I've been away for a week on holiday I can't believe this snodgrass thing is still going on, it's obviously a huge sore point for Leeds fans. Snodgrass is obviously the golden child of the Leeds squad and it'd be comparable to transfer rumours about Holt for example, it's not nice and being defensive is only natural I suppose. Frankly, what will be will be. Leeds have loads of worries at the moment and we have a premier league squad to build. Our management isn't transfixed on snodgrass and neither should we.
it's more for the people on this board who seem to think that now you're in the Premier League suddenly every player that isn't automatically wants to play for you and would be an idiot not to. I personally would rather be part of a team in the Championship that's building something than one that is in the Premier League just to make up the numbers.
You realise, of course, that's Leeds lack of respect for clubs such as Norwich maybe lost you a few points last season, thus you were not promoted. Till Leeds get over the big club thing they will never move on. Just focus on the football and not puffing your chests and you might get promoted one day. And we aren't "making up the numbers" we're up on merit mate
You do realize that Marko isn't a Leeds United player? Nor are any of the posters on our board, except for Rosco who is apparently Ross McCormack.
Making up the numbers means you're just there so there are more than 8 teams in the league. You're never going to win anything while you're there or get into Europe so that means making up the numbers.
There is definately an "it should have been us because we are far bigger and more famous than them" attitude from SOME Leeds fans. Jealousy is not an attractive trait. Fact is, Leeds have a great history and a huge support (although at least half of it went missing during the hard times. Ours didn't) BUT, for 5 or 6 years now Leeds have finnished below Norwich. We therefore MUST have the stronger team currently. How on earth they think we will just make up the numbers whereas they would have been far better is beyond me.
I'd like to echo your sentiment that it isn't all Leeds fans. At the end of the day we are both football teams. Keep your feet on the ground, that's the way Lambert played it and gues what... Premier League.... Simon Grayson tried his very hardest to curb amazingly large expectation, was lambasted for it, and guess what... Championship....
When you said what was quoted. What you implied was that the Leeds United XI have exactly the same views, 'arrogance' and expectations as the Leeds United supporters. Maybe the supporters have a lack of respect for clubs like Norwich, but how on earth is that true of eleven players only three or four of whom are Leeds fans? "Just focus on the football and not puffing your chests and you might get promoted one day." How are the players "puffing their chests" and how is that hindering our promotion ability?
I think it is down to the feeling around the place. There is a huge weight of expectation on the Leeds players most of whom are only Championship standard. The attitude and feelings of the fans does get to players. I think it would have been there for ours in the League 1 season had it not been for the 7-1 reverse first game. after that the pressure/expectation eased a little. By the time we did realise we could win it we were on fire. Whereas Leeds started well but as soon as we put you under pressure it was too much and you nearly lost out on Automatic promotion. The extra pressure on the Leeds players came just as they were having a little blip and it caused it to be a bigger blip than it should have been. Last season we were just happy to be back. By the time Auto's was a possibility others around us were under even more pressure. there was none for us.
In what way do the abstract 'attitudes and feelings of the fans' suddenly become concrete and reach the players? Other than moans of anguish when we lose the ball and the odd bit of abuse when someone cocks up, I don't really see how this expectation materializes and gets swallowed down by the players. We'll support the team and sometimes chant 'attack' repeatedly, but unless the players are having lengthy conversations with fans about how Leeds United are superior to clubs like Norwich and an arrogance develops, I don't understand this cliche. The whole 'Lambert had his feet on the ground' thing just sounds like a journalist's suck-up article after your promotion. In reality, what does all this abstract stuff mean? He ordered the players not to be arrogant before every game while Grayson didn't? That's all I can logically make of it.
You've got the complete wrong end o the stick mate! It's the fans that puff the chests out. I'm relatively sure the players just want to play football and regardless of what you may feel, or what I may feel, the overwhelming majority just want to further there career. Most just want to play their football and play as well as they can regardless of the colour shirt they wear and Leeds fans should remember this sometimes. Leeds are just a football team, and I honestly believe you can't move on as a club until you come together as a unit and simply accept it.
I think it is a vicious circle with Leeds. The Media build them up and up. Fans expectation goes up and up. I think the players then start to believe the hype. The number of times last season that Leeds were described as 'Top scorers Leeds' or 'Play-off chasing Leeds' or 'Well placed Leeds' was huge. I don't necessarily think Norwich had the second best squad in the Championship last season. We certainly had one of the top 6, but not necessarily 2nd best. It was more about being left alone to get on with it and fans expectation growing steadily through the season. It wasn't until the Portsmouth game where we acheived promotion that I actually thought we were going to do it. (Well, if I am honest, It was Cardiffs game with Boro earlier that day).
"Just focus on the football and not puffing your chests and you might get promoted one day." was what you said. Which to me looks like you're saying that in order to get promoted, Leeds fans have to stop puffing our chests out. It's a non sequitur. As was "Till Leeds get over the big club thing they will never move on" (how does 'the big club thing' hinder our moving on?) and "You realise, of course, that's Leeds lack of respect for clubs such as Norwich maybe lost you a few points last season, thus you were not promoted" (how is the fans' 'lack of respect' linked with losing points on the field?) I don't understand. Leeds fans are denying that Leeds United are just a football team? That is hindering our club moving on? In that case, I suggest it's down to the weak attitude of some of our players. The lack of leaders in our squad has been widely identified as a reason for our post-January slides over the last two seasons. It's not the fans who need to change their mentality, it's the players who are susceptible to media hype and weak mental attitudes when expectation kicks in. I think it was more to do with wise investment, mentally and technically adept players and decent squad management from Lambert. In reality, other than trying to change results with their vocal support, there's very little the fans are capable of. The media will hype up Peterborough if they're in second place next season, they'd hype up Leeds if we are and they'll hype up whoever else is. The players just have to deal with that pressure.
LUTV that's all I have to say, LUTV. There are too many priorities and too many distractions at Leeds. Norwich only ever have one objective. Promotion, and next year decent survival.
The media will hype up Leeds whatever happens. If you are in the promotion race then it will be all about Leeds getting up and if you are bottom half the big story will be about what is going wrong. You are a huge fish in a small pond. In your current position the history and fame of Leeds is like a mill stone around your necks. I agree that the players you have need to be stronger and not be influenced the media. The media coverage does effect the fans too though as does the history. Fans expect too much from what is actually a championship standard side. a good one, but still Championship. I think there are a number of players at Leeds who although being good players appear to struggle a little with the expectation. Man for man, I believe your side should have been top 6 last year yet you tailed away, again.
Bates TV! Probably has the lowest expectations for Leeds United of any media outlet. It's just there to show highlights of games, substandard interviews and the daily news show which is totally uninformative if you browse the web. It does to some extent. Though the players shouldn't be reading the paper talk about them anyway if they want to avoid complacency and even if they do, they shouldn't be affected by it if they're proper professionals. That's why I think Leeds could do with two or three leader figures next season. We already hopefully have one returning in Patrick Kisnorbo so it'd be nice to see another one in defence and another in the middle of the field. Whether the fans lowered our expectations or not, the media chatter would continue. I don't see why expectation is altogether a bad thing anyway, it's what makes our support the most passionate and arguably won as many points with its positive drive as it lost with its negative drag. If you believe it had an effect, that is. Which I don't really believe it directly did; I put our season's slide down to lack of squad rotation, poor coaching, a lightweight midfield, George McCartney, goalkeeping errors and lack of on-field leadership. I doubt hype was a major contributor towards any of those things. Maybe Schmeichel who got an awful lot of press attention all the way through the season and gradually deteriorated.
In addition to above, would like to point out that until we got relegated our own fans seemed to think we were a prem club that was down on its luck and that we really did not deserve to be in the championship, we should be beating teams in that league easily. It was not a healthy atmosphere at games and I think it contributed to our downfall (along with 3 disasterous managerial appointments in a row (Grant, Roeder and unfortunately Gunn).
Anyhow ducky, nice chatting with you but I am off to bed, The wife is there already (and no, she is not also my sister!)
