Article: Sad to see Lorimer so out of touch with the Leeds fanbase and community | Football, Leeds

Over the past weeks I have been reading Peter Lorimer's YEP columns and I have to say, I'm exceptionally saddended by just how out of touch he is with the fans and lufc community. You were a real hero to a lot of Leeds supporters Peter and it's a shock to read some of the crap you write!

Has KB dillusioned Peter as to why there is so much negativity around the club? because he keeps manipulating the reasons to these protests into arguments that simply do not exist. The one simple truth that you have not yet, or will not, grasp is that fans are not demanding he plough millions of his own cash into the club (although it would be nice). They simply want to see openness with how the club is being run and investment FROM CLUB REVENUE (somehting which we should have as a club, but is being hidden and not used for club progression).

Now I'll openly say I have not, and for the time being, will not participate in any demonstrations but I fully comprehend the reaons behind them and I do want a lot of the same outcomes. A lot of what is being asked, I don't think many fans would disagree with. Personally, I think if another chairman took over the club like KB did and fundamentally made all the same decisions but without KB's arrogance and pure selfishnes, being more open and honest with the fanbase in the process, we wouldn't be in theis position now. There would still be murmers of 'more investment needed' but decisions would be respected a lot more.

To provide some of the most baffling comments:

"The sheer amount of negativity in Leeds after that loss to Southampton amazed me. Maybe it was down to lingering disappointment from our failure to qualify for the play-offs last season, but it seemed to me that certain people were looking to turn on the club at the first opportunity."
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Well, no Peter. If it amazed you then God help you as concern had been growing over the WHOLE summer. Yes, we had a few good results in preseason but again, it all boils down to sensible and proportionate investment and how that transpires as ambition and progresses the club, not just down to one bad result. Where is this proportionate invstment? That is the question.

"I’m not asking people to judge the squad at the end of the season. I’m asking them to judge the squad once they’ve properly settled into their campaign"
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Sorry Peter, what's pre-season for?


"As for the protests against the chairman last weekend, I thought they were totally wrong. They paid no attention to fact that in six and a bit years he’s turned us into one of the best-run clubs in the country – a club who make a profit each year and don’t have any debt. I know it’s difficult for the supporters to get excited about that, and keeping the club secure and stable is the board’s job at the end of the day, but security matters."
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Best Run? We are talking about Leeds, the club KB owns here aren't we? The one that a lot of people suspect he took over 'illegally'? The one that makes a profit each year but seemingly doesn't spend on player wages at a mere competitive rate for this division? A club that is spending PLAYER resources on a building we do not own? The club that had a very sensible option to buy back their training ground before the buy-back price shot up at a time when we should have been able to pay for it?

I'm sorry Peter but it just doesn't add up. I'm immensley dissapointed with your apparent choice to choose a side. The wrong side in many people's opinions.

Sorry guys... rant over

 

Me thinks KB has quite an influence on what's said and written.

 

I still stand behind KB and i do think money is available to SG, just the RIGHT players have not come up or wanted too much money. Regardless of how much money you have in the bank, you should not spend more on a player than what you think he is worth. West Ham were able to get some of the players they got because of who the current players are and who the manager is plus maybe the parachute payments. Leicester havnt bought nayone exciting really. We have improved one key area quite well. We have also got clayton back and kisnorbo back who both on there own improve both the defense and the midfield. We have improved our attack with the addition of keogh and nunez coming through. I can only see one position that is in need of a signing and that is cover for a midfielder. Thats without the distinct possibility that we sign forrssell. We have improved our squad in every way during the summer. We never needed a massive amount of players during the summer, we had a big squad as it was and especially considering the subs were dropping from 7 to 5. So i dont think fans really have too much to complain over the signings, i really dont.

And this 'he spent loads of money improving a stadium that we dont actually own' is bullshit. The plan was for the world cup for the council and leeds to do works on the ground before doing the seats addition to it as well. Because we didnt win the world cup, the council pulled out and Bates didnt. The works NEEDED to be done but it was probably bad timing for bates to do it seeings the unrest in leeds fans and that they were gonna pick up on anything that he did. Regardless of whether we own elland road or not, its our stadium and we will eventually own it anyway so doing works on it is not really an issue. Again with this building the hotel and museum and things, another thing that fans have tried to pick up on to try to discourage people into supporting bates. This is a scheme to earn more money and whether you like bates or not he has got a very good business brain and you cannot deny him that, he would'nt have got where he is today without it.

Another problem that fans keep bringing up is his comments that are always in the media and the programmes, i personally think bates tells it how it is, he'll call a spade a spade, he wont jazz it up. He also talks his mind regardless of what people thin about him, if he thinks that leeds fans are being 'morons' he'll come out and say they are being morons (thats not me supporting that statement before anyone jumps on me).

At the end of the day, what is his actual job as chairman of leeds united and now owner of this great club?
Well its firstly to pick the manager which most people think SG is doing a good job at leeds united. Secondly its to improve the profit which comes out of the club which he is doing and also to create stability within the club. He is also the director of finances in which he distributes the money in the way he best sees fit. An as he said he has to seperate into 17 different departments at leeds united before even considering spending money for players. He gives SG a budget and SG can buy who he wants and spend how much he wants as long as its in the budget.

Leeds are a very expensive club to run and they need to first of all before anything else spend money to rent thorp arch and elland road for another year. There is also a hell of a lot more that goes on in a company as well than the players. improving how the offices run etc. The truth is no one knows what money is being spent where at leeds and no one knows what money is spent where at any club in the country and obviously to question that is fine but to the extent of what leeds supporters are going is unbelievable. Regardless of anyone's views he did save the club at least once, maybe from not going under but it coulda been a hell of a lot worse than the situation that we ended up with.

Leeds fans are just frustrated at Ken Bates because..... well its hard to find a reason so i think its just because they hate him for no apparant reason.

I cant believe this current unrest among fans concerning bates at the moment, i read a poll the other day that actually had 80% of fans preferring ridsdale to bates and i found that incredibly worrying.

 

I dont like him cos hes leeching from the club. Dont look down on me from that oh so high pedestal youve put yourself onto.

you may believe his ****e but I dont. also we dont own the ground so as the saying goes "why put a conservatory on a council house?" you dont.

 

yes but everyone knows we will own it again at some point anyway, its not really the case of 'dont put a conservatory on a council house' becuase although we dont own it, we will and we are getting the profits from doing it He isnt stupid, give him some credit, he is a successful business man

 

because you have a buy back clause in the contract!

 

why no TA? we had a buy back in that for a significantly reduced amount to what it is now? he didnt take up that offer instead blamed it on the council?

I just think his lies are there for people to see and hes a good liar and likes to pull the wool over peoples eyes.

Succesful how? he ****ed up practically every business he has been involved in. Look him up of you dont believe me...

I'm all for people being behind him or against him, it was teh dismissive way you spoke about people not agreeign with everything that old **** says.

 

Well said Pags-spot on. Sorry Josh mate, on a few of your previous threads in the past I have agreed with you on certain things, and I respect your view and you are more than entiltled to air it on here, however, in my view you are dead wrong. Bates is where he is because he has shafted everyone and everything in his way until he has made profit. The fact we are well run and not in debt is just one of the few positive by-products of his management of the club. If it suited his overall plans to put Leeds in the red for whatever reason, believe you me he would do it in a heartbeat, to hell with the rest of us!

 

Im not saying everyone disagrees with everything he says, these are general arguments that are used against him and many people over the past few months have come out saying in a very similar way to what i have just done why he is such an asshole and he is so bad for leeds united, im targeting quite a specific audience that hate him and everything involved in him. I understand everyone is entitled to there view but i am just giving mine

And he is successful because he is worth a decent amount of money, you dont just get that money from being bad at your job. I hate christina aguilera and think her music is crap but she is still successful because of the amount of records she has sold and from doing other things

 

I don't think Bates is all that great a businessman. I live in London and have seen how pointless all that property hotel nonsense is. Chelsea nearly went out of business before the Russian money arrived. They had a lucky escape and so did Ken.

However, I'm against the demonstrations. Nobody is on the horizon looking to take over so we need to unite around the present administration. We have no choice. What's more, if the unrest gets to the team it could hurt our form and send us back down. The thought petrifies me. It should scare you too.

In the seventies nobody cared about chairmen. We just assumed they were bastards and followed the manager and the team. We need to get back to that attitude. Very few clubs like their chairmen - ManU? Newcastle? Everton? I could go on.

Ken is far from cuddly but we are football fans and we should support the football team.

 

As for the initial post TOM, i agree with you, every time I hear Lorimer it gets worse. shame-absolute legend, and not nearly as miserable as he looks when you actually talk to him!

 

Maybe you are right and i do respect the views of everyone against bates, but until i see in my own eyes that he has done wrong then i'll continue to believe he is right for the club. Im not saying he is the right person to run the club forever but just for now if you like. If i see he has done something that harms leeds i'll be the first to admit it

 

Josh must work for leeds

 

lol, believe me i dont and i am normally quite critical of how leeds are playing, how the new signing doesnt look good and what not but i have sorta reversed my stance this year because i am seeing so many leeds fans become sao negative about a situation that there isnt much to be negative about

 

in the same token josh, if it turns out that bates had a plan all along, and springs it on us and that takes us back to the prem whilst buying back TA and ER whilst keeping us financially stable, I will be the first to say "f**k me sideways, the old codger was a good chairman!" and buy you drink as well fella. Unfortunately, I cant see that happening!

 

"yes but everyone knows we will own it again at some point anyway, its not really the case of 'dont put a conservatory on a council house' becuase although we dont own it, we will and we are getting the profits from doing it He isnt stupid, give him some credit, he is a successful business man "

How will we eventually own Elland Road? There is no buy-back agreement in place. And if we do now attempt to acquire Elland Road, surely the owner will charge us more because it has got a lovely new East Stand attached to it. So we pay to have the building work done, and then have to pay more to acquire the Stadium as a result of this??

Virtually every business Ken Bates has been involved with has ended up in Administration - Howarth Quarries, Allied Trust Bank, Chelsea . He has written off £100's millions of bad debt.

He bought Leeds Utd with around £16m of debt and put it in to Administration with £36 million of debt, a few months after stating the club was now profitable. He prevented Leeds from being acquired by ambitious parties who had funds to invest, using methods that are now being investigated and are subject to a documentary being produced by BBC.

He took us in to the Third Division for the first time in our history and has the unique distinction of taking two different football clubs in to Administration.

The guy is a crook who treats Leeds fans (or morons) with contempt, but insists he saved us. Saved us from what? As the Leeds United Supports Trust says:

"Ken Bates did not save us from dropping to the lowest point in the League in the entire history of the club.

Ken Bates did not save us from administration and he didn't save us from not being able to obtain a CVA.

Ken Bates did not save us from being kicked out of the Football Association.

Ken Bates did not save us from having to buy our way back into the Football League by means of a 15 point negotiated deduction. Was it the biggest deduction in history that we were not saved from?

Ken Bates did not save us from not owning Elland Road.

Ken Bates did not save us from not owning Thorp Arch.

Ken Bates did not save us from selling some of our most promising players without any obvious investment of the proceeds into the playing squad.

Ken Bates did not save us from MPs calling for investigations into the financial dealings at our club.

Ken Bates did not save us from falling out with the BBC, newspapers, various other football reporters and commentators.

Ken Bates did not save us from making legal threats against supporters groups who used the name of the club.

Ken Bates did not save us from a prolonged period outside of the Premiership.

Ken Bates did not save us from years of not knowing who owned the club."

 

GezW, are you actually aware of what is being investigated? theres absolutely no proof whatsoever that anyone else has ever wanted to buy leeds united and if he was only a money grabbing **** then he would've accepted the money for the club surely.
Also your statement about there not being a buyout clause with elland road anymore and now we have added extra onto it line is
1) based on an assumptions that you would never be able to get any evidence to back up
2) irrelevant because how much do you think stadiums actually cost? i can understand the 'why havnt we bought TA back yet' but theres no way we would've had the money to buy back elland road that quick after going into administration
3) Another pointless argument as to why ken bates is a bad chairman and owner.

Anyway, im done arguing this point

 

That's by far the stupidest genuine opinion I've ever read on this forum.

 

He is still is a hero for what he did on the pitch.
He's employed by Bates and obviously can't slag him off.

Dom Matteo on the other hand wrote a great article a week or so ago and really got to the point and spoke like one of us supporters.

 

Shako, I saw that and agree with you. it was really good actually