to them.

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