Sunday Monday Happy Days
Before the Millenials hijacked “happy days” and turned it into an insincere flippancy, to an older generation it meant something else. The Fonz.
Looking forward to the New Era at Leeds United, we now have The Radz. I just want to stake my claim for this before someone cleverer, more IT competent and more business minded than myself takes my idea and turns it into merchandising.
Radrizzani and his “radzical” take on football.
1) Why shouldn’t you own a football club and own the stadium and the ground it stands on?
2) Why shouldn’t the catering facilities (and therefore profits from matchdays and events) be owned by the football club?
3) Why shouldn’t you pick your best team to play a football game in order to make sure you win every game you play?
4) Why shouldn’t you properly engage with the fans, was it a good idea to completely disenfranchise the biggest supporters group?
It’s like that music magpie ad on the telly – why wouldn’t you?
It seems beyond belief at why anyone should think that the priorities of a football club are anything but; be successful by winning games and trophies and encouraging people to come and watch games in the stadium. By winning games, the extras of selling merchandise like shirts and clothing, and selling the brand, in terms of advertising revenue and sponsorship come as a bonus package. By engaging with the fan base, you are looking at future investment in the younger generations. Hardly rocket science is it?
So to all you people who are STILL out there defending Bates and Harvey, I say REALLY?
I know I am dwelling on the past here, but given what Bad Papa Smurf did, can you really say that the torrent of abuse levelled at Mr Cellino was really warranted compared to the paltry exchanges handed out to Bates and Harvey, the Burns and Smithers of Leeds United ( and I don’t mean that in the LGBT context before anyone starts accusing me of hate crimes). I think Signore Cellino did his level best when he got here. I think despite the due diligence etc. he found the complete lack of any sensible business model simply incomprehensible. This seemingly endless pit of chaotic frustration , coupled with the excessive influence of Sky TV, the EFL, FA and media vendetta against him and generally people just being really annoying, was just a bit too much. The guy is an Italian for crying out loud, well known for being relaxed and easygoing, so Christ knows what he thought when he saw the utter shambles of the last 13 years.
Hindsight is a fantastic thing and given that Cellino and Signore Radrizzani had been in discussions for a length of time, I think The Radz has benefited from learning from the mistakes that Massimo made. Time will tell, but controversial as this is, I genuinely think Massimo Cellino did as good a job as he could. We got to 7th after all. Realistically, given some better team selection decisions and not bottling the last 8 games of the season, we could have got the play offs. Plus, had we taken the Cup a bit more seriously, a good money spinning home tie against Arsenal could have been a genuine possibility.
This season we finally have our ground back. Now that Elland Road is owned by the Club, the long needed work has started to improve the aging facilities. After all, why develop the stadium facilities if you don’t own it???? Ooops. We have a new owner who has told us that he is here to make history not money. We have made signings, and hopefully Christiansen will actually play them rather than letting them keep the bench warm. It looks like we have kept our better players. I hope the preseason is used effectively to get them used to playing as a team. The Radz has promised that our players will do more than just play football, they will show commitment to the fans, recognise and reciprocate the effort that we fans, both home and away, put into supporting our amazing club. He has promised that we will go out to win every game.
I genuinely looked forward to last season and this season I am even more eager for the first game in August. Surprisingly enough, it is on Sky. I waited for the next tranche of televised fixtures to be released before posting this blog, and it looks like so far we have been spared the game of musical chairs that we were inflicted with last season. The season ticket sales are up in the 16,000s and Leeds United are aiming for 20,000, with murmurings of the half season ticket being reinstated. If we are doing well by Christmas, the half season tickets will be an excellent idea and more money in the coffers, so I hope this becomes a reality.
All in all, it’s all looking good. As Fonzie would say “Ayyyyy”
