Dave, interesting but I'm more interested in what you thought today ? You were pretty depressed after last week. As an optimist you MUST have enjoyed today. I thought we were brilliant for 70 mins.
--- DAVID NATTAN <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > If you closed your eyes just for a moment and forgot > all about the reality of the league table, the > financial meltdown, the off-field bickering, life at > Elland Road did not look as crummy as all that. An > angelic looking blonde girl with pig tails played > tag with her Leeds-shirted brother around Billy > Bremner's statue. The queue to get into the club > shop that has a sale on was healthy. A couple > merrily scoffed their pre-match chips underneath the > bronze plaque commemorating Bremner, Don Revie, and > the FA Cup won by the old team of legend. There was, > believe it or not, a buzz around the place. > Everybody knew this match had the feel of do or > die. To the immense elation of the locals, Leeds > found it in them to do enough. This win did not come > without its moment of high anxiety, as Luton were > awarded a penalty with four minutes to go. > The noise that cascaded around the place when > Casper Ankergren plunged to parry Dean Morgan's spot > kick was raw and wild. It ensured that Richard > Cresswell's 50th-minute goal, scored through sheer > will as much as skill, gives them glimmer of light. > But only a glimmer. They remain bottom. Now there > are nine games to go. Nine games to somehow avoid > the drop and prevent the worst nightmare in the > history of Leeds United. They have never before sunk > as low as English football's third tier. It starts > for them at Leicester on Tuesday, followed by a trip > on Saturday to Southend, who are one place and one > point above them. How dearly they needed this > boost. The last few weeks have been a tale of Leeds > disunited as the captain Kevin Nicholls has asked to > leave - he was absent here, but not forgotten in > understandably rude terrace chants; an unnamed > player was accused of leaking details of the team to > the opposition and the chairman Ken Bates through a > splurge of fighting talk > has exacerbated behind-the-scenes problems. At > last weekend's match Bates, in a not untypical show > of belligerence, used his programme notes to publish > the address of a former club director Melvyn Levi. > The two men are entangled in a legal dispute and > Bates saw fit to describe Levi as 'the enemy > within'. Levi duly served an injunction on this > weekend's programme that was lifted only on the > morning of the match. But Bates's latest missive was > so abrasive somebody at the club thought it prudent > to cross out a paragraph with marker pen in all > 8,500 programmes. Not that it was not a doddle to > read another of the many jibes about Levi through > the hastily applied ink anyway. Many supporters > have a different view about quite who is the enemy > within. A worrying number are staying away, unable > to bring themselves to come to the games while Bates > is running the club. These range from individuals, > such as Mark, a former home-and-away season-ticket > holder, who won't return to > Elland Road under the current regime, to groups, > such as the East Anglia supporters club that, not so > long ago, would bring three coaches to matches and > now struggle to fill a minibus. The club seldom > bother to open the upper tier of the East stand any > more. Marching on together? For some it is more akin > to trudging off alone and wallowing in > disillusionment. Bates has alienated the official > supporters club, preferring to set up a new members' > club that costs £47 to join and includes such > privileges as the right to buy tickets and gain > entry to a smart members' bar on matchday. There is > also a 10 per cent discount on purchases in the > shop, some free magazines and a Christmas card. > Forgive me if my sense of economics is not hugely > refined, but that does not seem an awful lot for > £47. The attendance was a respectable 27,138, > helped by the reduction in ticket prices to £15. > Generally, though, figures suggest that around > 10,000 have drifted away since the club dropped > out of the Premiership in 2004. The crowds held up > quite well at first, averaging 30,000 in their first > year of exile. That has fallen to an average of > 20,000 in this season of radical decline. Rank > performances on the pitch, a lack of players for > supporters to identify with and hiked-up ticket > prices have contributed to the number of punters who > have drifted away. Considering this season has > been the story of 42 players, three managers, one > volatile chairman, thousands of lost supporters and > endless tales of woe, is it any wonder the club sit > bottom of the table? Think about it for a moment. > Some 42 players have pulled on the shirt for Leeds > this season. That is almost enough for four separate > teams. There has been a constant stream of loaned > journeymen, the latest being yesterday's debutant, > Lubomir Michalik, the Slovak who joined from Bolton. > It is hardly the blueprint for success. Leeds > haven't won successive league games all season. > The financial problems are, > according to Bates, coming to an end. He has stated > that by the end of this season, the club will be > debt-free and no longer paying off ex-employees. It > beggars belief that they are still funding salaries > for players such as Robbie Fowler and Danny Mills. > Up until last year they were still paying three > ex-managers in David O'Leary, Terry Venables and > Peter Reid. How far back do we need to go to trace > the moment the club's descent became inexorable? Is > it when Peter Ridsdale got so out of his depth > following the dream? Is it when the debts were > reformed into bonds that required the fire sale of a > promising team? Is it when Jonathan Woodgate and Lee > Bowyer were implicated in a protracted court case? > Is it when Gerald Krasner's consortium did their bit > for the debts by selling the stadium and the Thorp > Arch training ground? Or is it when Bates took over > and started doing things in his own inimitable > style? Surveying the wreckage of this ailing club, > it pays to look at the > bigger picture and remind yourself not just that it > is six years since they were in the semi-finals of > the Champions League with a team of internationals. > But also, Leeds have won the English title more > recently than Liverpool. Leeds were the team to last > conquer the game in this country with an English > manager in Howard Wilkinson. In the cutting words > of the travelling Luton fans squeezed into one > corner: 'You're not famous any more.' Actually > that's not strictly true. The club are still famous. > But the team are barely recognisable from the > heights of yesteryear. > _______________________________________________ > the Leeds List is an unmoderated mailing list and > the list administrators accept no liability for the > personal views and opinions of contributors. > Leedslist mailing list > [email protected] > http://list.zetnet.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist > it's a God awful small affair > ___________________________________________________________ The all-new Yahoo! Mail goes wherever you go - free your email address from your Internet provider. http://uk.docs.yahoo.com/nowyoucan.html _______________________________________________ the Leeds List is an unmoderated mailing list and the list administrators accept no liability for the personal views and opinions of contributors. Leedslist mailing list [email protected] http://list.zetnet.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist it's a God awful small affair
