Sorry lads, had to delete the last take as it would have took too long to edit! Pete Doherty be warned, you pull this thread into the gutter we will be banning you. Dear Neil, On behalf of more than 4,500 members and shareholders of Leeds United Supportersâ Trust, we would like to welcome you to our club. Leeds United and Neil Warnock have a long history as rivals, but we are delighted to see you have finally come over to our side. And we hope that already, less than a week after taking the job, you can feel what a difference it makes to have Leeds fans on yours. You have taken on the managerâs job at an interesting and difficult time. You are no doubt aware that this season the frustration and dissatisfaction that has been growing in a large section of our support has come to the surface. Less than a fortnight ago, before the match with Brighton, more than 1,000 Leeds fans marched from the centre of Leeds to Elland Road to demonstrate their strong desire for change at Leeds United. When Ken Bates took over our club in January 2005, we were 11th in the Championship. Today, Leeds are 10th in the Championship, having endured relegation, administration, and three seasons in League One; and fans pay some of the highest ticket prices in the country while the chairman dismisses their worries as those of âdissidentsâ or âmorons.â Many Leeds fans, seeing our best players leave while the club spends millions on building projects, have had enough of the direction Leeds United has taken, and around 5,000 fans opted not to renew their season tickets for next year. The next organised protest had been proposed for the televised home game against Southampton, in which Leeds fans intended to attract national attention by remaining outside Elland Road for the first seven minutes of the match - one minute for every year of Ken Batesâ time as chairman. The question of how best to show our feelings to the club has always been a difficult one, and this became even more difficult when it became apparent that the Southampton match would be your first home game as manager. We have always sought to make it clear that while we campaign for change off the pitch, the players and staff will always have our full support on it, and we have taken heart from the comments of players like Robert Snodgrass who have recognised our right to make our views known from the stands. The Trust board became concerned, however, that supporting a protest at the start of your first match as manager at Elland Road would not be the right way to begin what we hope will be a positive relationship between Leeds fans and Neil Warnock. We put the question of whether L.U.S.T. should continue to support the Southampton protest to our members, whose opinion guides the direction of the Trust. Of more than 600 responses we received by email, over 80% declared that the protest should not go ahead. The comments we received made our members feelings clear. We feel that March 3rd would be a day better spent giving our full, vociferous backing to you and the players, to give you a taste of what it is like to have Leeds United fans on your side. One of the aims of the Trust is to see Leeds - the club, the fans, the players, the city - united behind a successful football team. We are enthusiastic about the prospect of your management helping to bring that about, and are keen to give you all the help we can. Neil, we hope you will understand that our decision not to support the protest is a gesture of the fansâ faith in your ability, and a demonstration of the support you can look forward to receiving as manager of Leeds United. This doesnât mean that our Campaign for Change is over. Getting things right on the pitch is the main aim of every football club, but while we look forward to your work in bringing that about, we have not lost sight of the other problems at Leeds United. Our members wanted to make it clear that not supporting the protest should not mean the end of our Campaign for Change. Our Vision Statement called on Leeds United to match the ambition of the fans by concentrating resources on the pitch in an effort for promotion to the Premier League; to work towards repairing relations with supporters, who have felt disenfranchised by the events of the last seven years; and to work with local bodies and fansâ groups to bring a positive atmosphere back to Elland Road. We hope you can see, Neil, that our aims and ambitions for Leeds United are directed towards making this club as successful and inclusive as possible. Your arrival as manager feels like a step towards our vision for the team on the pitch, and we hope that the board follows up your appointment by giving you their full backing over the next eighteen months as you reinvigorate the team and fight for promotion. Off the pitch, we welcome the free shirts for kids promotion that the club has announced this week for the Southampton game; but there is still a lot of work to be done to make Leeds United a club that once again shares the aims and ambitions of its fans. L.U.S.T. will continue to Campaign For Change at Leeds United, and to make the voices of the fans heard. On your first day in charge, Neil, you were quoted on Leedsunited.com saying, âI think there's times when you need to tell [Ken Bates] what you think is right for the club and he's got to listen.â The 4,500 members and shareholders of Leeds United Supportersâ Trust could not agree with you more. We wish you well this Saturday against Portsmouth, and we look forward to raising the roof for your first game at Elland Road on 3rd March. We hope these two games will be just the beginning of an exciting and successful partnership between Neil Warnock and the fans of Leeds United. Marching On Together, Leeds United Supportersâ Trust Supporters can also join more than 4,500 other Leeds fans and have their voice heard as members of the Leeds United Supportersâ Trust by filling in the form at www.lufctrust.org. Membership is free. Keep checking for updates on www.lufctrust.org, and our Facebook and Twitter pages.
I think this is a good move by LUST who are first and foremost Leeds fans. It would be nice to get the stands rocking again for the final push under Warnock, but its a hard one to balance. LUST need the match day exposure without disrupting what is happening on the pitch and distracting everyone from getting behind the players. The seven minutes for seven years under ken would have been perfect especially as sky has the game, but I agree with them backing down for this one. LUST are far to savvy to think that just by approving Warnock everything is Rosey again. I agree its a step in the right direction but Grayson wasn’t the real problem. It was & will always be Ken Bates
They are brilliant and so gracious and civilised. Warnock has also basically said "stop the bates out chants or I'm off at the end of the season"
I think LUST have handled the situation well so far. The interesting time could come in say four weeks. If results haven't worked out, we could be out of contention for the play offs. What to do in that situation? Remain quiet and lose face or protest and risk losing Warnock? Looks like old cuddly ken is in a win win situation
Can understand the decision frokm LUST, but I hope the protests and pressure are kept up away from Elland Road if the consensus has formed that it shouldn't be done in/around the stadium.
I think Bates has pulled a clever one here though. getting Warnock in so we stop the protest was a brilliant idea by him!!!
im just kidding. I actually like the way LUST go about things. They could go about it completely different and hurt the club they love but they don't, not that I agree with what they are doing ofcourse....
How can u not agree???? Theyre trying to get bates to invest more in the playing side of things, or move over and let someone else do that..whats dont you agree with???
haha, it was said a little sarcastically because of a few people's views on me. Of course I want Bates to invest more money into the playing squad
If Bates brings Mills in (Matt, not Danny) it will go 20 percent of the way to making it up to the fans
