By Keith InghamAfter another defeat left Leeds in 'limbo land' or mid table. I decided to write this open letter to our prospective new owner if this ongoing takeover ever gets completed.
I wanted him to know why this Leeds fan thinks it is so important to get in position a board that will think of the team first for a change and why I first became a follower of the greatest team in the world, in my opinion. It started back in 1974, high in the Gelderd End (Revie Stand) that I fell in love with Leeds. That love has continued for forty years and like our song has had it's 'ups and downs, ups and downs. I think of those days fondly even though most of my early years I would return home with the backs of my legs slightly damp due to somebody relieving themselves in the packed Kop. If you can get through that and see the funny side of it nothing else can tempt you away from the theatre of hope. I've seen trophies lifted, brilliant players, the Revie team that was never given the credit it deserved, the fallow years in the eighties when times were hard and confidence low through to the emergence of Wilkinson's team that became the last League Champions before the Premiership came and lastly O'Learys 'babes' who swept Europe aside only to fall at the last hurdle in the Champions League. Great highs and lows of this wonderful club. The fall of this once mighty club is well documented. We gambled and when it went wrong we nearly paid the ultimate price, the club we loved. I'm only one fan but my sentiments provably are echoed by tens of thousands. This deal needs to be done and quick before another season goes by without progress where it matters on the pitch. We applaud your efforts to raise the profile of the club and grow closer to the fans that matter through your work within the community. The last thing I must say with pride and passion, please Mr Haigh make memories in the future so we don't just remember our glorious past. Let's make this club great again On On On
18 Comments
PETER LOCKWOOD
18/1/2014 10:33:11 pm
I agree with most of this letter but the last few lines are the most important,the past is the past.We had to start again in the lower leagues,that's the recent history,now we're in the Championship and no doubt the Premiership next year or the year after or the year after,I only hope we don't have to wait as long for our next win.
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JohnH
18/1/2014 10:58:17 pm
Well at first I had very serious doubts about Mr Haigh and GFH and actually asked Mr Haigh over twitter if it was time to put up or shut up when the first T/O was occurring.. Bates Paranoia in all honesty.. But when you look at just what has been going on behind the scenes it starts to paint a bigger picture of improvement. There have been issues at Leeds United far far greater than the playing staff and these are the issues that MUST be resolved before any real attempt at promotion is taken on board.. When we get to the prem we need to be a well oiled machine, When BMC says he is trying to build something that is exactly what he meens.. from ground up a total rebuilding process.. even down to the youth system or tea ladies!! Everything.. Think of it like restoring an old antique chest of drawers.. you dont go and varnish the thing before you have gotten rid of the woodworm or done the correct repairs.. Infact what you will have to do is strip the thing down to its bare essentials and work from there, repairing where needed cutting out the rot and making additions where needed.. Unfortunatly repairing a fine antique to its former glory is going to take a lot more time, effort and money then it would to pop to IKEA and get something new made out of MDF (Red Bull).. But at the end when the work is all done you are left with something more beautiful and amazing then any quick fix could ever offer.. So in this comment or rather my open letter to fans whom are disgruntled with current performances i say this.. Give it time.. Im very certain that Mr Haigh and co will do us proud its just a matter of time..
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Mike
19/1/2014 01:16:40 am
Well said John, there is so much to do, I have faith in BMC but am waiting to see how the "new owners" will respond.
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mark
19/1/2014 02:03:33 am
the trouble is Mike, we all keep going and they know we always will, why? because we love OUR club, look what Bates did and the vast majority of us still went nearly every week, no matter how much we moan they know we will always keep paying and they take advantage of this... I do admire the optimists on here and everywhere else but you'll all still be saying the same thing in another 10 years, "build on a solid foundation" I'm afraid the only way nowadays is vast investment with a big loss for the owners...
JohnH
19/1/2014 07:29:47 am
Unfortunatly money now runs the game. i tend to read between the lines of mr Haighs comments and 1 of his recent tweets suggests that good news is coming this wk. now i personly feel that gfh have tied hands til the deal is done. why? god knows but im presuming middle eastern bankers know precisly 0 how important it is to have a successful january. Haigh and Flowers have a lot to lose on this. Both are young entrepeneurs whom wish to acheive a reputation of success. people shudnt underestimate the drive of these people, they wudnt b doing this if they felt they cudnt do it. it would b to costly to their careers. and as for flowers et al they have already pumped god knows how much into LUFC and it doesnt even belong to them yet. if that dont say dedication what does? p.s although GFH are now proving to b a stumbling block on transfers i dont begrudge them a profit on LUFC as they got rid of the cancer that was master bates and nor would i begrudge mr Haigh and co the same in years to come after they have taken us back to the promised land. and as said before im pretty certain that they will.
JP
19/1/2014 04:21:42 pm
That is absolutely spot on, gonna take a few years, Rome wasn't built in a day and all that. Brilliant comment, top lad
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JohnH
19/1/2014 09:43:37 pm
appreciated, thankyou.
mark
18/1/2014 10:58:44 pm
Well although I fully echo your sentiments Keith, it's a bit of a naive letter, Mr Haigh and everyone who has been part of the ownership since the Ridsdale era has been a business man, there only objective has been to make money from Leeds and that's not going to change now, any investment is a gamble for them and they will need a return on that money. Unless a billionaire comes along to buy us, we'll never be competing in the premiership, even if by some miracle we made it up to the top division, we'd still be scraping around at the bottom with the other strugglers,don't kid yourself otherwise, no matter how much you or I or anyone else loves our wonderful club...
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Rich
19/1/2014 02:44:54 am
We need money to go forward mot
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This is the voice of the mysterons yet again we have managed to infiltrate the minds of the chairmen,directors and owners and players at Elland Rd.Our job is to undermine everything at Leeds and cast doubt where there is hope.We are well ahead with plans during the transfer window,Leeds have not made any quality signings,and have missed out on class acts ,whilst talks of percentages and ownership have been bounced about.G.F.H = Get Further Has-Beens
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19/1/2014 03:44:55 am
ia,m.a big leeds fqn like very yorkshire man I mean we have had legends play there why now mess around with something that's very important to us all ok
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Martin
19/1/2014 04:21:48 am
Every time there is a transfer window it seems to be under the smoke screen of a "take over". It's time to put up or shut up. As much as we need stability on the pitch we need it in the boardroom. Don't get me wrong, just throwing money at it isn't the answer but we can't continue with the gossip and rumours every 6 months.
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OzTyke
19/1/2014 05:09:03 am
Due to Bates' moronic policy of forcing his managers to spend peanuts or nothing at all on incoming players (while selling off our good ones), it should come as no surprise that the Club has massively under-achieved for over 8 years. Each successive manager has therefore been lumbered with a squad (largely) full of crap players who have been unbelievably signed on long contracts and who are so ordinary that nobody else wants them.
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Johno
19/1/2014 05:25:29 am
Gotta agree with John's post, think he put it really well. Yeah losing is upsetting but I do believe we will get there. Not expecting to get there this season if we do it's a bonus but I doubt we'd be able to stay there without investment. Next season is what I'm looking more towards
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Bridges
19/1/2014 06:36:37 am
Just over a week to go to bring in several much needed players into a much quality deprived over acheiving (up until xmas) squad. Its well and truly obvious that GFHC bought the club with the intention of making a quick buck out of us. From day one whilst warnock was still at the helm they fed us lies and false promises. We were all expecting considerable investment on the pitch during the summer, unsurprisingly it did not arrive. And now we are told that despite a looming takeover, there are sufficient funds in place to support Brian in the market. The point is that brian knows we need a huge influx of quality on the pitch. Its not a case of him struggling to find targets beacause i'll bet he has dozens in mind. The manager is not being backed despite david haighs comment to suggest otherwise. In the summer we will require a new batch of players to replace the deadwood in the squad. Whats the bet now that these new additions will be free signings, or loans. Someone has already mentioned the solution to this problem in this comments feed. We need an owner with sufficient funding and a care less attitude for throwing large amounts of money at proven quality players. When you look at the global popularity and recognition of Leeds United its unbelievable to see rival clubs around the country recieving investment and not us. Maybe one day i suppose.
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manguiers
19/1/2014 01:45:53 pm
we cannot reflect on past glories but certainly we can look up to the future we all love our club yet what we expect is not happening leeds no longer have the heavy burden of debts like other clubs just round the corner the new owners should realise that the initial investment on good players can be painful but fruitful in the end for their investment and that leaves the devoted followers well we can make them feel it by not turning up for some matches I see we had less than 30000 in the last match for the top team they need to feel it.Brian Mcdermott appears to be a committed manager so we do not have problem with him and he too must have a game plan to face each team and the players should strive hard to win each gameto relect their salary.
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Anders63
19/1/2014 03:15:29 pm
Leeds united are embedded into every morsal of my being and like most leeds fansit hurts like hell when we lose. I think BMC will get it right he has little to work with no skill in the team and no one with a good football brain. He on the other hand has a brain and is methodical like Revie and Wilko. He will lead to the promised lan, Keep the faith!
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