Can we just forget for one moment that this lad is a Leeds supporter and analyse the content of his rant. Does anyone think that it is good for the game that our premier league can only be won by 3 teams. Seriously, the polarisation of power since the advent of the Premier league has made us more competitive in Europe to the detriment of our home league. The yalk is that promotion to the top division is worth £55m, and yet the promoted clubs still have little chance of establishing themselves in the higher division on a permanent basis. Does this not take away any hope for teams such as Barnsley. Contrast the situation in the Premier League with that in the NFL which is set up to ensure the league will alway remain competitive and, at least in theory, any team can win the Superbowl in any given year. Contrast the situation with the rest of Europe where in each country just a limited number of clubs can win the league, and the effect that situation is having on attendances at non elite club stadiums. In short, we are heading for a European league of super clubs with mega stadia.
Agree with pretty much all of that Refuse to buy SKY Don't buy replica shirts anymore Never watch England friendlies Only occasionally go to games, and in the past I seriously considered starting to watch non-league I have young kids and I'll spend my weekends encouraging them to play football rather than watch it. Went to Palace, QPR and Colchester away this season - and the social in the pub before was more enjoyable than the first two games
I go to watch the academy regularly and usually enjoy their games more than the first team. I must say though, the academy games were less fun during Davey's reign.
It would be if it wasn't from a Leeds fan These are sentiments often echoed by me and and the lads in the pub, but it's difficult to take this from a Leeds fan who a few years ago was almost certainly of the "sod the rest of the league" brigade when they were forking out big wages and in the semi-finals of the european cup. The sheer arrogance of the players nowadays is unbelievable, from their wage demands, to their tabloid antics and their on field behaviour. I mean, we talk about the grand melee at the end of the league cup final the other day, but just as worrying was fabregas going down clutching his face when he clearly got hit on his chest. Beggars belief.
Leeds mate of mine follwed Leeds for years he saw them in the San Siro in the Champs League a few years ago. Now he doesnt go said he cant be arsed and certainly wouldnt shell out £600 for a season ticket and £27 a game isnt viable or justifiable. Another casualty of the SKY gravy train or glory fan...????
Football prices have just inflated at a similar rate to everything else. House prices, cars, fish and chips etc etc.
A clarion call Should be published full page in every sports section of every paper. How much will the football public take?
Please forgive me if in any way I am repeating any points already made. However, after the time taken to read this Leeds fans essay it's nearly time for my supper and off to bed (I know sad life!). Having lived in Leeds a few years now I have nothing but admiration for the City, it's architecture both modern and ancient plus its amenities. The Social Life is first class. However, when it comes to sympathy for their football team I find the attached post from this Leeds fan infuriating. Sounds very much like one of the 20,000 fans who once followed Leeds until it was obvious they were not coming straight back up - and has now thrown his Teddy out of the cot hence contemplating not watching them anymore. Anyone would think Leeds were the first and only club to have had problems either in terms of finance, league status or a combination of both. Well my Leeds friend why not try being on the verge of being bankrupt on more than one occassion, go into administration, sell your own memorabillia such as shirts, club footballs etc (which I did) to save your team going bust. Try having an owner who week in, week out threatens to 'shut the club', play for a few years in the LDV - or JP whatever it is now called, stand (or sit down) in a crowd of 3-4000 watching lower league football thinking what's the point. I could go on but the ailments of LUFC- as bad as they now are- have been over a few years only. Older BFC fans like myself will tell you that unfortunately there have been more bad times at Oakwell than good ones if you go back long enough. However, having the balls to stick with your team through the bad times makes any success you subsequently may get a lot more sweeter. I think the LUFC fan makes a good - although very obvious point- about money spoiling the game. Yes, it really is the root of all football evil. However, as in all walks of life such problems are constantly raised by those without money rather than those with. This makes it difficult to eradicate the issue. European Law -and the subsequent Bosman ruling - is as much to do with the problem as the likes of Sky, the media etc. Sadly, this LUFC fan does very little to break the commonly held view that their fans are all arrogant, slightly pyschotic and sometimes downright violent and aggressive. The need to use **** every other sentence hardly does his cause any good. However, to be fair, he must be one of the more level headed fans given he has **** the words out rather than using the actual word! One final point. As mentioned, I live in Leeds and constantly here the excuse that the Leeds fans are now getting for them , relatively poor gates because of the exhorbitant prices at Elland Road. This, the reasoning goes prices out a lot of fans. Funny that, because a few years ago the 20,000 missing fans seemed to have enough money for season tickets - enough money to travel all over England and Europe watching them - and all the usual bumf you buy when regularly following a team ie Programmes, Shirts, club shop items etc etc. Hopefully, the LUFC fans rant makes him feel better but if it's sympathy he is after .............well then he has got a ****ing cheek!
Please forgive me if in any way I am repeating any points already made. However, after the time taken to read this Leeds fans essay it's nearly time for my supper and off to bed (I know sad life!). Having lived in Leeds a few years now I have nothing but admiration for the City, it's architecture both modern and ancient plus its amenities. The Social Life is first class. However, when it comes to sympathy for their football team I find the attached post from this Leeds fan infuriating. Sounds very much like one of the 20,000 fans who once followed Leeds until it was obvious they were not coming straight back up - and has now thrown his Teddy out of the cot hence contemplating not watching them anymore. Anyone would think Leeds were the first and only club to have had problems either in terms of finance, league status or a combination of both. Well my Leeds friend why not try being on the verge of being bankrupt on more than one occasion, go into administration, sell your own memorabilia such as shirts, club footballs etc (which I did) to save your team going bust. Try having an owner who week in, week out threatens to 'shut the club', play for a few years in the LDV - or JP whatever it is now called, stand (or sit down) in a crowd of 3-4000 watching lower league football thinking what's the point. I could go on but the ailments of LUFC- as bad as they now are- have been over a few years only. Older BFC fans like myself will tell you that unfortunately there have been more bad times at Oakwell than good ones if you go back long enough. However, having the balls to stick with your team through the bad times makes any success you subsequently may get a lot more sweeter. I think the LUFC fan makes a good - although very obvious point- about money spoiling the game. Yes, it really is the root of all football evil. However, as in all walks of life such problems are constantly raised by those without money rather than those with. This makes it difficult to eradicate the issue. European Law -and the subsequent Bosman ruling - is as much to do with the problem as the likes of Sky, the media etc. Sadly, this LUFC fan does very little to break the commonly held view that their fans are all arrogant, slightly psychotic and sometimes downright violent and aggressive. The need to use **** every other sentence hardly does his cause any good. However, to be fair, he must be one of the more level headed fans given he has **** the words out rather than using the actual word! One final point. As mentioned, I live in Leeds and constantly here the excuse that the Leeds fans are now getting for them , relatively poor gates because of the exorbitant prices at Elland Road. This, the reasoning goes prices out a lot of fans. Funny that, because a few years ago the 20,000 missing fans seemed to have enough money for season tickets - enough money to travel all over England and Europe watching them - and all the usual bumf you buy when regularly following a team i.e. Programmes, Shirts, club shop items etc etc. Hopefully, the LUFC fans rant makes him feel better but if it's sympathy he is after .............well then he has got a ****ing cheek!
Re: An Interesting Read -and I agree with just about ALL of it. nt Please forgive me if in any way I am repeating any points already made. However, after the time taken to read this Leeds fans essay it's nearly time for my supper and off to bed (I know sad life!). Having lived in Leeds a few years now I have nothing but admiration for the City, it's architecture both modern and ancient plus its amenities. The Social Life is first class. However, when it comes to sympathy for their football team I find the attached post from this Leeds fan infuriating. Sounds very much like one of the 20,000 fans who once followed Leeds until it was obvious they were not coming straight back up - and has now thrown his Teddy out of the cot hence contemplating not watching them anymore. Anyone would think Leeds were the first and only club to have had problems either in terms of finance, league status or a combination of both. Well my Leeds friend why not try being on the verge of being bankrupt on more than one occasion, go into administration, sell your own memorabilia such as shirts, club footballs etc (which I did) to save your team going bust. Try having an owner who week in, week out threatens to 'shut the club', play for a few years in the LDV - or JP whatever it is now called, stand (or sit down) in a crowd of 3-4000 watching lower league football thinking what's the point. I could go on but the ailments of LUFC- as bad as they now are- have been over a few years only. Older BFC fans like myself will tell you that unfortunately there have been more bad times at Oakwell than good ones if you go back long enough. However, having the balls to stick with your team through the bad times makes any success you subsequently may get a lot more sweeter. I think the LUFC fan makes a good - although very obvious point- about money spoiling the game. Yes, it really is the root of all football evil. However, as in all walks of life such problems are constantly raised by those without money rather than those with. This makes it difficult to eradicate the issue. European Law -and the subsequent Bosman ruling - is as much to do with the problem as the likes of Sky, the media etc. Sadly, this LUFC fan does very little to break the commonly held view that their fans are all arrogant, slightly psychotic and sometimes downright violent and aggressive. The need to use **** every other sentence hardly does his cause any good. However, to be fair, he must be one of the more level headed fans given he has **** the words out rather than using the actual word! One final point. As mentioned, I live in Leeds and constantly here the excuse that the Leeds fans are now getting for them , relatively poor gates because of the exorbitant prices at Elland Road. This, the reasoning goes prices out a lot of fans. Funny that, because a few years ago the 20,000 missing fans seemed to have enough money for season tickets - enough money to travel all over England and Europe watching them - and all the usual bumf you buy when regularly following a team i.e. Programmes, Shirts, club shop items etc etc. Hopefully, the LUFC fans rant makes him feel better but if it's sympathy he is after .............well then he has got a ****ing cheek!
Yeah, to an extent I take your point. However, the 20,000 missing Leeds fans from 4 or 5 years ago purported to watch them week in, week out in the Premiership (believe me, quite a few I work with refuse to watch them now but had season tickets a few years ago) - with quite a few thousand watching and travelling to their European games. They followed them for quite a few seasons too. Our 15,000 missing fans (although I think the figure is probably nearer 13,000 but I admit that's being a little petty) will consist mainly of people who wanted to see the Millenium Stadium (both BFC fans and none BFC fans - funnily enough I know a few Leeds fans who went to that game to 'support Barnsley' - I bet they wouldn't now). Add in fans taking their wifes, girlfriends, (sorry, Husbands and boyfriends as well!) kids etc etc for a once in a life time experience. It will probably be the only game they ever see if Barnsley never get to a big final again. However, Barnsley are not unique in that respect. Apparently, LUFC took around 30,000 to the Millenium v Watford - and could have sold at least the same number again. So make that 40,000 missing Leeds fans which makes our 15,000 missing fans rather pale into insignificance!
I take the opposite view to most people who have replied on here - namely that him being a Leeds fan has nothing at all to do with it. I sympathise with him a lot. The facts are, as made by this bloke, that football is vastly overpriced. I read somewhere the other day that, if the price of tickets at the inception of the prem had risen by inflation since then they would now be around £9-10. Not quite sure how true that is, but inflation has been less than 10% for all of that time, and as low as 2% for much of it. So prices should only have risen by around, say 50 - 60% in 14 years and we certainly were not paying £14 a ticket in 1993. Although a season ticket holder, I have only been to 2 away games this year because I find it hard to justify the cost of ticket, travel and extras, totalling £30-40 for a game that might be crap. To say that he is only whining because Leeds are now crap is likely to be wide of the mark, as, if we were in the prem again I would not pay £50 a ticket for each game if we were tonking everyone the length and breadth of the country. I object to paying for the obscene lifestyle of people who earn more in a week than I do in 4-5 years of hard graft. And I think it can only get worse with the new TV deal. I remember being amazed when it first happened that someone could be paid £10k a week - that's half a million pounds a year I thought with incredulity. Now the top players earn £125k a week. I guarantee that in 3-4 years the top players will be on £300k a week and £100k will be an average. Where does it stop?
