Good point actually. Walking out from our 2-1 loss to Leicester early on in the season, the atmosphere was horrible. Leeds fans turning on each other, one lass calling a dad and son nearby a pair of 'cockney bastards' and one bloke saying it was the worst he'd seen Leeds play in 35 years of watching them (doubtful). As soon as we go 1-0 down, the support from the stand can turn into muttering and abuse, I think the fans could definitely do with more of the never-say-die attitude that our players seemed to exude this season. Don't get me wrong, Leeds fans can be the loudest in the business when it's 0-0 or if we're dominating play (even when losing), but when we play **** football, the songs dwindle and you start getting funny looks for trying to get them started again. Nighty night!
Somtimes I can understand though. I went to the, Watford game, where we pretty much dominated for most of the match, we go 1-0 up without much of the match left. Then, suddenly, due to some awful defending (and, I may not, one case of trully terrible positioning from Kasper) and we're 2-1 down and I'm thinking "What the **** is going on?" Those sorts of situations certainly got to us last season because of the experiences of games like Preston at home.
That happens at all clubs when you are losing a game the fans thought you should have won or when players don't appear to be giving it their all. Problem for me is that Leeds fans do this more often than most. It sometimes comes accross as arrogance or disrespect. There is a big difference between believing you can do it and getting behind the lads opposed to expecting it to be easy because you see your club as too good for the league they are in. Some Leeds fans seem to expect to win every game. The Championship is not like that. anyone can beat anyone. Every match is a battle. The truth of the matter is that as a club, Leeds are too good/big for the championship. Unfortunately, at the moment your team is not. Talking to Leeds fans on here, too many of them rant on and on about the past as if they hope it might intimidate other clubs in to giving up on trying to beat them when in fact if anything it has the reverse effect. The smaller championship sides see beating Leeds as claiming a scalp. No team in the Championship can compete with the Leeds team of 30 years ago. But the fact that some Leeds fans seem to forget is that the other clubs in the Championship are not playing against the teams of yesteryear. They are playing what is ultimately a decent, but not invincible 11 guys in Leeds shirts. Hstory means nothing at 3pm on a Saturday afternoon. Past glory's do not win you matches or promotions. Leeds are just the same as every other club in the Championship, they just happen to have more supporters because of success acheived in the past.
Well yes that's clearly what I meant, I totally wasn't referring to aspirations and ambition once reaching the premier league at all! I'm talking about the fact that you see reaching the premier league as a really big achievement (which it is, I'll admit) but clearly see just staying there as the best you'll ever achieve. I'll be shocked if, for however many seasons you're in the PL, you have anything other than a relegation battle. I'd expect Leeds to make a decent attempt at getting in the Europa League within 5 years of getting back. Being in a relegation fight year after year means you're there to make up the numbers.
If we both stay up for 5 seasons, we will both be at around the same position in the league - midtable. Please don't say when you eventually get up you will be able to attract better players than us, because attracting players involves one thing you boys clearly don't like doing - SPENDING MONEY!!! and lots of it!
I've seen some deluded things in my time but Europa league in 5 years? Focus on getting out of the championship, recognised as one of the hardest leagues in the world to get out of, before you consider anything else Did you Seriously say Europa league in 5 years? Can I get confirmation that is what you've said?
LMAO, It took you 3 years to get out of League 1 FFS!!!!! Exactly what I was talking about on one of my posts above. Taking the extremely difficult and incedibly unlikely and turning it into an expectation. No wonder your players feel pressure so badly. Until the fans expectation lowers, the pressure will continue to be a contributing factor to your team choking year after year.
How is that any different from expecting Norwich to stay up 5 years from getting into the premier league is a perfectly reasonable amount of time to build a squad to get into the Europa League. Fulham did it in 8. Without too many drastic changes and a steady improvement, I see no reason why it's not achievable. At the very least I'm not expecting to be in a relegation battle past 2 seasons at the most.
Why did you say "Fulham did it in 8" in a way that makes you think Leeds will be in a better position to do it quicker? If you ever get there that is.
Because no matter what you small tinpot clubs like to believe, size of club actually makes a difference with success. There's a reason the average size of a club in the Premier League is larger than the Championship, and the Championship larger than League One, and so on. The expectancy level may cause some problems but it also breeds drive and ambition. Better to aim for the stars and land in the mud than aim for the mud and make it.
While Ken Bates is in charge, you will achieve absolutely nothing. By the way, you've not had ANY kind of success since your last venture in Europe, apart from ONE solitary promotion. So your point about size of club making a difference with success is bollocks.
By the time Leeds get into the premier league Norwich will have won the champions league so your opinions are null and void
Oh ye that's definitely a valid point, those 7 years out of the top flight had nothing to do with the financial crippling we received that has only been almost matched by Portsmouth... nothing to do with it at all. My point is although it's not the be all and end all there is major correlation between club size and success. If you think there isn't then you're extremely naive or possibly just stupid.
Your rash and near-sighted projections for Leeds will only cause yourself disappointment and earn you ridicule from opposing fans and, I suspect, most of the Leeds fans. Focus on the football like I said, we did and we are better than you FACT.
I'd rather aim high and be disappointed than have low expectations at all. I couldn't bare going up to the Premier League with my highest expectation to be finishing 17th.
Marko, you'd be better off discussing this with 1p5wich fans. After all, they still hanker for and witter on about the days of glories past and refuse to accept that they're a shadow of the club they used to be. Leeds and 1p5wich have much in common
Yep, I would take 17th in the PL over 7th or 8th in the Championship, or worse - failing in the play offs, any season
Mark, I'll send you the same link I did before: http://www.roymorgan.com/news/press-releases/2006/490/ Norwich are hardly a "tinpot club" if you're going to play the size game. We're a solid mid-table premier league club in terms of support and popularity, so I think our long term ambition certainly should be to punch above our weight and go for europa league, if not better... But you've got to actually punch at your weight first, which we may just acheive this season. Leeds, on the other hand, won't be punching at their own weight, let alone above it. Norwich fans are just being realistic.
