Although I have had my fair share of outbursts… Sutton to name one… now that the deal has been done, how about just a little bit of decorum and some home truths? After all, honesty is the best policy.

He’s gone. Wood has left the building. He was tempted away by the premiership. Whether it was the money, the status, the money, the thought of playing the likes of Arsenal/City/Spurs etc. week in, week out, the money, the claret and blue strip, the money, the chance of playing at home in that fantastic stadium at..er.. Turf Moor, or the money. Whatever the reason, he has gone.

As I said before, thanks for scoring all those goals last season. Thanks for putting up with all those Wood haters the season before and proving them wrong. There is no doubt at all that most of us went home last season very happy, because of his efforts. I have no doubt at all that had Monk played a better system at home, with two strikers up front, that bit of support would have made a difference. If Monk had taken into account the fact that Wood played more or less every game, as well as going the furthest on International duty trips, therefore would have benefitted from a strike partner, things would be different. We would have been in the premiership ourselves for a start!

To all those who are saying that he was useless, be honest, just admit it. The guy was top goal scorer in the league. Remember that goal at Newcastle? He wasn’t that bad. If he wasn’t that good and Burnley didn’t think he would be able to help them fight relegation, they wouldn’t have put three bids in for him. Whether or not he makes any impact at Burnley, remains to be seen. Time will tell. Will he even get picked for a start? At £15 million, frankly my dear, I don’t give a damn.

If he was just up front about it and said, yeah, I have the opportunity to earn twice as much as I am getting now, to do more or less the same job, he would have got a bit more respect. If he had the balls to say, I know you fans idolised me last season, but realistically, 20,000 people cheering me on isn’t going to buy me the lastest SUV or 80 inch telly for my front room, he wouldn’t have so many people calling him names. If he said, yep, Leeds United did me a massive favour when there was no way I could stick a chance playing next to Jamie Vardy, so ta very much Mr Cellino. Again, a murmur of approval. If he said, yeah, the atmosphere winning at Elland Road and playing away with such fantastic support, it was brilliant. I am going to miss it, and I know that I will never experience that sort of adulation ever again, thanks for the memories, it would be gracious. If he said, I’m not confident that I will get promoted with Leeds United, at least if I go to Burnley now, I can stick it on my CV that I played in the top flight of English football, and then maybe some American or Chinese side will pay me oodles to play in their leagues once my English League career is over in 2019. Point taken, a nod of acknowledgement. If he had just said, I know I am letting the fans down and my team mates down, but honestly, I am looking out for myself. I know it’s selfish, but hey, that’s how life is. The reaction would be massively different. Sadly, honesty was just not top of his agenda.

So, I will say it again, he was top goal scorer in the league, however, the Premier League is a completely different animal to the Championship. Will he be able to adapt? Just look at Newcastle and the transition they had to make when they came down. It took months to adjust. Benitez had to change his game plan, much to the dismay of the Toon Army, and eventually had to grind out that promotion push. To his credit, he did. But he lost the favour of many Newcastle die hards, who just didn’t like the style of football he was forced to play. Will Wood be able to cut the mustard? Bovvered?

Monk, well he just didn’t change his game plan at all, did he? Apart from Sutton, of course, and heaven knows what he was thinking then. Home or away, the same old same old. Full backs playing as wingers, central midfielders going back to help the defence, wide midfielders  struggling to get a consistent cross over to the one lone striker, no one to run onto the final ball. When Doukara did come on last season, he made an impact straight away. So had Monk been a bit braver, and believed in his squad a bit more, how many more goals could we have scored? How many more games could we have won? Would we have beaten Newcastle at home? Could we have keep a clean sheet at Villa after Christmas. Barnsley, yes, Barnsley away, 3-2. Could we have ground out results against Fulham away and QPR at home? Reading and Brentford away were terrible, and as for losing at home against Wolves and Burton, flipping Burton away. It’s enough to drive you mad with frustration.

For once in my life, I am not going to dwell on this…..unlike Sutton. On Tuesday we are playing Newport in the Cup. TC has promised that he will put his best team out as he wants us to win every game. I will understand if he leaves the likes of Pontus, Ayling, O Kane and Phillips out. They played a lot last season and by jingo, they and Cooper played their socks off on Saturday.  We have a tough game on Saturday, and letting some of the less experienced squad have a run out tomorrow will be good. No disrespect to Newport, of course. After Sutton, lessons have to be learnt, I doubt if TC will be putting two youth players on to make their 1st team debuts though.

As for Wood….

Like the song says and what Leonardo is smiling about… all about the money!

When I was young, I swore I would never turn into one of those miserable, grumpy old people who always went on about how “it wasn’t like this in the old days”. Sadly, actually, not sadly at all, LUCKILY I have! Even better, I have now got a website to spread my moans to cyberspace with, and with my fantastic disclaimer of course, basically I can say what want! Brilliant!

Bolton tickets!

What a palaver. The keyboard warriors, myself included (as I can now proudly class myself as a keyboard warrior albeit still only using two fingers to type) are out. A full on war of words. If I ever watched Game Of Thrones, it would be G.O.T but without dragons or tits. Having never watched G.O.T, I actually don’t know what I am on about, a bit like what has been said on social media about Bolton tickets.

I tried to order tickets for Bolton on Thursday for the people from my branch who have a proper job / don’t have access to a computer or phone / couldn’t operate a computer or smartphone for love nor money (you know who you are!). That is, those who can’t order their own. The Leeds United ticketing website booted me out after I put my credit card details in several times.  I was not pleased. As far as I can gather, this happened to quite a few people. So I can’t be solely blamed for my incompetence.

There have been problems with ordering tickets before. Generally worse for 1st and last aways of the season, popular new grounds and games with small allocations. This is not an isolated incident, and as usual I used facebook to report this to the members of the branch. Realistically, I use facebook because it is so much easier than ringing and texting people, like we used to do in the old days. Don’t get me wrong, there were still many members who were called and texted, as not everyone has facebook. Thursday and Friday were NOT good days.

My post prompted comments, as facebook does, as it is there to generate discussion, I suppose. Some were consolatory, some agreeing and some downright not very helpful nor sympathetic. I wasn’t actually asking for sympathy or random comments, I was just letting branch members know what was going on, and oh yes and venting my frustration. Unfortunately, however facebook works, I found that I was being notified to other comments on other groups etc. True to form, I found that the ticketing problems were being aired all Thursday, Friday and even into the weekend. My phone was buzzing all day, so much so I left it in another room, switched off.

With fake news being so prominent of late, it is hard to believe what is true or false. I saw someone repost a twitter message from someone who had got a ticket and was trying to sell it on. It looked like the Leeds United ticket office also saw that twitter message and kindly cancelled the ticket, so it could be sold onto someone who did want it. If this did happen, all I can say is that person deserved all he got. There was also a post from someone who said they had got tickets and had never been to an away game in their life before, and they were looking forward to it. Well done I say to them. This prompted a bit of anger from people who didn’t get one and then the discussions about who is more deserving of tickets started again.

In the old days, you used to contact Eric Carlile from the LUSC and he would sort out tickets for the LUSC branches. Yes, as easy as that. I think this was in part as a result of the role the LUSC played helping Leeds United with the problems in the 80s, i.e. the incessant crowd trouble and violence in and around away matches. The LUSC have only ever been about getting people to games and supporting Leeds United.  For their efforts, LUSC were given half the allocation of away tickets, I am sure if someone collars Eric one day, he will expand on this. In the old days, however, the demand did not exceed the supply as much as it does today. If the Supporters Club didn’t sell all the allocation they were given, the tickets just went back onto general sale at the ticket office. You could just queue up at Elland Road and buy an away ticket, as easy as that.

When Bad Santa got his grubby paws on the club , he stopped all of that. Totally opposite to the “if it works, don’t fix it” business model. This must have cost Leeds United oodles in delivery costs, sending out tickets indiviually in the post ( in hand written envelopes, one ticket per envelope) and in staffing costs, to deal with the tickets. We all know about his business sense, or rather lack of it. You had to fax your order in and if the fax machine wasn’t working, that was you stuffed. If you faxed it in 30 secs early they wouldn’t accept it either. Otherwise you had to post your form in, relying on Royal Mail and then Leeds United receiving it, which I can honestly say, was extremely worrying. I remember the days of trying to call the ticket office repeatedly to make sure they got my order. Not fun at all and definitely not the most efficient way to spend half a day. There were only 6 names per form and the aways were done in phases.  I still have paperwork from 2009/10 season where Leeds United had sent forms out individually for the people who qualified for Brighton & Hove Albion game at The Withdean. Yes, the club sent out individual forms. Unbelievable! How many of you younger folk even know what a fax machine is? I am sure many LUSC Branch Secretaries still have nightmares from back then.

So, those people who still think the Supporters Clubs get an allocation, how wrong you are! However, Evil Incarnate did allow his RMCs to get a priority order in for 20 tickets for games that were local to the respective RMCs. This apparently was used effectively last season by an RMC from Aberdeen applying for the much sought after Newcastle tickets. I don’t even think there were 20 people in Aberdeen RMC, but apparently some guy advertised that he could get tickets for the game using this RMC bit of loophole. Whether or not anything was ever done about it, who knows?

So what about who deserves the tickets? How do you say who is more loyal or not? Sticky wicket I am afraid. Is loyalty all about the money? Is it all about the money you spend at Leeds United buying shirts, programmes and other merchandise? Is it about whether you can afford a home and away season ticket? Is it about how long you have been spending money on shirts and season tickets?

For those people who have been going to watch Leeds United most of their lives, giving up family time and using up every bit of holiday to trawl around the dark days of Division 3 football, I think the answer is clear. For those who kept travelling to watch us at Southampton on a Tuesday night, Bristol in the snow, Swindon Town etc. in the days of old warhorses and mercenary players coming in on loan because the warchest was empty, the answer is clear. For those who will spend the entire 90 minutes watching what is going on the pitch, rather than staring at their phones, the answer is clear. For those who get behind the team and support them win, lose or draw, it is clear. For those who scrape together every bit of spare money and holiday time they get so they can get to see a game, yes, it’s clear.

For the increasing number of people who are just going to say they have been to a game, it’s not so clear. For the ones who go and stand in the aisles, blocking everyone else’s view and not even watching the game, it’s not so clear. For those who don’t even get there for kick off and then spend most of the 1st half in the bar throwing beer over them and everyone else, it’s not clear. For those with the attention span of a fruit fly, who would rather be shouting at the home fans rather than getting behind the team when we start losing, it’s not so clear. For those who ruin it for everyone else by throwing flares because they are bored and think it improves the atmosphere at away games, not so clear. For those who get bored and walk out before the end of the game, it’s not so clear. For those who spend most of the game staring at their phones, telling people the scores from the Premiership, not so clear. For those who would rather go to a game just to boo the players / team/ management staff/ chairman (delete as appropriate), not so clear.

You can see where I am coming from here, can’t you? Don’t get me wrong, Harrogate & District like a good day out and an amiable pre match refreshment stop is one of the many highlights of the day. We all like a good sing song and may miss kick off depending on traffic / queues etc. The majority of us go to watch the game and support the team. End of.

I know there are people from Ireland and Scandinavia who desperately try to go to as many aways as possible. These are the ones who the television gods screw around the most. These are the ones who are stuck in the middle. I don’t like the word “part-timer”. Many people have gone from never missing a game home or away to a couple of games a season because of work and family, or geography. The MPO missed an entire season in protest against Evil Papa Smurf / Nasty Neil /Spit The Diouf. Many people have stopped going simply because of money.

Although the price of a season ticket hasn’t gone up too extortionately for those of us lucky to have a season ticket, it has gone up. In the dark days of Division 3 football, it was too expensive for that rubbish. To be fair to Cellino, the season tickets for juniors were very reasonable in his reign, and it was a good move to get a new generation interested seeing as previous ones had been lost. Yes other local clubs have dropped their ticket prices, and it is now cheaper at some Premiership grounds than us here. The latter in part to the ridiculous money that comes from TV revenue now, the Chelseas and Citys don’t even need the matchday ticket money. The Championship, thanks to Shaun “unfit and improper” Harvey couldn’t wangle a tenth of the the deal for the Football League games. If the EFL spent as much time getting a proper deal with the TV companies for the telly rights as they did trying to charge Cellino, the 72 clubs might have been on a bit more of a parity. Sadly, their priorities were elsewhere as a vendetta against Leeds United had more importance and gravitas.

In essence, following Leeds United away has sadly turned into an elitest debacle. It is all about the money. In 2014 (I think), Leeds United was proud to have the LUSC Co Chair honoured at the EFL Capital One event for being a loyal fan. Phil clocked in 2000 consecutive Leeds games. Those were the days, it seems that being a loyal fan nowadays comes at a price.

If you can afford an away season ticket at £800 a pop and £15 card fees, YOU ARE IN!

If you can afford to take time off at work on ticket ordering day, YOU ARE IN!

If you can afford a decent smartphone or tablet (and know how to use it), YOU ARE IN!

For the rest of us mere mortals, this could be the beginning of the end for our branch trips.

It’s gonna be a long season!

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”

Sacrifice. It’s a human sign, apparently, when things go wrong…

On 27th May 1989 our greatest manager sadly passed away from a terrible illness. There has never been another to match him at this club. There has never been a team to match the team he put together and nurtured. We see the phrase “side before self” used so often when the great Don is mentioned. Those days seem a million miles from Leeds United this last decade, but this, for me, should be the way forward.

The players and managers today complain about fixture congestion, when they travel to USA, Asia and Australia for money spinning friendlies at the start, during and at the end of the season. The primadonna players feign fouls, exaggerating excessively to get the upper hand, rather than try to win the ball honestly. They  complain about risk of injuries, when back in the day the pitches resembled mudbaths and the footballs weighed a ton. This whilst wearing scientifically designed boots and aiming at the roundest, fastest and lightest footballs ever. The clubs hold the home countries to ransom, objecting to players playing in  international tournaments. The pride for playing for your country has completely waned. It is all about the money, money, money. The managers / coaches play weakened sides in the League and FA Cup fixtures, especially those teams who play in the Champions League / Europa Cup / concentrating on staying in the league – delete as appropriate. The fans dismiss the early exits from the cup games, claiming they have bigger fish to fry – like getting promoted or even just saying in the league.

It was said that Don kept a detailed log of every team he played against and was due to play. He did this to make sure that every weakness could be exploited, and he could optimize our performance to make sure we got the upper hand. That was 50 years ago, so given the digital age, how easy would this be now? We have media capabilities that enable the game to be viewed from every conceivable angle, not just from the pitchline but also via drones. We have “go pro” and other similar programmes which can be utilised, over and beyond just pen and paper.

Now that Monk has left the building, what do we need as a new manager / head coach (delete as appropriate)?

Firstly, we need to stop bickering about the difference between a manager and a head coach. Whatever we call him, he is the guy who is responsible for what goes on in that 90+ minutes. Whether he has a team of Lionel Messis and Ronaldos or a Sunday league side, he is the bloke who tells the 11 men what to do. So he needs to have a plan A, plan B, plan C or however many plans he needs. He need to make sure he doesn’t field a team of small wiry players against a a midfield and defence made up of solid six footers. Equally, no hoofing the ball up either. The man in charge needs to prepare for any eventualities if we lose a player to injury, give away a needless penalty, get men sent off, or even, if we go three goals ahead in the first 15 minutes. He is the one who decides if and when to sub, and who to sub for. Ok, he may not be able to buy players he wants, but he certainly has to play to the advantages of the players he has got.

Secondly, our players need to step up and play to the best of their abilities for the full 90 mins. If they can’t, the manager needs to change it at the time and then address it during training through the week. They have as much responsibility as the managers have. This is regardless of whether they are just on loan or permanently signed ( as permanent as a full contract is!). Players should be playing for their own pride, nevermind just trying to win the game. As for refusing to travel and play on the day, well, enough has already been said about that. No one wants to see half hearted challenges and lukewarm chasing down of long balls. The one thing that stood out this last season was the way Beradi and Ayling flung themselves in front of the ball to deflect it away from goal. It looks like we are going to lose Captain Bartley, because he has had such a good season with us. I wish him well and he has my thanks.

This leads onto my third point. We need a good captain, someone who can command respect from his team and lead them. I don’t think Bridcutt was cut out for the job but Captain Bartley was. As it stands, we have no obvious stand out candidates in the present team, but who knows?

Whoever becomes our new man in charge, I hope he can pick up where we left off in our positive areas and see what we need to change to improve where we were lacking. Our defence was good, Chris Wood was on fire, I still think O Kane and Phillips suited each others play. The gaps just need filling in, as long as we don’t lose anyone else.

The final words are left for Garry-with-two-Rs. You could have done it you know. I really believe we had a chance to go up last season. Newcastle were struggling and all we had to do was pull some decent results out of the bag. We couldn’t hold the draw at Huddersfield and never even got going at home to Cardiff, sadly beaten by Sol Bamba. We hung on from the 5th minute at Fulham for the draw and QPR at home was a non event. Then came the run of 8 games at the end of the season where we won ONE game. That’s relegation form, no one can gloss over that fact. Yes, we got the equaliser in the 96th minute at St James Park, but we lost to Burton for crying out loud and Wolves at home was just embarrassing. Any other coach/manager, at any other time of the season would have been sacrificed..

The great Peter Sarstedt sadly left us this year. In tribute to his most famous record, the MOST requested song on the Battlebus, the classic “Where Do You Go To My Lovely” (need you ask?) forms the next chapter in the close season series.

So, where exactly do we go? Much depends on what happens in the next 12 weeks, of course. We can only hope that the next few months are productive in terms of managerial stability. Ben Mansford has left the club on good terms and having met the guy in person, I and the branch wish him every success in the future. For a Barnsley fan, he was a very nice bloke, approachable and honest, and a big believer in fan involvement. Having seen his message to the fans on social media, I hope all is well with Cellino and Mr Radrizzani, given we don’t want to go two steps forward and one step back. Today it has been announced that Mr Cellino has finally been bought out by Andrea Radrizzani. As I said in my last blog, I wish Mr Cellino well and thank him for all his efforts.

Garry-with-two-Rs has done ok this season. A reasonable run in the League Cup, some good buys at the start of the season gave us hope. The impressive game against Norwich away then that thrilling night at Elland Road resulting one of the best goalkeeping displays seen at home by Silvestri in that penalty shoot out. We were going on decent runs and play offs looked a dead cert… then it happened. The “Game That Should Never Be Mentioned”. A complete utter total mistake by Garry that sealed our fate and heralded our fall from grace. It is said there is always a rise before the fall, and boy did we fall.

So can I sum up what the problems were? Is there a solution? Is there light at the end of the tunnel? Where do we go to now?

The most obvious thing for me is that there needs to be a plan B for scoring goals. Chris Wood has been immense for us this season, but we cannot leave all the work to him. Who else scored for us? Captain Bartley, Pontus, Pablo, a few goals here and there, but no valid cover. I had my doubts about Roofe at the start, figuring that the jump from Oxford to Leeds may have been a leap too far. If Roofe had started scoring from the off, his confidence would have been a massive springboard, but he didn’t. But to be fair, what actually was the game plan? Antonsson certainly wasn’t in that plan. The guy came with such high hopes, but never really got a chance. It seemed like the only plan was to get the ball to Wood. Regardless of whether we were playing a team with 10 men behind the ball, or 4,3,2,1. We all laughed at Stam and boring, boring, Reading, but who has had the last laugh, I ask you?

I am still not sure why Pablo played so much either. Yes,the guy has talent, but to me he couldn’t last the 90 minutes. Some fantastic runs and cracking goals but some serious misplaced passing and lacklustre legs at times too. To me Pablo was a player to start at home but come on as sub at an away game. Sacko again, sometimes spent more of the game giving the ball away and then trying to retrieve said ball, then actually making a run down the wing, to cross to…wait for it….Chris Wood.

Still, at least this season Chris Wood proved his doubters wrong. I am so very glad (and grateful) he got his mojo back. It took till at least Christmas for people to stop there endless whingeing about how little they rated him. He still has those few haters who just cannot bring themselves to recant, despite 30 goals. Some people are never going to change, but by March the majority were finally admitting how wrong they were.

Frankly, the midfield was the problem. The defence went from strength to strength with Green improving every game and Wood was on fire, but we just could NOT get the midfield right. Giving Bridcutt his place back as soon as he was fit, wasn’t a good move. I thought Phillips and O Kane were on a roll, but then O Kane got injured and Phillips lost his perfect partner. The loss of these two holding midfielders left the midfield bereft. We tried with Vieira and Bridcutt, but two players that are basically the same never works. Then we tried Pablo with Bridcutt and then any combination of Bridcutt, Vieira, Pablo, Roofe and Sacko. With Bridcutt at times going deep and helping the defence , bizarrely enough. When Monk made no attempt to give any game time to Murphy, Dave and Doukara I thought that signalled then end for them. Big Dave and Luke Murphy were shipped away, but surprisingly enough, The Duke was given the chance of super sub at home to Burton and made his impact with that goal in injury time. It kept him in the team, well that an his fantastic volley at home to Forest, and when he did get a chance, he did his level best. Dallas too made a couple of appearances as well, and he did make an impact.

It was after “The Game That Shall Never Be Mentioned” that we started to really struggle, so much for “resting” the players then. However, Monk kept to more or less the same team, and even when we were crying out for a change, he still didn’t let O Kane back. Murphy would have been an option in the middle, as would Dallas on the wing. Pedraza and Mo Barrow both came on as ineffective subs at Huddersfield, not too sure why, not the best game to get your debut in a Yorkshire cup final! Like I said no plan B.

As much as I hate to say it, he bottled it. We had the play offs and were jokingly tentatively going on about going up in 2nd place, or at least I was. So, where do we go to?

Excelsior!

Today the details about the 25% refund promised by Signor Cellino have been released, this despite all the nonsense from the naysayers who just could not bring themselves to think that our owner would be good to his word. The Doubting Thomases, who right until the details were posted on the Leeds United website, were still intent on stirring the proverbial toilet bowl with the same boring stick they have been using the last few years. This is where I need to reiterate, MY thoughts and words are my own, not the branch, not the LUSC, mine and mine alone. Regular readers will know, I was sold the moment Massimo said he wanted to buy Elland Road back. I have and still do support Sig. Cellino, despite the fact that he is as mad as a box of frogs, because when push comes to shove, I want what he wanted. I want Leeds United to become great again, I want the ground and the training ground back, I want to see us promoted. I want to see us be where we belong, out of the mire of the last decade and forward, viribus utilis. But this is not just me, this is more people than would care to admit it. Like that scene in the famous film, with Tony Curtis the chief initiator of the crowd, I am Spartacus.. and then the rest without prompt, I am Spartacus, I’m Spartacus or should that be I am Cellino….

After years under the rule of someone who categorically said he “would not rest until Leeds United were kicked out of the football league”, then backed by allegedly the “largest voice of Leeds United fans”, the poorest arabs on the planet were introduced as the new saviours. Not like Negan’s Saviours from The Walking Dead either. These “saviours”, with the help of Shaun Harvey, got us into more debt that Ridsdale ever could have done with ten thousand gold plated fish tanks.

We had the chance to put all of this behind us, a fresh start, who wouldn’t want it? An owner who was happy to stand on the terraces and have a cigarette with normal fans, instead of calling us “morons” and using the matchday programme for his own personal vendettas and propaganda. An owner who was interested in football and had a proven head for business.

Massimo wanted to buy Leeds United. What he actually got was…… well what did he get?

He got the team and the stadium itself but not the ground it stood on.  He wanted to buy back Elland Road and Thorp Arch, but was thwarted at every attempt, by “whoever” it was who owns them. He got the LUFC name, but not the TV rights and certainly didn’t bargain on Yorkshire TV and Yorkshire Radio, like Klingons on the starboard side. No match day catering income, as that had already been farmed out, but he got the shell of the doomed Howards Way restaurant. I think someone once said “it’s not about the 20 days of football, it’s about the 340+ other days of the year” or something like that. To our illustrious Italian owner, it must have been like buying a house and then someone telling you that you can’t get your mates round and play in the garden without someone else’s permission.

He thought we had a team of half decent players with a decent manager in McDermott. But when it was clear we were continuing with our mid-table mediocrity, going nowhere fast and Fat Ross decided he would rather sell himself on transfer deadline day to the highest bidder via Sky Sports News HQ, what would any man think? Even though McDermott was hardly on a promotion winning run, fans admirably thought it fit to defend him to the hilt, resulting in the famed “West Stand Siege”. Brian got a stay of execution, but ultimately he was removed and since then, has hardly managed a ripple in managerial pool. Was this a sign of things to come? Then the torrid times of Hockaday, Redders, Darko, Redders again, and Rosler, until we settled with Big Steve Evans. What a gamble, but it paid off to some extent!

Two years of testing times, run ins with the FA, the Football League, being told by un-fit and im-proper people that he wasn’t fit and proper… cue pot, kettle,black. Then Sky, believing in bettering their viewing figures so they could get a bumper advertising revenue in when Leeds United are playing. The people who are actually in charge of the EFL playing musical chairs with the fixture lists, flouting the rules in the faces of the fans who fork out their hard earned cash to watch our beautiful game.

On top of all that, people who thought they could run a football club better than he could. People who constantly moaned at what he did, whilst only speculating about what he was doing, because of course, no one knows exactly what was going on. People who would rather spend their money on the East Stand equivalent of Blackpool Illuminations, posters, coffins, fly bys etc.etc.etc. and the obligatory slating of fellow fans. People who would rather turn fans against fans, spend 90 minutes chanting anti Cellino songs instead of getting behind the team and generally massaging their own over-inflated egos, with plenty of self congratulatory back slapping and chest bumps. At the same time proclaiming that they have a consortium of funds, that never actually materialised into anything substantial.

So, it looks like the end is nigh for The Massimo Era. With Signor Radrizzani waiting in the wings, will it be the case of better the devil you know? Who knows?

Signor Cellino –  Grazie e Arrivederci..