By George & Tom ChellisUtter the name Ken Bates to Leeds United fans and most will shudder, hurl a long series of expletives in your direction but finish with a great sigh of relief that he no longer has any connection to the club. The Bates era was undoubtedly the least successful on the field and the most infuriating from the stands – the fans were filled with anger, the team was filled with no-hopers on long contracts and morale was at an all-time low. After months of protracted talks, GFH Capital finally took over. 9 months on however, and once again the team is sitting mid-table and frustration is starting to gain pace among the fans. We decided to analyse the ways in which GFH have managed, and failed, to improve the club from top to bottom, from wins on the field to happiness in the stands.
Ticket Prices At the start of this season, GFH made the long overdue decision to reduce ticket prices. 10 years of Championship (and League One) football at Premier League prices was, for some, Bates’ biggest crime against the fans. He creamed money off the top from a fan base that he knew would, for the most part, stay loyal through thick and thin. Attendances did drop drastically however, and Elland Road lost its intimidating atmosphere, a worrying trend made clear by former Leeds player Neil Kilkenny who said that Elland Road was no longer an intimidating place to travel. Ticket prices are lower and we are all grateful for that, but have they really gone down enough? We took a look at season ticket prices and our findings were disappointing. United’s cheapest season ticket would place them 12th in a Premier League table of ticket prices. It is clear GFH need to improve this more as Leeds fans are paying to watch what should be mid-table comfort in the Premier League when, in reality, it is mid-table frustration in the Championship. Investment in the playing squad There is one thing that ALL Leeds fans agree on – the standard of players brought in on frees by Bates was laughable. Millions of pounds worth of talent packed their bags and moved south to the Premier League Promised Land, but this money curiously disappeared. Bates brushed off this infuriating lack of investment as a ‘restructuring’ for the future but fans demanded more – they demanded players worthy of the badge. Since GFH have come in, they have in fact given some money to McDermott to spend. We were all proud to read that a seven figure some had been paid for Murphy, someone with his best years of football ahead of him. We are still lacking in key areas however, and for all Salah Nooruddin’s tweeting about potential new signings there just has not been enough unveilings at Thorp Arch. Indeed, we have continued to sign the majority on free transfers (Noel Hunt etc), players who have thus far contributed as much as they cost – nothing. Restoring pride in the club At the lowest times in recent years, we were extremely alarmed to see a lack of pride in the team and diminishing connection between the players and the fans. One thing that has always separated the club from others is the mad, unwavering love and support the club received from its following. This more than disappeared under Bates, and fans were actively expressing their disdain for the state the club was in on social media, with protests and by staying at home on match days. GFH have introduced some very clever schemes to correct this issue including ‘Paint It White’ marketing campaigns, increased interaction between players and fans (at the Superstore etc) and, critically for some fans, reintroducing some very important Leeds United traditions such as the Elland Road wave at the start of home games. One can argue that this has as much to do with Brian McDermott as it does the owners, but a huge amount of credit has to be given to GFH for rebuilding faith in the club and reigniting a sense of unity among the fans. Ultimately, the success of GFH will depend on their ability to get the club back to the Premier League. You will struggle to find a Leeds United fan who is content with the team’s current mid-table obscurity, but we remain confident that GFH will continue to improve the club, from behind the scenes infrastructure to on-field success. As always we’d love to hear your own thoughts and comments on GFH’s first nine months, tweet us at @LUFC_Calypso!
12 Comments
A wilson
7/10/2013 08:45:40 am
Sorry, but with these owners we will go nowhere.
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Will
15/10/2013 04:17:02 am
We are awesome
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The thing that is really puzzling me is that GFH are UAE investment bank which per square mile has more billionaires than anywhere on the planet! Infact everyone they know and does business with should be a potential investor? So why 9 months in nothing.? The only thing I hold onto is that whatever the figure GFH paid for Leeds they won't see a return on their investment in the championship! I realise there will be those who say investment doesn't mean promotion! Look at Leicester ! Well yes look at Leicester a far better squad than Leeds and well placed to get promoted this season! In fact in all seriousness a lot of the teams in the championship have a better stronger squad than us! I don't know if BM is the right man? I thought so but now I have my doubts! If he only had 2 million to spend should it really have been spent on murthy and wooton
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Tare
7/10/2013 12:03:46 pm
Progress well a two way sword so to say. You can move on or make backwards gesture of it. What comes to GHFC okay they have absolutely zero knowledge of top flier football know how but still the enthusiasm with 100 % attitude well sometimes it really is a difference between success and failure.
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Jd606
7/10/2013 04:47:32 pm
Before being critical of GFH, we have to remember the intentions they laid out when they took over. They had a look at the situation and quoted 2 years to do the job.
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Richard
7/10/2013 05:47:08 pm
Good article and I agree with pretty much all of it. I think as a Leeds fan, my desire would be for more transparency between the owners and fans. The Bates era made me very suspicious of the board's activities and took away from what was happening on the pitch.
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Pompey white
7/10/2013 05:50:31 pm
YES progress has been made- Bates has gone, simple- we need to give them time- even the players brought in by Warnock were financed by GFH- I think we are a mid table teram and until BMD can shift some of the dross Warnock recruited Varney, Pearce, Norris ET Al we cant get quality in.
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Adam
7/10/2013 07:51:55 pm
Promotion to the Premier League is apparently worth over £100M. Why clubs like ours don't take a gamble and invest thoroughly I will never understand. The squad isn't good enough for a top half finish at the moment. Investment needs to happen if we are to ever get promoted
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Marketing, public relations, placating words and promises do not make amends for the years of under investment it the squad. Going into schools is great and the customer first thing is really appreciated, but, we pay money to watch good football the Leeds United way. No amount of corporate smiles and compliments about the fans and the community will make up for this. Get the playing side of things sorted out and the rest will fit into place. But, you can't invest in the playing side in case you accidentally got promoted and had to pay out a very large amount of money to a very undeserving cause and ruin our chances of survival in the top flight. So lets be truthful about it and say we are going nowhere for a few years. We have been stitched up, so why should we continue with supporting this shower and at the ticket prices now available?
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Robson
7/10/2013 08:55:43 pm
Agreeing with 'Pompey White' as soon as BmD can shift the droll crap that warnock/grayson wounded us with then we can progress with freed up wages and more transfer fee budget!
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JOHN PALMER
8/10/2013 04:58:07 am
GRAYSON PUT TOGETHER A MID FIELD &FRONT LINE OF SNODGRASS,HOWSON,JOHNSON,GRADEL;BECCHIO, BECKFORD WITH NO CASH DON,,'T BLAME HIM ALSO FRYATT, WAGHORN,HAMMILL,DANNS,MCNAUGHTON,BURKE,HENRY ,BUTTERFIELD ALL WERE AVAILABLE FOR NEXT TO NOTHING
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Billy Bunter
8/10/2013 11:25:53 am
Get ready for the mid table position, based on this form we are no better than under Warnock. Money has been made available and we bought more donkeys. We just have to live with the fact that all of our best years are gone. If we expect little we will no be disappointed.
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