It’s snowing!
Apologies for the delay to the February 2020 update, it’s been a bit busy
Monthly Branch Meeting
Branch meeting was held Sunday February 2nd, thanks to all who attended. It was decided to allow a little longer to try sell a few more raffle tickets for the Hospitality for the Reading game. There was a bit of a discussion about how difficult it has been trying to order tickets and how different it used to be when we were rubbish, when there were never any problems getting tickets. There was some feedback from the IAG meeting and the potential cut (again!) to the Hull City allocation this season due to persistent standing. We, as a supporters club, have seen the away ticket allocations serially cut over the last few years. It is undoubtedly due to the poor behaviour of fans at away games. But, as we well know, there is an element of Leeds United fans who are far too busy enjoying their big day out to think about the connotations of their actions and the impact it has on the following seasons. It’s not just about the standing and blocking the aisles, the beer fights, smoking in and then the trashing of the toilets, the banging on the shutters because the home team are refusing to serve the people having beer fights any more beer, the climbing on the walls… need I go on? But it’s also about the misuse of alcohol and other substances which ruin it for the majority of people who genuinely are only there to watch the game.
I can only see it getting worse, so I think we will be saying goodbye to the days of managing to get to every game in a season very soon. Thank the Lord we enjoyed it while it lasted.
Moving on…
Memberships
The branch is showing a very healthy growth in numbers. May it long continue….. The branch is not just about away games, 50% of our branch would never be able to get a ticket to an away game anyway! Our branch attend the LUSC exec meetings fortnightly, vote for the Player of The Month on your behalf, organise monthly branch meetings, and we proudly sponsor home grown Harrogate talent Ryan Edmondson. We attend the LUSC Annual Quiz (and do badly but enjoy the pie and peas supper), the LUSC Annual Dinner and try to promote the LUSC best we can. We have our own website with it’s star, Chairman Charley at the helm. To top it off we have a pretty good end of season BBQ. It’s a diverse group and we don’t all agree with each other, safe to say, no one agrees with anybody else most of the time, but we are a nice group of people on the whole. We may not be as active as some supporters groups, but we make as much effort as we can within the limits of work and organising trips.
Away Games
Enjoying it while it lasts! There will be a trip to Boro (details to be posted imminently) and then tickets pending, there may well be a smaller trip to Hull.
A.O.B
LUSC Annual Dinner
The Centenary LUSC Annual Dinner is pencilled in for Luton on the Spring Equinox, Saturday 21st March. The usual 3 course meal and disco. The branch will be subsidising the ticket and travel costs are per usual. It is a good chance to meet up with other branches for a natter and see how well people scrub up when they are not dressed in football gear. We are hoping that the Club allow us our usual access to the players post match, before the meal. Normally The Deputy manages to get photos with all of them, so that shows you how long we get before they leg it back to their hotel. We are hoping that they will honour the fact that 3 of the LUSC branches spend money sponsoring players, so crossing our fingers that they let us have Kalvin, Klich and Ryan for a little longer. If anyone sees Bielsa in Wetherby, can you ask him nicely please?
LUSC Annual Quiz
Likely to be held somewhere in the East Stand on Thursday 16th April, which is the week of the Barnsley game. It is Easter the week before, so Stoke at home on Good Friday and Swansea away on Easter Monday (unless SkyTVisf**kings**t decide to change it). Pork pie and peas supper for the meat eaters and grass for the rest I am guessing. The questions are difficult, even harder after a few pints, and positively impossible after bottle of red wine… yet somehow someone still manages to get some answers correct. We had 3 teams last year, 4 if you include Ripon bringing a team as well. We didn’t do very well, but it was a good laugh and we really need to start revising well before the week before. 4 people to a team, the branch pays the team entry fee and subsidises drink and travel. Let us know if you are interested, we don’t stick a chance of winning unless we sign up one of the people from The Chase.
Hospitality for Reading and other Sponsorship benefits
The winners of the two pairs of Reading tickets were….. Mally (I never win anything – EVER) Appleyard and Smuff (yeah give us a tenners worth) Paul Smith. Congratulations to you both. When the tickets arrive we will sort out getting them to you with the itinerary. Thanks to everyone who took part, any monies raised go towards the cost of Ryan’s sponsorship.
When the Thorp Arch event is confirmed, the branch will do the same and raffle off the places to branch members. I think last year the Thorp Arch places were split into a parent and child pairing and then two individual places. It’s worth remembering that the Thorp Arch event is always at the last minute.
There is still the LUSC Hospitality tickets which have yet to be announced.
Player Of The Month
There was a great response to vote for Player of the Month last month. Please can you continue to do so, regardless of whether some of them deserve it or not…. as at the end of the season there needs to be a winner to accept the LUSC Player of The Season trophy. The last few seasons someone from the LUSC has been able to present the trophy pitchside before a game. If anyone wishes to be put forward for that, please get in touch.
Programme Page
Most of you will have seen Bruce Reid got a picture and congratulations from the branch for doing his bit spreading Christmas Cheer round Harrogate. If anyone else has got anything like this, please get in touch with us.
Finally, monthly branch meetings etc.
The branch hold a monthly meeting on the 1st Sunday of every month (unless we are playing that day). It normally only lasts an hour or so, it’s not that much time out of your evening to come down to the Londesborough for a pint or two. If you have anything to contribute or wish to volunteer to help out with anything, please do so. This is your branch, so if you want anything to change, think the branch could do more or have any other (sensible) suggestions, this is where you need to do it. Other than The Membership Secretary (who has a job for life – not just Christmas) and probably Chairman Charley, all of the places on the Committee are up for grabs. If anyone wants to take the responsibility of ordering tickets, sorting coaches and refreshment stops and all the other social media, communications and admin stuff that comes with the job, all you need to do is put your proposals in, with a seconder, in WRITING four weeks before the AGM. The AGM is usually 1st Sunday in July, so as long as we have received your written proposal in time (so June 1st normally) for the agenda to be printed out, it can be put forward, debated and voted on at the AGM.
