Question - Huge ifs, buts and maybes, which would you take 1) Red Bull Leeds and we are competing in the Champions League 2) Leeds United and over the next 6-12yrs a mid table PL team
Well, I think I would go for option 1. Would love to get to see us play in the Champions League again. The name change would be hard to accept, but the benefits would outway the negatives IMO..
What difference does it make anymore. We've lost our identity like most clubs. Owners from all over the world and all walks of life. Fans have the beloved shirt to support and the relic of a stadium to watch from. Be careful what you wish for the stadium too, atmosphere in Wembley was poor from our fans in second half from lots who were there and no comparison to the Elland Road experience. That's the problem with these new modern stadia
Long gone are the days when you can even start to begin to compete without serious money behind you, Newcastle have it yet they're still miles behind City, Arsenal etc. We just seem to attract chances, businesses and Individuals that just want to improve us slightly and then sell, I mean how many small investors do we have now and there's now talk of Paris Hilton getting involved ffs. Without serious investment I don't think we'd even be mid table for 6-12 yrs. Reluctantly I'd take option 1, sick off being also rans, if you can't beat them join them.
Regarding a hypothetical name change RB Leeds sounds ****. Agree with Gessa there's too many Hollywood chancers in with their fingers in the pie. Does anyone actually know who all these share holders are? Paris Hilton you can see the chants from opposing fans. 'You've only had one night in Paris' The club was bought for what £150 million. You wonder how much the The Red Bull Network has paid and for much of a stake. The thing is despite not having board members yet they will and when the 99ers sells their final share for a massive profit and they will we'll be flooded with players from the US as we feed RB New York players in to European football.
I was talking to a Villa and a Wolves season ticket holders yesterday, their ST'S have gone up nearly £200 per season, the Wolves lad can't afford to renew at over £800 per season, he's living in Nottingham atm, so that and travelling, it's going to £1500 plus any aways. The Villa lad is only renewing because it gives him first shot at CL tickets, so he's giving it one more year. But he did say something interesting about the atmosphere at Villa Park, he said as they've been putting up prices, the working class lads aren't renewing , they're the lads that sing their hearts out for the team and they're being replaced by middle England dad and lad types who sit on their hands all game, just applaud the team on and off, killing the atmosphere slowly but surely.
The Leeds OS calls it a “partnership to become the main shirt sponsor”, it doesn’t say RB have bought shares. Does make you think that the 49rs will flip the club if we get promoted.
I've started to become so fed up with top flight football nowadays, that I started following National League South. Went to every home game for Eastbourne Borough and three away trips last season (hadn't planned to at the start). It's stress free football because I am not so emotionally invested, you grab a beer and stand or sit where you want, chat to players in the bar after the game and also the owner. They went professional last season and have a plan to get to Division Two and develop the ground. A few of their players have transferred to clubs in the National League and above. A young lad, Fletcher Holman, went from Eastbourne to Wolves under 21's on a transfer. He scored on his debut. He's also been on the subs bench for the first team in the FA Cup, that's some jump in levels. I've stood and chatted to the Maidstone United manager before a game and talked about their FA Cup run last season. All approachable and give you time. On your points of fans being priced out of the game, I agree. It's also far too difficult to get tickets to see Leeds now. While it's a long way to go now for me, I'd still have liked to have gone to 5 or so home games and 5 or so away games, alas it's not possible with demand being what it is. Developing Elland Road has been muted for 5+ years and still no progress and needs to be done. I was on the verge of paying stupid money to get a Wembley ticket and thankfully after sleeping on it, me and my mate said no. Looking at the tickets on the well known ticketing sites, of the 100 or so left, 80% were in the Saints end. Prices across both sets of fans, ranged from £400 to £2,500, plus booking fees of £170! Also comparable Leeds end tickets were more than double the prices of the Saints ones. Ripping off our fans. At non-league level, I've met fans of so many top flight clubs who are no longer bothering with the premier league or championship. At National League level, they can also bring kids to the game without breaking the bank. I'm amazed when I see these kids approach players at this level for photos and autographs, being star struck but let's face it, this is likely to be their only football fan experience, at least until they grow up to earn enough to pay £60 to £100 plus for Premier or Championship football. There are growing numbers of mid-teen lads who go with their mates to watch. These groups can sometimes number 30+ and create a good atmosphere. They are going because, unlike in our day, they cant afford to go to top flight football. When you see a Leeds crowd, home or away, you see plenty of people with as much grey hair as me (or perhaps no hair ) This goes to show how younger fans cant afford it and how tickets are also monopolised, particularly away from home. A bigger ground should help access for fans who live further afield and also younger local fans if the price points are affordable. After the play off final, like everyone, I remain completely pissed off. 20 odd years of excuses and poor executive leadership (not to mention what went on before from late 70's onwards) players pissing off, not playing for the shirts etc etc. Yet the fan base is so loyal. You get slated by other fans for being arrogant if you say we deserve more, but hey I believe we should demand a lot, lot more and should not be where we are, again. A nearly club for decades, with a fan base that is Champions League level, so investors, owners, manager etc, stop taking the piss out of the fans loyalty and get the team in the top flight and add some silverware. Your fanbase is getting really old and you are not attracting younger fans with the lack of success, progress, prices and access.
Like yourself i have taken to non league step 6 level. Everything you have put is the same at Wakefield AFC with players and staff. Our coach comes to us for a quick chat at away games and always comes over at the end of home games. The standard is way above sunday league and surprised me. For the price of a useless Leeds membership i can get a season ticket.
Hopefully the RB deal is good for the club to get through all the FFP bollox. It doesn't matter how rich your owners are they can't spend what they want, just look at newcastle.
I went to see Wealdstone FC a few times as a friend was a director there. Real old school football - queued for a pie and a pint in the mizzle whilst dodging the misplaced practice kicks, wandered about the 'stands' during the game, close enough for the witty abuse of the players to be heard by everyone and the players, then into the clubhouse for a post match drink or two. A few of the players came in too. Photo of Beckford on the wall there. They're still proud of him.
To be honest our demographics have changed at Leeds due to changes regarding ticket allocations in my opinion. There were enormous feelings against red bull and I still have after seeing what they did to Leipzig and Salzburg when they tried to get their feet in under Cellino. Now it seems loads are welcoming them with open arms. It’s all about money now sadly. When Bielsa was brought in, things started working in what I wanted to see from our club. Sadly we threw it all away very quickly. Now we are where we are but as always I will keep my eyes and ears to the ground as I don’t trust anyone sadly.
I’ve seen it said they were willing to change to blue on the yellow away kit but wanted red on the home shirt. It’ll save me money as I can’t buy anything with red in the name or red on a shirt.
Whilst I agree with the sentiment, the reality is we need this kind of investment to just be a mid table premier league team. People have different views on tradition and history of their club, some think this is of most importance while some think it strangles progress. Clubs have moved grounds to increase revenue. I’d accept many things but would baulk at a name change to RB Leeds or something like that.
