Yep, this blog will give no quarter to those who have inflicted the same to my beloved club.
No quarter.
This term was derived I think from military combat, where enemies of war would be treated harshly, with no mercy, no pity, no clemency. Killed rather than being taken prisoner.
Coincidentally, it was two of the 380 words spoken by Keanu Reeves in the latest John Wick film, John Wick Chapter 4. 2 hours 49 minutes of classic John Wick – go and see it if you haven’t already!
https://www.insider.com/keanu-reeves-john-wick-chapter-4-dialogue-380-words-2023-3
No quarter.
Part of the appeal of the John Wick films is that there is so little dialogue. The mainstay of the John Wick films, is that actions speak louder than words and all actions have consequences. Keanu Reeves’ character is strongly resolute. He is accountable for all his actions. Whether purposeful, misguided or unintentional, he takes full responsibility for what he has done. In the context of John Wick 4, the scene is where they select the way that they choose to fight the final duel. Pistols – no quarter.
This weekend was, unfortunately, one of no quarter.
Bournemouth
Once upon a time, a long long time ago – ok – 33 years ago, Leeds went to Bournemouth, and our fans showed them no quarter.
This weekend, we went to Bournemouth and Bournemouth showed Leeds United no quarter. With two right backs, no left back and Lord Bamford on his own up front, it looked like we were just hoping for a lucky draw. As in the home tie, our team of lightweight midgets (McKennie not included) just could not compete with the giants in the Bournemouth team. Out jumped, out tackled, out challenged and out cheated by the ridiculous diving and biased refereeing. We didn’t stick a chance. Even with Gnonto starting, our back 7 just could not cope with a Bournemouth team playing for the 3 points which would basically guarantee them PL survival. Ultimately, Bournemouth, players and fans, wanted it more.
After the game, some of our fans showed no mercy. Booing and hurling insults at our players who hesitantly came towards us in the corner. Those of us who were still there, that is. The ones who hadn’t stormed off in disgust, not willing to stay for the full 90. Some of the players were wishing that they hadn’t stayed for the full 90 either.
Some of our fans were livid. Quite rightly so. The display was shocking. No fight, no passion, no commitment. Some of them just gave up. They didn’t chase the ball down, they didn’t challenge for the headers, some didn’t even look that interested in passing to each other. At times, the ball was in the air so much, you could have mistaken it for Sunday morning five a side.
As you would expect there was lots of booing. Lots of shouts of “you’re not fit to wear the shirt” and “sack the board” , “Orta out”. The usual then. Granted, it was a little more fervent, fuelled by a Bank Holiday weekend of drinking , no doubt. No one can blame the fans for shouting and screaming. We have paid our money for the ticket and travel, we deserved to see a bit better than what we did.
I was just despondent. It looked like we had surrendered. Surrendered without a fight. Not like the Leeds of old. No surrender, remember?
Whereas I wouldn’t boo the team, I wouldn’t tell them they weren’t fit to wear the shirt, and I certainly wouldn’t sing “sack the board”, I wouldn’t begrudge anyone else. I did get very near to it once though, at Rochdale away in the Cup in 2014. The only time I can remember really going against my Club was when it was at the mercy of Bates. Get out of our Club, get out of our Club. You Chelsea Bast**d, get out of our Club. Bates Out! I think it went.
Oh don’t worry, at the time, I certainly complained about the pitiful passing and failure to hold the ball up. Sh*t corners and wasted free kicks. At the time, I was unremitting in the “f**king useless” , “what the hell was that?” , “who the f*ck was that to?”, “f**cks sake”, as I always am. But that is pure emotion and passion. It passes and We All Love Leeds again. Never have I been moved to run down to the hoardings and hurl abuse at the players at the end of the game. Never.
When they sacked Bielsa, I was fuming, but even then I still never sang “sack the board”. I said the Board were clueless and they’d regret it (and they were and they have), but at the end of the day, this is MY club, not theirs. They are temporary custodians, I am Leeds for life. Luckily, we live in a country where we are allowed to express our views still, and luckily Leeds United haven’t seen it fit yet to punish me for mine! Woo hoo!
Every game a Leeds fan travels to, is a game where we are the ambassadors of the club. The fans represent what it is to be Leeds. Granted in the 80s and 90s, we weren’t the best ambassadors, but that was then, this is now. Some of our fans are less than models of perfect football etiquette, but that is just how it is. As much as Leeds United has put me through some of the worse times in my life, ultimately, I will never give up on it and I certainly wouldn’t deliberately besmirch it.
To find out on the way back home from Bournemouth that a group “representing” Leeds supporters had written a letter to the Club telling them the fans wanted the whole lot of them out was pretty unbelievable. Who they hell are these people? They aren’t representing me. They might be representing someone, but unless they have had a season ticket for 30+ years, watched Leeds home and away for decades, watched the total dross that was division 3 football (and the rest), they don’t represent me. If they turned up at Cardiff away that freezing cold night in 2018, or that night game at Villa 17/18 where you couldn’t give a ticket away, I would grant them some concession, but otherwise – no.
No one has the right to tell the Chairman / the owners what to do with their money. Apart from the B*tes era of course, but that was a long time ago, football was different then and B*tes screwed the fans over. Radrizzani however, has pumped so much money into this Club, frankly he can do what he wants. He can sack who he wants and hire who he wants. It is his money. As it was with Cellino, he who stumps up the money, does what he pleases. It doesn’t mean we can’t criticise him, but there’s criticism and then there is conceited, egotistical, self serving, narcissistic petulance.
“Orta Out”.
A far cry from when Victor was the fans best mate after the whole Derby debacle and Fat Frank. The picture of Orta doing the spying thing was made into T shirts, everyone shared it on social media. People had that as their profile picture. Everyone loved him. Without Orta there would have been no Bielsa. No Bielsa – no return to the PL after 16 years in the wilderness. Some folk have very very short memories. I’m not saying Orta has never done anything wrong, but he has done quite a bit right.
https://www.thesun.co.uk/sport/football/9083384/leeds-victor-orta-scarves-elland-road-derby/
Remember that Jack Priestley4?
How about this one after the Spygate scandal and those infamous binoculars?
https://twitter.com/SkyFootball/status/1284891571104735232
Orta was everyone’s favourite mad uncle not so long since, wasn’t he?
Stop crying Frank Lampard.
Orta – once with the highest accolade of the master of sh*thousery (this is some millenial thing – yes?) has fallen in the graces of the social media class of Leeds fans.
How quick we are to forget. For Victor has gone. No quarter.
This falling from grace thing isn’t a new thing. Older fans will remember when Wilko went bonkers and bought Thomas Brolin. Sgt Wilko, won us promotion and then we won the league and then he just lost it.
The trouble with 21st century football is that it is played out on social media as well as on the pitch. Social media has the ability to blow everything out of proportion, and the discussions that 30 years ago were had in the relatively private confines of the pub, now go global. In my opinion for the worse.
Exaggeration and character assassination.
You know what I am going on about. I’m not going to put that little boy and his family through any more shenanigans. It must have been bad enough being forced onto ITV to tell the truth regarding those Tw*tter posts from Piers Morgan and Jeff Stelling. The initial accusers were quick to condemn a video without the customary 21st Century “fact check”. Then, social media took over and the usual suspects who take offence on behalf of someone else blew everything out of proportion. Quick to slam the team and pile more manure on the sh*t pile. No quarter.
Back to John Wick. Every action has it’s consequences. The consequences of this viral video were that some of our players were subject to abuse and Leeds United were slated on social media and mainstream media. In the end, it was a load of bollocks. Yes some of the younger players did walk past, but realistically this is what the younger generation do anyway. Swagger past, headphones on, ignoring everyone. Grunting replies and casting disdain on anyone older than 25 because they are irrelevant. Gen Z. The most self important generation ever. I’m not defending their behaviour, but ALL footballers do this, not just Leeds.
Realistically, these players are just young adults with massive wages. Some with so much money, they don’t know what to do with it. Bear in mind, they probably haven’t actually paid for these headphones. Their agents have probably been given them as a freebie in order to promote the brand. What better than a walking talking advert for your products? Look what those quaver shoes did for Kalv. Agents are not stupid people, where they can see a way of making more money, they will do. Brand ambassadors. That’s what these influencers do on social media isn’t it? They don’t have proper jobs. They just make money by going on social media and using products that companies send them. And they do make money.
What the accusers didn’t know was what happened before the video was taken. But once they found out, where was the apology? I hope there were immediate retractions and cringing, embarrassing hand wringing apologies all round? I’m not sure there were though. Where is the responsibility and accountability?
What happened to all that hashtag bekind stuff? How do they know if the players had just received a bollocking of the manager? Maybe they’d just had some bad news. Maybe they were listening to a self confidence tape. Who knows? Whatever it was, the footage should never have been used by Leeds fans to damage the Club. What sort of supporters would deliberately do something to harm the Club? Not people who represent me.
I’ve said in an earlier blog, the fan base has been polarized. Some of it is quite, quite poisonous at times. Thank God we don’t have fans on the board. Can you imagine if one of them has a hissy fit? Fan representation on the board isn’t good, unless that fan has injected 100s of millions of pounds into the club of course. He can have as many hissy fits as he wants then.
I think the owners should engage with the fans, don’t get me wrong. On certain things and not others. As a matchgoing fan, I’d like better, cleaner facilities, maybe the Pavilion back? I’d like reasonably priced refreshments and more than one cash till at the bar. I’d like my season ticket card back please, and the YELLOW away strip, with a blue / white / yellow combo for the third strip please. Oh and the massive puddle at the NE corner to get another layer of tarmac on it. I’d like fan input into the development of ER, seeing as I will hopefully be going when it gets done. I’d like considered investment in the team not knee jerk panic buying.
I don’t want another 10% hike in my season ticket again. I don’t want the Club to waste money at the expense of lack of player investment. I don’t want any say into how the owner chooses who buy in the transfer market. It is their money, not mine. As a matchgoing fan, I will stick to what I know, and leave the rest up to them.
Whoever the Club chooses to engage with next, let’s hope they make a better choice than the Entitled lot who wanted everyone sacked and publicly slagged our own players off for something that never happened. We’ve four games to go, the last thing we want is so much unwarranted negativity.
Leeds and proud of it
