After a little while away (not of his own making), by popular demand… drum roll please… and he’s back.

Chairman Charley Returns

……and he’s back. This is a bit like The Saint, when Ian Ogilvy took over from Roger Moore as The Saint in The Saint Returns. Cue that 70’s music.

https://www.facebook.com/watch/?v=769109809423568

This edition is a corker. Combining the Chairman’s infinite wisdom for a refreshing take on some of football’s current affairs and more. You want topics dissecting – you’ve come to the right place!

The Bad Guys

Chairman Charley: Have you ever noticed how some evil people in real life look like baddies from telly?

Comms: Eh?

Chairman Charley: You look at that Infantino bloke. The one that’s messing up football. He looks just like the baldy bad guy off Thunderbirds.

Comms: You mean The Hood

Chairman Charley: Yes, The Hood could be Infantino. He’s really evil. Trying to muck up the game. Playing four quarters and then a half time show. Stupid idea. The best bit about that was Shakira, the rest was rubbish. Fancy doing that, messing up our game. Plus, he’s the one that banned a normal club flag from being at the World Cup.

Comms: Eh?

Chairman Charley: Look it up. They banned Barrows’ flag because it had a picture of a submarine on it. And it was only a picture. It wasn’t a sign declaring war or invading or anything. Just a normal picture.

Comms: Duly done . https://www.facebook.com/FootballAwayDaysClub/posts/-barrow-afcs-flag-was-reportedly-denied-entry-to-englands-game-against-croatia-b/1870831713836924/

Oh yeah. W***ker

Best Song Ever written

***warning this will be a recurrent theme, especially when Steve Smith is on the bus***

Comms: So what is the best song ever written?

Steve Smith: I don’t know why you are even bothering to ask? The survey has already be done several times, and that local today – he knew

Chairman Charley: Only because you told him the first words were “Life On ”

Comms: and then you had to go all pictionary and tell him the last word was a popular chocolate bar in a black wrapper…..

Steve Smith: Irrelevant

Chairman Charley: Have you got any 10cc songs in your top 10 list?

….. lots of discussion about how many actual songs are in Steve’s Top 10 best songs. Currently standing at Life On Mars, Hotel California, Champagne Supernova and then another 20 songs

Apples

Chairman Charley: Did you know this was where bramley apples were invented?

Comms: Eh?

Chairman Charley: It was. This was where bramley apples were invented. Look it up. That’s why there are bramley apple trees everywhere.

Comms: Duly done. https://her.nottinghamshire.gov.uk/whats-new/the-story-of-the-bramley-apple Oh yeah.

Genuinely, The Chairman is a minefield of information. and yes, he’s back

 

Happy New Season folks!

We’re back!

Happy New Season. What a way to start! New keeper in, old keeper out – literally OUT! Several other new signings to boot. The “Exciting New” stadium (like the “Magnificient New East Stand” in 1993) already underway. Pre season in USA and the Boyle Cup game in Ireland at the fantastic venue of Croke Park! Let’s hope that our involvement in the Boyle Cup lasts a little longer than the doomed Whyte and Mackay Cup in the 2000s. If you weren’t around then, it lasted one game! Hibs away.

Although work and family commitments meant I couldn’t attend, Croke Park would have been a ground to see. Ancestral home and HQ of the GAA (Gaelic Athletic Association) , Gaelic football and hurling. From humble beginnings in 1884 as the Jones’ Road sports ground, bought by the GAA in 1913 and renamed in honour of Archbishop Thomas Croke in 1913. Home of THE famous Rule 42. No foreign sport should ever be played on it’s (GAA) properties. Eventually amended in 2005 to allow other sports like rugby and other football by GAA Congress. Following the ban on it’s members being allowed to attend other sports being lifter earlier in the 20th century.

The Secretary has been there to watch a couple of Gaelic (proper) football games at the old Croke Park before it’s massive redevelopment. Games permitting, I’d like to go there and watch a game one day.

Back to it

After a prolonged time away, not of my own making,  the season starts this weekend, at an away game at 3pm! Yes, I said it. 1st game of the season, away, 3pm on a Saturday. Woo hoo! Happy New Season!

Cup game away (boo) at the same ground three days later, and then the announcement of three changes Arse away 12.30pm (but at least still on a Saturday), Sc*m at home 2pm on the Sunday and the Mackems away now 4.30pm on the Sunday. Not quite a happy new season. But this won’t be the last intervention of the true Gods of Football, SkyTVisf**kings**t, BT or TNT as they are now called, and Amazon. Depending on how we get on in both the League and the Cups (both Cups with any luck), they’ll be more changes afoot. The BBC and ITV will also get in on the conversation, sooner rather than later. Give it a few more years, and it’ll be Netflix too.

Happy New Start

The branch is now in it’s 31st year as the Harrogate & District Leeds United Supporters Club. The Harrogate branch itself has been in existence since the 80s in some form or another. Initially just as arranged transport for away games. Morphing into home (some choice visits to the Kirkstall Lights!!!) and away travel (including European travel +/- UF tours) and then more recently (2000) just away travel.

Patterning really how Leeds United, and generally football, has changed over the last 40 years or so. In the beginning, League football started small and local. A bit of a niche sport in the 80s, only certain groups of people were attracted to the terraces. Hardly any games sold out in those days. That was with pay on the gate as well. Plus, it wasn’t accessible unless you were there or read the papers. TV companies got involved in 90s, money got into the game in Europe early 2000s, global exploitation followed. The rest is history.

The old beginnings

However, this 25 year period has been the longest consistent one. The current Secretary, in fact Committee, has now been in place since 2000 and is the longest consistent core Committee the branch has ever had.

People (Committee members as well as branch members) have flitted in and out since the 80s. Moreover, as with any organisation, people grow older, priorities change, work changes and money obviously comes into it. People move to other towns, people emigrate to other countries, and family life comes first. On (double!) relegation in 2000s  we lost a lot of members. During the Bielsa years and when we got promoted, we acquired more and we’ve had some old faces return. There are also differences in opinion which can cause division. It happens. We learn and move on.

Everyone has got to start somewhere

I genuinely thought in 1993 that eventually I would grow up, so I needed to enjoy everything while it lasted. I threw everything, money, annual leave, my liver (!) into those glory years after promotion. I’d just finished at uni and managed to scrape a few home and aways in within the limits of my student grant before I splashed out on my first season ticket.  For those of you who don’t know what a student grant was I’ll explain. Grants were what we got from the Government if we were academically clever enough to go to uni but our parents couldn’t afford it. I qualified with a 2.2 (Desmond), got a job that summer and bought my first season ticket with my first pay cheque. I joined the branch years later in 96 and basically, I’m still here. Never grown up then!

Back to the old days

To give you a bit of insight, in 80’s Thatcher’s Britain education was different. At 16 you either were clever enough to do O levels or not, so you took CSEs instead. If you did O levels and you could hack staying in school a bit longer, you went to Sixth form. If you did CSEs, you went onto college to do a B Tec or HND (Kitson / Park Lane if you lived in Leeds) or got learnt a trade and got a job. In Sixth form, you chose 3 subjects and were forced to do General Studies. By the time you did your mocks, you’d been to the careers officer who advised you whether to try for a place at uni or just aim low and go for a polytechnic.

Leeds Poly? Great place! I eventually got to Uni, worked my rear end off. Still some great gigs at the Poly though when I could afford it. But at that time, The Duchess was better!

Back to it

Anyway, like anyone embarking on any adventure, you’re always a bit hesitant at the start. Football was and still is, an adventure. My first away was quite a start! This is another story, for another time. But, the branch has always been very welcoming, to many waifs and strays. Everyone has to start somewhere. Once I started going, I got used to seeing the same faces week in week out, and I knew that I was hooked. The same faces meant consistency and more importantly, they had your back, as you looked after your own at away grounds. Whatever you got up to! So once again I’ll say, Happy New Season to all current and potential new members. I hope this is a new start for all of you.

Keeping it real  

The pattern is the same with the Leeds United fan base. There’s a fortunate few who have been able to afford season tickets /  away season tickets for 30+ years. Season tickets were not essential until recently. Remember in the Cellino years, in 2016 season ticket holders were offered the 15,000 ST renewals by June, top 6 place or 50% back?

We came 16th (?) I think and we got our refund, but only 25% as 15,000 eventually renewed. For the unbelievers https://www.yorkshirepost.co.uk/sport/football/how-many-season-tickets-will-leeds-united-sell-by-sunday-and-how-much-will-fans-get-back-if-they-dont-make-play-offs-1794153

These lucky souls are what makes up the core of the (certainly away) fanbase. In 1993 we barely had mobile phones, let alone UHD camera phones capable of making small movies. Thanks to T’Internet, every single minute of matchday is now captured and plastered all over social media for the whole world to see. People who we only ever saw on Saturday at football or in the pub are now superstar super fans across the globe. The conversations that we only ever had in the pub or at the game are now 24/7 thanks to Noseybook, Twitter, Instagram etc. and to people all over the world. Football has truly become a 24 hour global phenomenon.

Times have changed, so have we.

Now, no one has to wait till match day for that pre match analysis of the team selection and game plan, or post match forensic dissection and dissemination. The last bus home is no longer the end of the discussion. In fact discussion and debate, opinion and counter opinion, it never ends. Thanks to the like of SkyTVisf**kings**t and social media, football never stops. It can, and will take over your entire life. Sometimes, it is not necessarily a good thing. When you get to the point where football becomes life encompassing, and your life is on public view for the world, something else has to give.

I must admit, I am so glad that my early years following Leeds were not all documented for all the world to see. We did some stuff back then when we were young. Times have changed. It’s not like it used to be and in some ways, that is a good thing. Like the song says, “regrets – I’ve had a few ….. but I did it my way!”

Meet the gang

But we’re not living in the past anymore. It sometimes helps though to reflect back to remind ourselves how far we have come. This keeps us grounded. We’re all grateful for all that we had.

With that in mind, seeing as it is the 31st year, I thought I’d introduce you to the Committee. Here’s a photo of us back in 1996 or around that time. Chairman Charley, everyone knows. He’s one of the most famous faces on Facebook, having maxxed out his followers and friends.

Charley is the public face of Harrogate & District LUSC. The rest of us, well, we really aren’t that bothered with publicity and never have been. We’ve very little to say to be honest. Unless you ask me about the ticketing system at Leeds United over the last 20 years. I won’t shut up then. On that subject, I can go on ad infinitum. However, we don’t much feel the need to be seen and talked about at games. It’s enough just to be there supporting the team

But, after 12 years of doing this website, here is The Secretary, Paul McManus aka Stella, the Membership Secretary Roy Flynn and me, the Comms Officer Lai in one collaged photo. With a smiling Chairman Charley Megginson. We look a bit older now, and are probably that little bit wiser than we were 30 years ago.

Welcome and happy new season!

 

I am afraid I just don’t care.

It’s been quite a while since I last wrote something. Life, family, work, the usual. Day to day life has just taken over .Unfortunately the website and this page has been forced into the back seat. Although, fortunately, with the introduction of the away ballot, I have to say, it’s been a little less stressful running a branch. I don’t miss the two hours, three days a week of  sitting in front of a computer trying to order tickets on that website.

Pity those folks who in the previous decade or so have never had to go anywhere near the ticketing page. Firstly, clicking on the right link, let alone try to remember the login details and tick all the boxes. Secondly, that pressure of waiting for that screen to change from the East Stand to that little man walking across the screen. Finally, logging in to find that even though you clicked on the link at 10.30am (before it changed to 1.00pm), you were still 17000th in the queue. Plus, ticking on all the boxes that had a traffic light in them. They missed all of this.

Now they get all day to apply in the ballot and I cannot. Consequently, I am now excluded and frankly I don’t care. I did my time with all that, and it was enough.

The why.

Therefore, my main raison d’etre – moaning about tickets – has gone and football has happily bobbled along this season. Plus, we are above Spurs as we stand, so it’s not so bad right now. Sadly I have been moved by the latest “controversy” that has been stoked up by the people who hate Leeds this last week. A feeble attempt to condemn all Leeds fans as intolerant racists and bigots etc. etc blah blah blah. Whatever the flavour of the month “anti” thing to cause dissent and division. I don’t care what it is. Basically, the latest trend to give the bored attention seekers something to bleat about and make themselves feel really important.

The context.

On Friday, I was unlucky enough to be in front of the telly when SkyTVisf**ings**t Sports News was on. The headline? Breaking news at Leeds United -“Latest development at Elland Road”. Haha I thought. Farke has finally got the backing of the Board. He’s going to appeal against the red that was frankly being pulled out of the ref’s pocket before he had even stepped on the pitch. Nope. The breaking news wasn’t even that Joel Piroe might even start a game this season. No. The “news” was the press release from ER about what had happened at the Citeh game. Eyes roll emoji  (which may or may not trigger someone).

To be fair, the Club set out a well thought out, reasoned statement.  I could screenshot and insert, but it would probably breach some copyright rule, so I won’t. You’ve all seen it anyway. In no uncertain terms, it clarifies the position that several of our players, let alone at least 25% Leeds (and some Citeh) fans were not aware of what was taking place. The statement unquestionably confirmed that this stoppage had never happened at ER before. Bravely spelling out the extenuating circumstances that occurred at the Emptiad stadium and at the Sunderland game the week before. And these were proper extenuating circumstances, which provided much context to what transpired.

Does it matter?

It was a bold step. But to be honest, personally I don’t care. We are not just fans. We are customers who pay a large amount of money to watch 22 men kick a round ball about and try to get it in between a set of two sticks for 90 minutes plus Fergie time. If His Holy Grace The Pope had stepped onto that pitch to announce the canonisation of Beckford for putting the ball in the Man U net, I would have still booed. Likewise, had the Dalai Lama strolled on to acclaim Beradi as the Golden Child, the next reincarnation of the great Bodhisattva of Compassion, equally the same.

The fact was all the Citeh players ran to the sideline and there was a “tactical” break. Just like there was when their goalie sat down in the Emptiad.  They can pretend all they like. I just don’t care. Undeniably, they were cheating. Perhaps Pep, so incensed that their goal machine Haaland didn’t want to play, let alone score against us, flipped. Why a team of Citeh’s stature, resources and £££, would sink so low as to attempt to disrupt play, to gain advantage is anyone’s guess. Pathetic.

The facts

I’m there to watch a Premier League football match. End of. If the players concerned just did what every other player who needs a drink or an energy sachet through the game does and just grabbed one from the sidelines, that’s fine. They are paid an awful amount of money to run around for 90 minutes plus fergie time. More than in a week than we can ever dream of in a year. We pay a lot of money to watch them run around for 90 minutes plus fergie time. Just get on with it.

It is 90 minutes a week. Just let me have that 90 minutes, with no other distraction than what’s going on the pitch. This is what I care about. Nothing else for 90 minutes. Leave it at the turnstiles and concentrate on the game.

Surely, if the medical team thought players were at risk of injury if they didn’t get that drink at that specific time, then the Club should not be playing them. Likewise, if a player is not fit to play, they should not be on the pitch. I’m pretty sure there are rules about that. After all the manager picks the team to win the game.  Or hold onto a 1-0 lead for 80 minutes – yikes!

No other team sport has the money, the means and most importantly the PRIVILEDGE to deprive paying customers for their right to receive what they paid for. Can you imagine a Grand Prix being stopped halfway through the the race to let someone get a drink? Can you imagine a load of jockeys suddenly pulling up their horses after the fifth fence to get a quick snack? How about a 4 x 400m relay race?

It’s important to show

I keep hearing the phrase “it is important to show”. Important to who? Not me, I don’t care. Oh wait, it was important to make other people who have not paid to watch a football match feel that they were just as important as the paying customer? No.

Oh – the global audience. The people who are just enjoying the experience on the telly. I forgot. They are far more important. But wait, aren’t these people just there to watch the game as well? As in the 90 minutes of kicking a ball about? Are there actually people who are more bothered about what happens outside of the activity on the pitch? Everything just needs to be left at the turnstiles.

Football is the most important thing at a football game. Nothing else.

Leave us alone

Why can’t football fans be left alone to just watch the game? What makes the PL, or anyone else, think they have the right to spoil the 90 minutes plus fergie time that we have paid for. It’s bad enough that over the years we’ve gone from our hallowed Saturday 3pm kick offs to Monday, Tuesday , even Sunday kick offs. Why do we have to be puppets in the agendas of the globalised standardisation crew, to make sure we are all “equal”?

We are just football fans. Every one of us unique in every way. We are already massively diverse but for 90 minutes a week, for 40 weeks a year, we are ONE. Stop preventing us from being the individuals we all are, because THAT diversity is what makes us stronger as a fan base. Leeds United boast one of the biggest worldwide networks of all PL clubs, we are already very different, but with Leeds United we are one. Leave us to choose how we want to react (albeit within the law obviously – can’t go around knocking five bells out of anyone who disagrees). We have basic right to freedom of expression and freedom of speech (currently) within the law.

Standardisation and fairness.

If the PL / UEFA / FL want to bring in standardisation, than they should start with making sure all fans get the same facilities and “experience” for the same amount of money at every ground. If they want to equalise everything so it is fairer, maybe they should make sure that all fans (able and disabled) can have access to safe seating, decent toilet facilities and decent access to parking. How about ensuring all stadia have lift facilities for the people with mobility problems? Similarly, how about making sure every fan with mobility issues can park up and walk to the ground in less than 5 minutes? Maybe all fans should get the same treatment home or away (ask the Maccabi Tel Aviv fans for their feedback). These are the things that really matter, and quite rightly, should be done. However, they are not.

Is it because of money? Or is the impetus and will just not there? I just don’t care. Just get it done.

Rather than the media, social media, newspapers, influencers etc crowing on about something which was actually nothing, focus on something which should improve.

I’m not defending the small minority who were booing because they knew what they were doing. All I am saying is that there is so much more going on in the world right now, there needs to be an escape. I just want to watch the game that I pay for. Leave the rest of the politics, religion whatever at the turnstiles.

It’s a football game. Stop pretending it is anything more.

July 2025 update

Just to remind folks, the main LUSC AGM will be held on Sunday 6th July 2025. Billy Bremner Suite (West Stand) . 11.30am arrival for 12 noon prompt start. Our president Josh Warrington will be present. It’s your LUSC AGM, so come along and hear what is going on with it all.

Our own Harrogate & District LUSC AGM will be 7 hours later. So Sunday 6th July 2025 7.30pm arrival for 8pm prompt start please.

Renewal / new members forms

Renewal forms will be available on the night. Otherwise please check your inboxes for email version, and whenever Harrogate posties deign to deliver your letters, hard copies will be sent out soon.

Apologies for the delay. As usual, we have been very busy this summer in paid employment, and there’s been a few technical issues.

Please remember you need to fill in a renewal form EVERY year and pay subs (still only £7 as it stand today) as required.

New members are welcome, but you need to contact us for a NEW members form. This needs to be filled in and returned with two passport sized photographs please and the necessary subs if applicable. We will email one out to you or will send one in the post if you provide a snail mail address.

Social media

We will NOT accept or send out friend requests for you oldies on facebook, purely because we have attempted hackings continuously. The public page is open to all. The closed group is really only for paid up branch members and only has info on departure times etc and events. So, if you intend to participate in any events or are lucky enough to get a ticket to an away game, you’re in. Otherwise there is no need to ask to be on that group. You might get someone randomly inviting you, but until someone else takes over the running of the page (and the hacking attempts) I won’t accept you.

If you are a paid up / signed up member, and I have forgotten you. Please get in touch and let me know. If I haven’t included you on the email list, again let me know. I am only human and prone to mistakes.

We aren’t on any other social media platforms. Not enough time in the day!

Cheers. Back in the PL!

GDB

 

For a number of seasons now, those words “Real Fans Don’t Discriminate” have been clearly visible on the scoreboard at ER.

The first incarnation I found on google was the above picture from 2023. Recently, the “real fans don’t” phrase, is emphatically used as the introductory mantra which tells us what we can’t / shouldn’t do.

To spare you squinting or shading your eyes, in one of the four days per year that we have sunshine. In summary, that poor excuse for a scoreboard says, real fans don’t use discriminatory language, take any illegal drugs, chuck stuff or run on the pitch nor use pyros. Real fans don’t do any tragedy chanting etc. etc.

Basically, in the 21st century sanitised era of English football, real fans don’t do anything that harms the brand. Real fans all look the same, eat the same, sound the same. Identical grounds, uniform layouts. One fat homogenous blob. That’s what they want. But, want never gets.

What we do,do,do

Please don’t get me wrong, some of the language at football is quite frankly appalling. I’m not trying to excuse or condone any of it. But most of what is said, is purely reactionary, on the spur of the moment. In the main, joining in with the rest of the crowd. After all, in essence, football is tribal. Them against us.

Some of the new songs are to catchy tunes from yesteryear. Some are quite cleverly done, capturing the essence of the moment. Spontaneity at it’s best. Spontaneous yet ephemeral. Basically as ephemeral as our squad, sometimes, especially under certain managers.

However, some have lasted the test of time, in some instances decades. For example, Imre. Imre Varadi. Imre Varadi. Dom Matteo. Scored an excellent goal, etc. The Gaetano song to the tune of Abba’s Voulez Vous. Not forgetting, the old nursery rhyme, the animals went in two by two, morphing into Enoch Showumni, United’s 21.

The majority isn’t chanting in aggression or malice. It is just banter. Drunken, or “other ” substance fuelled, witty repartee. I disagree that it is discriminatory or inflammatory. Some of it is childish and in poor taste. Some is just sad frustration. Things said on the spur of the moment, and usually regretted within 24 hours or when sober.

What we don’t do

Contrastingly, we just don’t do patience. “I am prepared to wait and see how the season pans out before I start calling for the heads of the Manager / Board” said no Leeds fan EVER.

Only a tiny minority of Leeds fans have got what it takes to stand back and take a measured view. Many have been beaten into submission by the years, nay decades of the proverbial ups and downs. Despite the perpetual shoulder shrug, “Leeds have to do it the hard way” platitudes, most, if not all seasons, it’s do as I say, not do as I do. It’s hard being a Leeds fan.

Take Luton the other week for instance. I WISH I’d filmed that, just so I could put it on noseybook to shame them all. We drew against a desperate side, fighting to stay up.

Unlike last season, we didn’t fold. We got a draw. You’d have thought we’d just lost 3-0 and Farke had killed a load of puppies, such was the venom at the front of the away end. Grown adults crying that we’d thrown away the league. People screaming Farke Out and shouting some real abuse at our players. People fighting with each other.

Tanake apparently took it really badly. I’m not surprised. So far this season, our Japanese Jack Russell has enjoyed the spoils of midfield domination. But the toll of long international trips and Rothwell getting injured, has recently reared it’s ugly head.

But a week later, and it’s all change. You just couldn’t make it up.

Real fans?

Real fans. What does that actually mean though?

If I were to do the AI trend thing of plastic toy models, what would a “real” Leeds fan look like? Would we get a miniature Mick Hewitt? Or a double pack of Big and Little Mick Hewitts? Does anyone fancy doing it for a laugh? I genuinely wouldn’t know where to start! Someone do it, and put it on noseybook please.

What is a real fan?

No one knows. It means different things to different people. I have written essays on this before, so I’m not wasting time repeating myself. All it does is create arguments and division within the Entitled who continual bicker between themselves to justify why they think they are the better fan.

Why does it matter?

Personally, this is the main issue. It does matter who the “real fans” are. I have written far too many blogs on why “Fans matter”. It’s not just me either.

Look at the ESL debate a few years ago. If not for the protests from fans of all clubs, we might well have PL teams playing in a European Super League right now. It still may happen, but temporarily we don’t.

If not for facebook / twitter / social media, we currently might have a shirt with THAT abomination on it.

In the famous words of a recent famous White “weird,weird, weird”

Fans matter. But which fans? How do you choose which fans opinions you listen to? Because, as sure as eggs are eggs, not all fans will think the same. And, concurrently, not all will want the same thing.

If we knew what we want

This is a vague reference to one of Chairman Charleys favourite singers, Susannah Hoffs. She is in the Bangles. They did a song – if she knew what she wants.

If only the people who make the decisions knew what we want.

Digital tickets

We were told that because of Covid, everyone had got used to doing everything on their phones. We were told everyone wanted digital tickets, and also to save money and be a bit greener, the Club would no longer do paper tickets / season ticket cards. Digital tickets reduce ticket touting, they said. I have no problem with people wanting digital tickets, but the season ticket card should always have been an option. I would pay to have mine back.

Tech

Technology just wasn’t that good in real life though. The turnstile I used was so intermittent and inconsistent, it was a real trial to get in on matchday. Many people struggled with that turnstile. User error / device incompetence was blamed, and many many emails bounced to and fro. Ticket office staff were despatched to the turnstile to “facilitate” us. Eventually, they admitted it didn’t work. Woo hoo, we have a new turnstile!

The latest debacle with the introduction of the 80% rule (talk about that later), the turnstile technology has again been thrown into doubt. One season ticket holder went to the YEP, as apparently ccTV proved he had attended the sufficient number of games. According to our Club, he had not. I’m not sure why he would lie. Buying a season ticket isn’t exactly cheap.

There are other cases where season ticket holders have been told they haven’t attended enough games, even though they know they have. Are we ready for digital ticketing? Or do we need to wait until the technology improves, so it is consistent. Remember a few seasons ago, Arsenal fans were all locked out at the 1st game of the season.

Ticket touting? Not got any better, in fact, now that they are digital instead or paper, it is worse.

Ticketing website

As for Seatgeek, don’t even get me started. My trustpilot review would be less than one star. Checkout issues being the main problem. How many people had problems with Wembley play off tickets? Too many to mention. Come back queueing at the West Stand please, all is forgiven!

Season ticket pricing difference

For those of us who have had season tickets for a while, the renewal price might be a bit of a shocker. By the way, you don’t actually know your renewal price until you log in. Even then, you have to “add a card” (even if you have saved cards), get a bank transaction of £0.00 done, before you can renew. I digress. It’s a bit of a shocker this season, if you are a long standing ST holder.

If you only bought a season ticket around about the Bielsa Era, it isn’t as much apparently. However, if you bought one quite recently, the renewal price is apparently in line with inflation.

Why is this? The newer (perhaps more important and valued) ST holders moaned to our current custodians that they had to pay more than someone who was sat next to them. If only the current custodians just turned round and told them that we deserved to pay less because we had stood by the Club whilst others didn’t. Maybe if they had said, “frankly putting up with p*ss poor passing and abysmal shooting, deserves a bloody medal, let alone cheaper season tickets”, things would be different.

Yellow shirt

For literally a decade, we have wanted a yellow away shirt. For literally a decade, we were told, no one wants to buy a yellow shirt. We had puce pink, lilac, WYPT bus seats, stilton cheese, baby blue. Everything but yellow. This season we got a yellow shirt. I don’t even need to say anything else. It’s the best selling shirt ever. Hmmm.

Refreshments

Everyone wants to do everything on their phones. Cash is for dinosaurs. Order your poison on the McDs screens, it’ll be waiting for you. Many do not buy anything in the ground anymore.

Last week at Boro they must have raked in loads. Cash or cards.

Honestly, impulse buying plays a massive part in food and drink sales. When you are standing in that queue for your Bovril and someone goes past you with a pie and pint, all of a sudden the urge to get the same takes over. At Boro you get parmos, and very tasty looking chips and gravy / curry. I could really tell, but it smelt damn good. I wasn’t even hungry or thirsty, but I joined in once the aroma overcame me. How much money is our Club losing out on?

80% attendance

Regular attendance to ensure that the ground is filled isn’t necessarily a bad thing. No one wants to see an empty ground. Apparently, people are always desperate for a home ticket.

We don’t always sell out though (see above). Perhaps people are always desperate for tickets for matches they can get to. But not so always desperate on a Wednesday night in winter? Bit harsh, maybe?

Perhaps there could be a distinction between non attendance of regular fans v corporate fans? Certainly, if the West Stand does become majority corporate tickets, THAT would be interesting to see on  cold Tuesday night in November.

In the old days every seat sold was counted in the attendance records. A massive surprise in that season that West Ham fans boycotted home games, yet recorded big crowds, despite rafts of empty seats.

However, in the era of FFP, every filled seat counts. As does every shirt and other piece of tat. But then maybe if you allowed people to buy at the ticket office on the day / night, without needing a membership, it might help? Social media can quickly spread the word of seats still available. Tourists / walk ins might be useful? Better than going through a tout.

But to enforce an 80% rule is poor. What happens if you are unwell? What happens if work rings you and says you have to go in? In these times of austerity, people would struggle to say no. A season ticket is a seat purchased. End of discussion.

Email addresses

Every season ticket holder  / member needs an email address. Even if you are a member who probably doesn’t ever stick a chance of getting a ticket (home or away). Not everyone has the time or wherewithall to get on that website to get a ticket. Seriously – yes it still does happen. Especially away tickets. Regardless of age, a separate email address is needed. Even if a concerned ST parent does want a ST child to have an email address, there needs to be an email address. Why? It can only be for data harvesting.

If you are a parent and you pay for your childrens ST, is it really necessary for your children to provide a separate email address to Leeds? Evidently, it is. Despite recent concerns re on line safety in young children, that email is necessary. The digitally excluded don’t even get a nod. Apparently they don’t exist!

Know your price

With A1 / logarithms etc, knowing how much our season ticket should be easy. Each of us got sent an email, but it did not tell us how much the ST was. It’s not as if we were rocking up to the ticket office with a wad of cash, waiting for someone with a calculator to work it out. But you have to navigate that website, add a card and make a payment of £0.00 first. If you don’t like it, don’t worry the Club isn’t bothered. There’s 25k others wanting your seat. As for paying for your season ticket in cash at the ticket office…..

1st and last game loyalty

In years gone by, it used to be the case that the first and last games of the season were ring fenced for loyal fans. Loyal fans were prioritised. Seriously, this is what used to happened. The 1st and last games were always the ones that would be guaranteed sell outs, so your loyalty counted.

Loyalty

Once upon a time loyal or legacy fans were prioritised. Now, ostensibly, we are at best ignored, at worse resented, perhaps even treated with contempt. Not particularly disliked, just resented for being part of a history that isn’t relevant to current custodians, but will always be an uncomfortable reminder of what once was.

Once upon a time, our Club recognised and acknowledged that those legacy fans would be die hard enough to keep showing up, no matter how crap we played. When the average attendances plummeted after successive relegations, we stood by. Hopefully this will never be repeated. Regardless, we will still be there, whereas the one season wonders may not.

Parity

Seemingly at the Luton away game, our (current) CEO Mr Kinnear was seen handing out / offering fans tickets before the game outside Kenilworth Road. Given the tiny allocation, hardly any long standing fans actually got tickets to that game in the on line sales. But there he was, randomly handing out tickets. If those tickets were not being used, would it have been any hardship to put them back on sale on the website for loyal fans to buy and pick up on the day?

So much for the insistence that tickets should only go to people who have paid for Club membership. What happened to the rule that every ticket should be able to be traced back to it’s legal owner for safety reasons?

Again, after the Preston game, one of our owners was in Billys Bar and announced a free bar. How lucky the ones in Billys were. How unlucky the rest of us! Right time, right place? Just lucky.

Real v reality

Our Club claim that it wants Real fans. It is on the side of Real fans, because it listens to Real fans.

In that case, why in reality, is so much going on that a lot of fans are not happy with?

Well, I suppose we have finally got a yellow away shirt.

Are the “Real fans” the Club refers to, akin to the comparison drawn between astronauts like Helen Sharman and the “Real astronauts” like Katy Perry and the rest of the Entitled Smurf Space cadets?

Rich celebrities doing something, dressed up to the nines, on a big day out, just to say that they are Real and putting it on Social Media to prove that they are?

Is the gap between what the Club deem as real fans and what the actual fans are THAT big?