So, what about Leeds United since last month? I got a bit distracted, apologies. Meanwhile, in a city nearby… the football continues! I needn’t write about the other stuff, it’s all hearsay and speculation, boring really….
So, in summary, the away game at Bristol could be summed up with two words – poor finishing. However, the team put on a better display against Barnsley last week, and despite a very soggy walk back to the pub, we were again, buoyed by the spirit of things to come.
Firstly, our condolences to The Revie family on the sad passing of Duncan Revie. The club demonstrating that we never forget our own, with members of the family joining us at Elland Road for the Barnsley match, and a minutes applause before the game as a mark of respect. Forgive me, but I still prefer to stand in silence with my head bowed as my mark of respect, call me old fashioned.
The defence still look tidy, with Captain Bartley at the helm, the confidence extruding from the back into the midfield duo of O Kane and Phillips. Kalvin Phillips still takes a lot of flak from some parts of the crowd. They seem to forget, he’s still only 20, yes TWENTY, it’s still six weeks before he hits 21. It is a big ask to be playing for Leeds United in the first place, let alone a holding role in midfield. That goal he scored from the free kick at Forest was a sign of things to come, as long as people stop getting on his very young back. Against Barnsley, he had a good start, but then he had a couple of misplaced passes and his head went down, but he pulled himself back together again, and both he and O Kane impressed for me.
Pontus Jansson is fast becoming a fans favourite with his social media comments as well as his performances on the pitch. His style obviously suits Leeds United and not Torino, they got Joe Hart instead, I think that is a fair swap. Hernandez is still a little stop-start as is Hadi Sacko in my opinion. They both show speed and agility, but are inconsistent with that final pass and finishing. Both could have four or five goals this season each, but for their penchant for aiming for the back of the Kop / South Stand instead of the goalmouth. Still, Pablo had a fine finish for his goal, and it is only October.
The club have answered their critics when it comes to being fairer to fans, by reducing the price for the Norwich League Cup home game. You really can’t ask for more than a tenner for a cup game in this day and age, I certainly cannot recollect paying that in a long while, apart from the heady days of European football in the late 90s. So, for all those who moaned that it is too expensive, lets see how many of the 14,000 season ticket holders turn up in a few weeks time. The main (selfish) issue I have, is that I can’t sit in my season ticket seat as the stand is closed. Whilst I understand that cost cutting measures are needed for low attendances, there was talk that for the last (Blackburn) Cup game, there were still stewards and the bag checking station in position outside the Captains Corner as no one had told them that the stand was closed! I can only hope that there weren’t any staff waiting for customers at the bar inside wondering what was going on. A query to the ticket office revealed that the plan is to open the stands in a rotation system for home Cup ties depending on attendances. Whether or not there is a need to open up the West Stand for the Norwich game, after our next 3 wins, it will nevertheless, be a happy position to be in.
Lastly, my usual gripe about away tickets…. As most LUSC Branch Secretaries / ticket purchasers are very well aware, it is not easy getting tickets for away games these days. The heady days of just getting your list to Eric Carlisle, have sadly gone the way of all good things. If it were up to me, ALL away ticket allocations would be based on the loyalty system, banishing the panic stations at 10.30am sirens. Previous discussions with the Club have revealed that some fans aren’t happy with this system and don’t think it is fair that the same people get to go to away games all the time. To those people I would simply like to say WHAT PART OF THE WORD LOYALTY DON’T YOU UNDERSTAND?
Like many seasoned fans over the years, I know that there is a core of maybe 1500 of us who go and have been going to every game for as long as I can remember. There used to be many more, but some have sadly passed away, some have got different responsibilities now, some have moved away and some, yes, some, have just got older and wiser. Tumultuous times at the Club have seen a fair few off as well, and as always the cost of following our team, is another unhelpful distraction. But for those who haven’t missed a game for years, to miss out on getting a ticket because someone else has a better computer and better IT skills than someone else, just isn’t right. Not everyone can afford to fork out for an away season ticket at the start of the season, so there is only one option, buy your tickets on the website. When it is based on loyalty, at least there is a 48-72 hour window for you to get your ticket. The Club have all ticket purchases on record, so it isn’t a hardship for them to use the “loyalty tracker”. Loyal fans should be rewarded for their loyalty. As our performances on the pitch improve, I can only see the problem increasing. Away allocations are also restricted by previous behaviour at said grounds, and whilst I am certainly not a fun dodger, beer fights and smoke bombs aren’t my cup of tea, especially if it means that our ticket allocation is cut. So, we wait with baited breath for the decision at Norwich following our last visit….
