It seems Leeds fans as a collective have been wishing for lots of things lately. A new stadium, somewhere to go for a drink with your mates before the game now that the Pavilion is out of bounds to us non corporate plebs, three points at home, three points away, the midfield stringing three passes together. How about a new striker, maybe a new defender – but definitely not any more new midfielders. Getting straight onto the website on ticket selling day, actually getting a ticket on ticket selling day, not seeing this on ticket selling day…
The list of things that we wish for is as infinite as the number of braids Kalvin can get in his hair.
In the main, most of these things are positive. In the main, aside from the initially fury at gifting a goal because of a Cooper backpass gone wrong, or Dan James’s inability to get the ball out from under his feet in the 18 yard box, or after yet another 90 minutes of random refereeing decisions have flummoxed us, we are more or less grown up about these things. Once the frustration has passed after the in depth post mortem discussion in the pub, we calm down and we go again. In the main, most of us can come to the conclusion that it still isn’t Christmas yet, we’ve seen a lot worse with all our players fit, let alone with 5 of the 1st teamers out and realistically, we are still only 6 points off Europe as it stands.
I say in the main.
Fortunately, I don’t do Bunch of Titters, Instagram etc. and only go on facebook when I have to. I get people telling me second hand what’s been said on these social media platforms. Generally, it’s people who are new to the Leeds United ups and downs malarky. Some are recent returnees though, and old enough to know better frankly, but some are the newer fans who have never seen us in the Premier League. Apparently second season Bielsa tactics are wearing thin and we need to get rid of everyone apart from Raphinha. Apparently the Board need to spend at least another £100 million in the January transfer window and get a “proper” number 9 in. Apparently, Bielsa has lost it and we need Jose if we are going to stay up. Be careful what you wish for – I say.
Honestly?
I have pairs of pants and socks older, wiser and with far more football experience than some of these whingers. I have more respect for the opinions of my Champions League lucky pants and the Europa Cup, now sadly singled, orphaned, lucky socks, than our new fans right now. And as for those miserable wasters who felt fit to run down to the front at Southampton away after the final whistle and shout abuse at Meslier, well they can sod right off. It’s fair enough to vent your spleen during the game at poor clearances and misplaced passes, but to run to your players giving them the w**ker sign after they know they’ve been a bit poor, that’s just pathetic. We are Leeds United, win, lose or draw. If they haven’t played well, by all means, don’t clap them off the pitch, but screaming abuse at them because you can’t handle us losing (with our makeshift defence and Lord Bamford still out) is pitiful. You don’t do that, whatever you are on. Get a sodding grip. The next time I see that, I’ll film you all and then name and shame you glory hunting kn*b heads. No doubt it will all be in complete contrast to your famous debut on “awaydays lads bible” when you’re stood in your skinny jeans, bomber jacket and flat cap proudly singing “All Leeds Aren’t We”, because you’re the bestest Leeds fan in the world.
Be careful what you wish for. Very careful. Fame is a fickle thing.
Should the fans with the patience and concentration of a gnat, or cat on a hot tin roof, even, get their way and Bielsa goes, who are we going to end up with? If Bielsa goes, I can’t see Kalvin staying, and if Newcastle put a bid in of £100 million, who is going to turn that down? Not Radrizzani. But all these keyboard warriors know more about the game than Bielsa does, surely?
If we get a new stadium, how’s it going to look? There’s so much corporate interest in Leeds right now, if the capacity goes up to 60,000, how much of that is going to be normal fans and how much is going to go to the money men who want to wine and dine their clients? This was Arsenal last week, the whole of that middle tier right around the ground disappeared at half time. You’re not telling me that they all just happened to go en masse to the bog or to get a pint in, at the same time? If they did, the bogs and facilities must be miles better than the ones in the Captains Corner.
I’m not saying that the team don’t deserve a bit of criticism at times, but it has to be taken in context of the situation we are in. Bamford is still out since that knock in the Newcastle game. In fact, Patrick hasn’t been the same since he opened that cycle lane outside the ground. Elland Road hasn’t been right since he opened that cycle lane. Probably one of the most ill conceived ideas by Leeds City Council ever, to reduce pollution around Holbeck and Beeston. For approximately 20 days a year, depending on Cup runs, the traffic is gridlocked for two hours before and after the game. No one can move. Cars, buses nor coaches. This doesn’t even include when they have the fun fair on or when there’s concerts or big events at ER. So, for the minor green benefit of the other 340 odd days per year, when realistically there might be 10 people cycling along ER per day, that carbon reduction is completely negated by the fumes of congestion generated by the 20+ days of static traffic, crawling double decker R2’s trying to get to the bus park and dropping people off on the motorway, taxis doing 6 point turns to try get back into town after they’ve dropped off, people (new fans) going repeatedly up and down ER trying to find somewhere to park and the massive queues trying to get in and out of the car parks, pre and post match. And this doesn’t even include the ones who to drive to ER and then have to swap so the Mrs gets in the front seat, normally blocking that bit before you get to McDonalds, cos yeah, that’s a great place to stop.
Leeds City Council – ruining our roads since 1976.
Kalvin has International Duty fatigue. He played his heart out in the Euros and now is suffering from England Lag. If you look at it, most of the England players who were in the Euros have got International Lag. None of them have genuinely competed much this season. £100 million man, Kane? Ok, he has his own, very selfish, reasons. But Rashford, Maguire, Mount, Henderson, Sterling, Rice – hardly any of them have even got to 50 fantasy premier league points this season. We were all very proud of Kalv, but what is the price Leeds has had to pay for such a good showing in the National Team? Is playing for your country truly worth it? Future captain at Leeds? Future captain for Engerland? Be careful what you wish for.
We are still on a second string defence with Firpo, Ayling and Koch out. We have no replacement for Kalvin, we just haven’t. If Ben White was still here and his Emirates price tag hadn’t gone to his head, he would have been a good option, but the £ signs have gone to his head and he isn’t here. It’s all well and good saying we need a better defence, where are we going to find them? If we do get someone, it’ll take them 6 months to get fit enough and used to playing Bielsa’s way. That’ll be no good either – the season will be over. New players in the January transfer window? Careful what you wish for.
This whole “second season” thing. These comments that Bielsa has been “found out” and we are going down. In a way, yes, other teams have found us out, but not how you might think. The rest of the league have learnt a trick or two from last season. They aren’t necessarily winning because they are playing the better football (apart from Scum raising their game). They are merely disrupting our game by falling over all the time and ruining our rhythm. The referees aren’t doing anything about it, so are complicit in the mass cheating that our games have become. The Wolves players spent more time rolling about and sat down on the turf than actually passing the ball to one another. As soon as they were about to lose the ball they just fell over, clutching a finger, a thumb, an arm, or a leg or nod of their head ( …. stand up, sit down, keep moving). When they did foul us, they fell over as well, so it deflected from the real suspect of the crime. They struggled to put a clean tackle in, so they just went down. It was like the paddy field scene in the last Rambo film, but without the explosions or bow and arrow. If you haven’t seen it, get it out from Blockbuster. It’s ok but it’s an 18 – for profanity and violence it says – honest. But, Bielsa’s way is not to play for a foul though, we just get on with it. Our players will just get up, carry on and not look to penalise the opposition. I’d rather we played like that, than play like Villa.
What I’m trying to say is, we aren’t playing that bad with what we have got. When our team is fully fit and we are still as bad? Then you can start moaning.
Finally, technology. Our next away game is Spurs. At Spurs, for your “convenience” they are doing away with paper tickets and the “ticket” is a QR code on your phone. Luckily this hasn’t extended to away tickets as we speak. I think this has happened at the Etihad as well, without, I might add, consultation with any fans or fans groups. Now you know how I feel about technology. It’s helpful at times, but it’s not the be all and end all. Cash is king!
Tickets on your phone?
Really?
Why?
My fondest memories are of football and gigs. Films and theatre shows. I still have a collection of my old tickets somewhere, and when I look through these little tattered bits of paper, everything comes rushing back. The younger / tech generation just want convenience, click, click, swipe, move on. Where are your lasting memories? Where’s your tangible mementos? There’s nothing like waiting for the postman for your little white envelope (when you actually get on the Leeds website and get a ticket!). There’s also nothing like feeling the panic when it gets to Thursday and everyone else has got their ticket apart from you. Then you ring up the ticket office and they tell you that it has definitely been sent out, but if it hasn’t arrived by Friday, you’ll have to ring them and arrange for a duplicate.
Think of all the fun things you would miss out on if it just came up on your phone. It wouldn’t be an away day if you weren’t sat there, the night before, making sure your ticket was where you put it. Then double checking the same before you go to bed. Then checking it the next morning when you wake up and just before you leave. Checklist – keys, wallet, ticket, head. This is providing it’s just your ticket, of course. Imagine how quiet life would be for all the branch secretaries out there who sort out transport and tickets for their branches! We’d have nothing to do and might actually get some sleep the night before!
Plus, you’d miss out on the fun of taking multiple shots of your carefully arranged ticket, beer and the pack of cards on the table on the train, so you get the perfect picture to upload onto social media. They’d also be no stash of beer soaked, crumpled tickets in your adidas trainer box to take a photo of at the end of the season. It takes time to arrange all your tickets out in order. It would be no fun if you just had print outs of black and white QR codes.
There is something unique and special about having a paper ticket. Plus, paper is recyclable, so it’s green enough. No need to charge up and take two power banks (with the leads) with you in case one runs out and you can’t get the code up on your phone at the turnstile. That’s provided you get enough reception, and if your phone hasn’t died after using the flash on the last 20 photos hasn’t drained it. You’ve already wasted enough charge getting your acca on and checking out the latest instas after the reception kept going down in the train tunnels. Too much stereotyping? Ok – I’ll stop.
Football isn’t just a spectator sport. Football is a ritual. It’s a routine. It’s a release from real life (spoiler alert – see next blog). It’s not about convenience. It’s not about the result. It’s about the experience and everything you have done to get there and back again. Fans aren’t just spectators, we are willing participants. If you want proof, just think about the build up to the last minute equaliser against Wolves. We are all individual, valuable assets and I don’t want us ending up as just another barcode, to be just scanned in like another number in the Big Machine. Unless of course, you are a trained assassin who kicks ass – like this guy.
