his entire drive is recognition in the business world. Whenever failure is even suggested he goes into denial. Odds are he's convinced himself the 4000 drop in fans is because "they aren't real fans" or "the recession" or some other reason that makes him exempt from responsibility.
and it's not starting with the doom and gloom, it is merely continuing it from all the players we didn't sign last summer. Just because it's too early for us to have not signed the players we're going to not sign, doesn't mean I can't see it coming.
Warnock is not like any other manager we have had in the past 10 years, he has a record of getting teams promoted, he could walk into so many other jobs, he could sit and wait for something else to come up, he could retire, he doesn't need the money, he took this job because he believes he can do it. I hate Bates but he could have left Redfearn in charge coming out with the usual "we are not going to rush a new manager we will appoint someone at the end of the season" routine. He could have brought in another yes man and someone less outspoken than Warnock but he didn't so there is something inside telling me that just maybe Warnock is going to receive a little more backing than Grayson did.
And the above is the crux of it. You all believe words rather than action. Clubs change managers because they believe the current manager is not getting the right outcome from the current crop. But the manager we brought in actually has a worse record than the manager who we sacked and the interim manager who he replaced. We have got rid of a number of players - exactly as we did last season. But we are still not down to the 21 players that Bates states is the max. So we have placed a number on the transfer list - over the past few years we have done this and then taken them off. These players do not have to go anywhere. They can sit here and eat our funds up. Bates has stated we will not bring in any more players until we have seen movement, but because no-one else is doing any movement, this will not be until end July. So which bit of Warnock standing up to Bates and demanding money does that fit? The end July is usually only one week before the start of the season, or is that delayed because of the Olympics? Will the Olympics and Paralympics be used as the next excuse for not getting people in - agents are watching the 100m final and could not be contacted? Will players who come in that late have not undertaken a proper pre-season, so won't be ready? Will we hit the ground running like smnails, exactly as we did at Southampton last year? Personally I don't have a problem with Bates stating that we are unable to get anyone in because we need to get people out, but that won't happen because of other circumstances. Fine - that means we have to have a different strategy in place. The thing that irks is that the prices we pay suggest that we should have the best players in the Championship. But we don't. And we have been fed the line "if you want prem Football, you have to pay Prem Prices". Well, we are getting prem prices but we are not getting any indication that the club actually wants Prem football. And 40%-50% of season ticket holders have walked away because of it in two years. Warnock has not shown any magic touch yet. Getting Pearce was good business. But if he is the only one in by end July, how much will your optimism have changed by then? BTW - I am not looking for success on the pitch, I am looking for realism from the club with prices that fit the real strategy so that we can fill ER again and become that 12th man again. While we have a mismatch between what is being said, what is being charged, and what is being delivered on the pitch, that will never happen.
1) Appointed Warnock 2) Released players not considered good enough including O'Dea and Robinson who we could have had for free 3) Signed Pearce £500k valued nearer to 1.5 million The season hasn't even officially finished yet, no idea how much action you are looking for, if you believe Warnock needs us you are mistaken, he is here because he believes he can do a job with what 'promises' he has been given. If we see Warnock walk because the chairman has lied then it will be a different matter, something I haven't ruled out but initial signs are not bad.
Farsley - it's Bates not Warnock, for feck's sake . I am only arguing against the opinion that Warnock is the new Messiah sat on the highest pedestal that some supporters seem to believe. I have no problem if Warnock does not achieve - my view is that it is hugely improbable that he will succeed at all, but not because of him, but because of his situation (a one year contract, Bates and Harvey, every one of our best players has left in the past few years when their contracts have expired, our current best crop want to see ambition before signing). But the blindly optimistic who are expecting a great season because they have been fed the lines will be the ones who do have a problem, unless of course theirs is only a passing interest, rather than one that actually hits them (ie financially by actually turning up at games). If Bates has stated there will be no more coming in until end July, what do you think that will mean for Ross McCormack, Robert Snodgrass and Aidy White while they ponder their offers? Will they bother pondering, or will they jump ship? I don't know, but I do know that it suggests the club is not being very ambitious, which might mean to these players that they get their agents to tap up other clubs and test the water
Elmo, who are these blindly optimistic people whom you are preaching too? I've never seen any blindly optimistic posts on this site. In fact, I don't know any Leeds supporters who are blindly optimistic. Yes, there are optimists, but we're all aware of the history (please note Marko), so can never be accused of adopting optimism blindly. Please let us reacquaint ourselves with the thrill of good news when it comes without leathering us with the doom & gloom stuff. We don't get good news very often. A little respite, please.
Elmo, all your posts have convinced me.... Bates is not the messiah, he just a very naughty boy!!! please log in to view this image
The optimism is catching... http://www.skysports.com/fanzone/blogs/story/0,,16885_7737841,00.html A few decent signings and I am getting a season ticket.
No I don't! I've just got fair skin. And that was before I started piling the weight on. More like a gorilla now.
again, actions speak louder than words. "We haven't forgotten the history we know what he's like", you say, before proceeding to be blindly optimistic about the difficult summer we have ahead. It's like you learnt absolutely nothing from last season, as if having a different manager is going to change the way bates does business... he's already trotting out the "everyone's making cut backs" line like he did last season, only for nobody except us to make cut backs. The "nobody's buying until later because of cut backs" is his way of spinning the recession - the reality is that clubs will be selling cheap and they will be selling fast to get players off the books, if they are really cutting back. There stands to be some bargains had on good players, and one good signing in the light of the likelihood of losing 2 of our better players (Clayton and White), it is literally one step forward and two steps back. I will be reserving my judgement until at least 4 more high quality signings come through the door. Warnock is a quality manager, he can't teach an old dog new tricks, he can't get blood from a stone and he can't polish a turd. Even with his bag of glitter the house still smells of ****.
but when the optimists say they are reserving their judgement, what they really mean is they are ignoring the past and assuming the best until it all goes to ****. So how is that any different? I basically meant, I expect a ****e summer until I am proven otherwise. 4 or 5 quality signings and I'll even buy a membership and start going to matches again. But I don't expect it will happen.