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What Price the Soul of Leeds United?

22/7/2013

12 Comments

 

By Rob Atkinson

Picture
After the brief optimism of a few weeks ago, when the first post-Bates day saw welcome changes in the boardroom and welcome signings on the pitch - including one for whom we supposedly paid actual BIG money - things have gone a bit gloomy again over at LS11. The pre-season programme has now brought three successive defeats, including a woeful display at Walsall which Brian McDermott described as his "worst day as Leeds United manager". The perceived wisdom is that we still need quality additions, including a rock of a centre-half and at least one tricky, fleet-footed winger. Brian's "priority signing" is still unsigned, and unidentified. Clearly, more serious money is needed.  Where's it coming from?

The sequence of news items has been interesting.  Once all that early-July optimism started to wane, the Red Bull story surfaced, and it refused to go away.  The fans of course immediately started adding two and two to make five, and the scare stories of team rebranding circulated, along with slightly more feasible rumours of stadium naming rights. The battle lines were drawn; one camp stand firm in its traditionalism and will not tolerate the idea of the team playing at the Red Bull Arena, nor even a glimpse of that devil's colour red on our pristine white shirts (with the fat blue stripe).  On the other side there are those who feel we've sunk too low to be coy about appearances and naming rights - show us the money, they say, and you can basically do what you like to us. But we need to be talking massive money - we're not, after all, some cheap trollop of a club you can buy for a song.

Once the Red Bull story had been around a little, and it had been possible to gauge fans' reactions, Brian started to appear in the media again with his gloomy face on, bemoaning the lack of progress in the transfer market and making pessimistic noises about having to sell before he can buy.  It makes me wonder whether, having realised that there would be significant fan opposition to the idea of naming rights to Elland Road being sold off, GFH might just have briefed Brian to get out there and make these dolorous pronouncements, putting the fear of God up the support that another season of under-achievement awaits and basically softening us up for whatever commercial coup they might have lined up.  I'm not saying that Brian will necessarily be so ready to dance to the GFH tune, but I do smell a big, fat rat in terms of how our expectations are being managed, and how our instinctive suspicion of corporate influence over our club's traditions is being dissipated by worry over lack of transfer money.

The fact is that the precedents are already out there for success at any price, and that we will ignore these new trends at our peril.  Man City play at the Etihad, and Arsenal at the Emirates. If corporate stadium names are OK at these two grand old clubs, then why not at Leeds?  It's not as if any Leeds fan would ever call it by any other name than Elland Road anyway, so why the big fuss?  We can expect to be wound up by opposition fans and the media, but what's new about that? Surely the priority now is to give Brian McDermott the tools to finish the job.

If we remain too ignorantly proud to go with the flow, then we have to accept that the price of pride might be one we don't wish to pay.  Do we want to play at the Red Bull Arena in the Premier League, or at Elland Road in the Championship - or
maybe even in League One? It might just be that the choice is as simple and stark as that.
12 Comments
Rex
22/7/2013 03:43:43 am

I must admit, I have wondered if we are all being manipulated by GFH, - or even if GFH are being manipulated by Big Mac!

I advocated a change of strip after the takeover, back to the original blue & yellow. After all, the white shirt was nicked from Real Madrid by The Don. We keep our history as history and move forward. MOT

Reply
Anon
22/7/2013 03:55:22 am

We have a huge fanbase. I've supported Leeds for 35 years and travelled thousand of miles to Elland Road. It would appear that around 780,000 can't be bothered to watch their local team so the vote should go to the fans who are not from Leeds.
I vote rebranding. The club needs to love forward. WAFLL MOT

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Paul Wilkinson
22/7/2013 04:17:17 am

Instead of concentrating on signing and selling players, all we are hearing from Leeds United is news about what suits and new kits that the players will be wearing in the new season. I am not very keen on the 2 new shirts that Leeds will be wearing next season, but one thing that I would change is that horrible club badge. The Leeds club badge was changed in 1998 and nobody was ever consulted in it's design, which resembles a school badge rather than a football club badge.
I would like the circular Yorkshire Rose badge reinstated or even the original club badge, which was the City of Leeds coat of arms.

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Tom
22/7/2013 03:50:56 am

I agree with That

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Ilkleywhite
22/7/2013 03:57:09 am

I think most Leeds fans would agree, that any large corporate sponsorship would be welcome, so if they call Elland Road the Red Bull Stadium, and they inject £100 Mill into the club, then so what, it will always be Elland road to us, BUT, they must not, as in NOT, change any part of the playing strip to anything remotely like red, our traditional colours of all white, blue and yellow must remain.

I think most Leeds fans are a tolerant lot, and our love of the club goes beyond fanatical, we would welcome a cash injection, I am sure a Man City fan was worried about the stadium being changed from Eastlands to the Eithad and this was an initial problem but a Premier league title, and Millions spent on the team would have changed all that, but to change the colour of the strip to red, that would be a bridge too far for our fans, the thought of anything red added to our famous white strip, makes me shudder, and if they did change the colour to red, then I would simply stop going to Elland Road, and I suspect that many of our fellow fans would follow suit, it doesn't bear thinking about, so Mr Haigh if you read this, don't change the strip, and think of the fans...

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Mr orange
22/7/2013 03:58:43 am

Everyone is jumping to the conclusion that the ground will be renamed the redbull stadium , well that's not always the plan of a sponsor , nor of the board who accept the sponsorship ... Its just pie in the sky but you're right rob , if it comes to "selling out " then I'm all for it being called redbull elland rd or whatever as long as it means we are given the funds to build a proper team . Oh and just a foot note , my brothers ashes are scattered in the south stand goal mouth , but it'll always be the scratching shed goal mouth to me and him , but time & tide wait for no man and its only a name , one man's south stand is another man's scratching shed !!! MOT

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Andyb1974 link
22/7/2013 04:02:49 am

I reckon fans should accept the fact that we were fucked by ken I just hope this red bull earner comes off elland rd is elland rd and that aint gonna change but fingers crossed we get some funds in before the window closes keep the faith MOT

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Adam
22/7/2013 04:06:35 am

I would rather play in the Championship or worse as Leeds United than play in the Premier League as Leeds United Red Bulls. Simple decision for me.

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bazza64
22/7/2013 06:25:06 am

history of elland road is our history and always will be. But life moves on and if red bull come in with funds we need to take it because we are a big club of great support there is not one at the top of premiership who has done it any other way, loyal we are loyal we stay , its simply fact of the business today

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Neill Shaw HX
22/7/2013 06:52:21 am

Sorry ilkleywhite were Leeds Unt who the fucking hell is going to give us anything near 100 million quid just to rename er with these jokers ghf running the show looks like another long season for us iwill be their supporting again like a mug

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tubs
22/7/2013 07:25:12 am

City left Maine Rd to go to the Etihad. Arsenal left Highbury to go to the Emirates. They didn't change the names of their grounds. Leeds will sell out asap and rename Elland Rd as soon as the Wonga is waved. There's a Tory running the show. What did you expect ?

Reply
geoff
23/7/2013 11:38:36 am

I am the richest man in the world,take over leeds and promise to make them the greatest team ever,money no object,but they must play in all red.Would you still support leeds?.

Reply



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