weallloveleeds.co.uk
  • Latest
  • Fixtures/Results/Table
  • Have Your Say
  • Meet the team
  • Contact Us
  • Links

Signings or Sales? Which way will the cookie crumble in the GFH era?

18/1/2013

7 Comments

 

By Andrew Butterwick

Picture

After the surprise cup win at a deserted St Andrews in midweek Leeds welcome Bristol City to the Theatre of Hope for the latest game of the championship season. For the second time in a week we  face the strongest team in the league, the one who are holding the rest of us up from their lonely position at the bottom of the league. But as our friends from Oakwell showed last week nothing can be taken for granted in this super competitive league........especially when the said lonely team at the bottom of the league have Mr O'Driscoll in charge. Last time we came across him he was plotting a Boxing Day massacre against Leeds with his Forest team. A massacre that cost him his job bizarrely! With confidence officially "fragile" at Leeds  the Robins will present a stern test for mis-firing Leeds especially with the  "new manager" bounce that SOD will generate.

The win at Birmingham,  welcome as it was, didn't entirely paper over the cracks appearing in the new  owner's castle. The old problem of announcing "we've got a couple of new signings who should be here by the weekend" has once again infested Planet Leeds. Fans expectations are raised only to be dashed when the inevitable problems with said signings prevent any new player making it to Thorp Arch. I'm just glad that Shaun Harvey's "working hard behind the scenes" or we might be in real shit street! With the closure of the transfer window fast approaching Neil  Warnock's attempts to bring some quality players in to the club look more and more unlikely. Still we haven't sold any of our decent players yet have we? 

On the subject of players leaving the situation with Becchio puzzles me. Yet again Warnock referred to people "turning his head" at today's press conference. Why does he come out in public and say that? I can't believe it  makes the atmosphere on the training ground very good? It's also a significant  turnaround from NW stating "Becchio's going nowhere" a couple of weeks ago? I hate to say it but all of this has an all too familiar ring to it. We've been a selling club for the last few years so when the new owners appeared there was hope that those days were gone. I do hope that come 1st Feb that hope is still alive?

Team selection will be interesting for the Bristol game. With Barkley and Tonge available and Becchio recovered from his mystery illness there  will be plenty of debate amongst the Leeds faithful as to what the best eleven is. Should Becchio start? Did Ross Mac do enough to keep his place? Barkley will start but who will drop to the bench? What position will Pelts play? Will Lees start? What about the tactics? In what will be arctic conditions will the famous Hoofball style predominate or will the passing game that blossomed in the 2nd  half at Brum takeover.

As Johnny Nash once sang "there are more questions than answers" on Planet Leeds at present. Hopefully some of the  burning ones will be answered in the next two weeks. I do hope they are what the majority of fans are desperate to hear and not the same old frustrations that  we've endured for the Bate's years.

On the field here's hoping Leeds get  suitable revenge on Sean O'Driscoll for his Boxing Day triumph. That will depend on which Leeds team turns up though. If it's the one that woefully surrendered  at Oakwell it will be a long cold afternoon for the remaining faithful fans. Or  will we see some spark of hope rising from another win at Elland Road? Life is never boring supporting Leeds is it?

Can't wait.

MOT
7 Comments
James
18/1/2013 06:02:18 am

The longer this month goes on the more it seems like we are still owned by Bates. Not much has changed, thought we would have brought some quality additions. Looks like noones coming in unless our best players are sold again

Reply
Oztyke
18/1/2013 08:33:59 am

Noone.... wasn't he in Herman's Hermits?
I agree with Andrew, some of Mr Warnock's media statements are baffling. How productive can it be, to announce that your squad is rubbish (last Feb onwards)? No wonder the players gave up if the manager had already done so.

Reply
Bluesman link
18/1/2013 05:59:34 pm

All the signs are that Bates is still in charge and doing his usual tricks about this time of year and prior to the start of the closed season. A lot of people are tweeting that they will not be going to matches from the end of this month unless their is investment in the squad, which is understandable. I don't think that Bates or the new owners appreciate how much damage has been done to the fanbase. It won't be that easy to get your customers back Smurf. They have probably taken up other less expensive interests at weekends. It will take real effort from the club to get back to where we were!! GFH and Bates need to think about this, because if more people pull out it will leave everyone in a mess. I don't know who does the business strategy, but it is absolutely useless. Invest to get people coming back. Show signs that the Bates era is over, otherwise people just will not believe you!

Reply
Chareose
18/1/2013 09:57:52 pm

Spot on, thats how i see it too...... the more we get into this new regime the more it seems nothing has changed. Leeds fans are critiszised for being conspiracy obsessed but thats because Bates has fostered that distrust by constantly lieing and being manipulative....

Reply
Sunnyleeds
18/1/2013 07:00:02 pm

Good article Andrew with your most important point being that the atmosphere on the training ground is greatly affected with our best player's transfer rumours.

It appears that the management side has not only been unable to suppress similar rumours which damage the team's spirit as we have seen so many times during the last eight years, but it is management itself, in this case Mick Jones, that poke such rumours.

How distressing watching all this. What the club needs first and foremost is a physciatrist to help both players and managers not only on how to react when the team concedes, but also for management on how to communicate publicly.

Reply
Sunnyleeds
20/1/2013 12:01:54 am

Oppss, meant phsycologist not phsycaiatrist

Reply
Josh
19/1/2013 12:10:58 am

What’s the difference between Bates and GFH absolutely nothing.

It’s the same old storey sell anybody who can be sold and say that there will be jam tomorrow. Never mind the end of the month I will not be going to Elland Road again until I am absolutely sure that Bates has gone and that GFH have money to improve the playing staff and they are willing to do it.

Reply



Leave a Reply.

    As featured on NewsNow: Leeds United newsLeeds United News 24/7

    Categories

    All

    Archives

    January 2019
    December 2018
    November 2018
    October 2018
    September 2018
    August 2018
    July 2018
    June 2018
    May 2018
    April 2018
    March 2018
    February 2018
    January 2018
    December 2017
    November 2017
    October 2017
    September 2017
    August 2017
    July 2017
    June 2017
    May 2017
    April 2017
    March 2017
    February 2017
    January 2017
    December 2016
    November 2016
    October 2016
    September 2016
    August 2016
    July 2016
    June 2016
    May 2016
    April 2016
    March 2016
    February 2016
    January 2016
    December 2015
    November 2015
    October 2015
    September 2015
    August 2015
    July 2015
    June 2015
    May 2015
    April 2015
    March 2015
    February 2015
    January 2015
    December 2014
    November 2014
    October 2014
    September 2014
    August 2014
    July 2014
    June 2014
    May 2014
    April 2014
    March 2014
    February 2014
    January 2014
    December 2013
    November 2013
    October 2013
    September 2013
    August 2013
    July 2013
    June 2013
    May 2013
    April 2013
    March 2013
    February 2013
    January 2013
    December 2012
    November 2012
    October 2012
    September 2012
    August 2012
    July 2012
    June 2012

    RSS Feed

    This is an image from weallloveleeds.co.uk, the leading fans site for Leeds United
    Follow @weallloveleedsu
Powered by Create your own unique website with customizable templates.
  • Latest
  • Fixtures/Results/Table
  • Have Your Say
  • Meet the team
  • Contact Us
  • Links