Bates has got till the end of Warnock's contract and if we haven't progressed by then, there will only be one man to blame.
Well the thing about replacing players is always going to be a problem. One of the main reasons small clubs are generally less successful is that they can't hold onto their best players, because they don't have the resources to do so, so they are constantly having to rebuild, and quality replacements are not available for the same reason why they couldn't keep onto the player in the first place. This is a problem we've suffered with for a while now, yet a club of our size and stature should have the means to hold onto a player against offers from all but the largest clubs in the world. Why is it that when offers come in the club finds an excuse to accept it then turns around and says "not our fault, x y and z happened." It's a farcical affair and one I'm sick of putting up with. We'll go nowhere when all our best talent is being let go for peanuts just to fund this mans stupid building projects. It's probably not even that. It's probably more down to stubbornness. Bates will be the final man in charge when it comes to contract negotiations, a contract will be offered with the mentality of "that's the best you'll get and you're lucky to have it". When a player turns it down, 9/10 times rightly so, bates with his terrible way of taking rejection and criticism as personal insults, will react with "well bugger you then" and get rid of them at the first opportunity. Call it paranoia all you want, but there's plenty of evidence to suggest this is the type of man he is. We're talking about a man who screams down the phone and throws insults at people, questioning the paternity of their kids when asked basic questions about the running of the club.
Thanks for clarifying that for me. I actually thought it had more to do with Ken Bates public criticisms of players whose contracts are running out (Johnson and Kilkenny), reluctance to offer new contracts (Gradel), offering no improvement on original contract when acquired from non-league team (Beckford) and insults after departure (Schmeichel). One can learn something new every day. WOW!!!
Please help us to understand why you think there are 10,000 less fans. Nothing to do with ticket prices set by Ken Bates? Or are you saying that if LUST or whoever is to blame did not speak out about the pricing, 10,000 fans would be none the wiser and would be buying tickets?
This thing about criticising fans for "not getting behind the team" bothers me as well. Ticket prices are going up and we're seeing nothing to show for it, and yet certain elitest fans are criticising those who make the decision to stop going to matches. "Forget the bates out stuff he's done well! he's hired a great manager so forget about the constant stream of lies, start pouring a disproportionate amount of your hard earned money into the club to get nowhere near your moneys worth of entertainment and get behind the team like a true fan!". This is what bates is relying on, the blind, undying support of the fans.
Marko, he does not understand that it is honey that attracts flies not vinegar. I have heard first hand accounts of his berating overseas fans for not being members. Pay Premiership Prices for Premiership Football, indeed! Disgraceful!
I agree with your first paragraph, I dont think Bates has the final decision on all contracts because by your means he not only runs the club but does absolutely everything else in the club except manage the team. You have to remember, if you were in that negotiating room, how much would you be prepared to pay Johnson or Kilkenny a week in wages? You don't know what figure they have demanded and it seems, like the club, they are not willing to negotiate it. We are poor in that department and Howson going is a perfect example of that. No, Marko, if fans don't go because they cannot afford it anything to do with the pricing then I am all fine with that. I have often told the story on here about Newcastle Jets doing a lower pricing that ended up getting 10 000 more fans into the stadium however they were making the same amount of money because of the extra tickets sold. That would be perfect for leeds united, cut prices down and get extra fans in, Bates doesn't see that. However if fans are not going purely out of protest I struggle to defend them And JLA, have you seen how many fans we are getting for the WHU game? And have you seen our average attendance this year? I understand I exaggerated but its not that big an exaggeration. Ticket prices are stupid though
Reportedly, in excess of 30,000 for the WH game, which is terrific, I bet the place will be rocking! Yes, I have seen average attendances at Leeds United and other Championship clubs. Leeds Season Attendance 2010 - 2011 27,299 2011 - 2012 23,089 Change -15.4 % All Season Attendance 2010 - 2011 17,055 2011 - 2012 17,699 Change +3.7 %
It's interesting how the passions run high, and perhaps blur the image, of how a chairman runs a club, because the fans are too close to sometimes see a balance. Last weekend in the light of even more clubs going into admin because players want more money to sign on and higher wages Leeds and Bates were highlighted as how a club should be run. This was by a panel of football experts, many of which, are known to be less than used to singing Leeds praises. I'm no Bates fan, but I have not had a pay rise in over 3 years, so some of our ex "stars" who only play in the second tier of English football should realise the golden days are over.
The point is that, in financial terms at least, Bates is running the club how it should be run in an ideal world. We don't live in one. We have enough money coming in to keep our best talent and sign a couple of quality players without spending any more than we get in, and that's putting aside Bates' admission that he's put none of his own money into the club.
I was talking about how I followed that with the caveat that he was only running the club how it should be run were we living in an ideal world. One where we didn't have to deal with agents and where every single club lived completely within it's means without using outside investment. However I don't feel he is running the club how he should be because unfortunately that's not the kind of world we live in.
Simon, are you saying he is doing the best possible job given the current environment? To be honest, I just don't know what you are saying really. The most confusing part was "... keep our best talent and sign a couple of quality players..."
Did you actually take the time to read my entire comment? I'm saying he would be doing a great job IF WE WERE LIVING IN A PERFECT WORLD. Clearly we're not, therefore he is not doing a good job. I said we have enough money coming in to be able to keep our best player's etc. but we're not doing so because Bates seems to think we live in this perfect world in which he's doing a great job.
Yeah like we replaced Gradel? Your living in a dream land, Bates isn't going to change and history repeats. The club will continue to go backwards with him in charge and Warnock has our full support and he knows that. That's the whole reason L.U.S.T called off the protest against Southampton and then Bates goes and bans the L.U.S.T top dogs. I am a dog with a bone. But the bone is Leeds United and Bates is the Hand trying to wrestle it off us. And some of you's are sitting back and letting it happen. Love Wanock, Love Leeds, Hate Bates.
