If the 1-6 scoreline didn't make GFH gasp, and the fact that Leeds are now sitting in seventeenth in the table hasn't raised question marks over the deal, then surely the pitiful attendance for the Watford game has caused some head scratching inside the accountancy department of the dodgy Islamic bank. When GFH confirmed their interest in the club, it was on the basis of Leeds being one of the top ten supported clubs in the country; well based on gates of 19,106, they barely qualify as one of the top ten supported clubs in the Championship!
There has been much debate on this blog about the relative status of Leeds and West Ham, but one thing is indisputable, West Ham's lowest home gate last season was 19,879 - and that was for a Carling Piss Pot game against Aldershot when everybody knew a reserve team would be picked. In the league, the lowest home gate was 25,680 and that was for the televised game against Cardiff when a fair percentage of Hammers fans were still on their August holidays in Benidorm!
If Leeds are really such a big club, why was the ground half empty for such a crucial game? Leeds fans will moan about high prices and talk about the Bates boycott, but none of that washes. The truth is, the fans have deserted the club in huge numbers and are using excuses to justify this act of betrayal.
Yes Leeds were a big club once - for a relatively brief period given the narrow windows during which trophies were won - but there were 18,593 empty seats on Saturday to testify to the fact that those days are long gone. And that must be a huge worry for GFH and any other prospective buyers.
Success cannot be guaranteed in football, as Leicester discovered last season when a splurge of spending and a high profile manager failed to secure them a place in the play offs, never mind automatic promotion. All GFH's calculations are seemingly based on the cash cow of the Premiership, but how much will it cost to get Leeds there, and how much more to keep them up should the goal be achieved?
I warned before the season kicked off that this was a poor Leeds team, and so it is proving. Portsmouth and Doncaster were relegated last season for a reason, so recruiting their players was always an act of desperation. Add to that Green who has done nothing in a long career to date, Peltier who is a famed underachiever and the other bits and pieces of mediocrity and old muckers signed by Warnock, and you have a perfect recipe for a struggling side; and that's how it is shaping up.
There's optimistic talk of a £10m cash injection for transfers should the take over happen, but what will that get you in January? Players not wanted by their existing clubs and players who will demand inflated wages to join a mid table team. It would be more sensible to write off this season and develop the youngsters - but GFH know nothing about football and seem to want success overnight. The danger is that good money will be chucked after bad, and the following season will be a write off too.
Do the sums. Before they know it, GFH will be pumping money down the toilet, money they can ill afford to waste. If they can't rely on the fans to turn up during a dip in form, how the hell are they going to make the venture pay? Every one of those empty seats on Saturday may represent a nail in the coffin of the proposed deal with the 'Bates boycott' condemning the club to even more years of his ownership!
45 comments:
Whilst I find some of you musings about Leeds United interesting and strange (being that you're a died in the wool Hammer). Some of your comparisons of WHU and Leeds' support deliberately (I presume) misses a big point.
Until West Ham United have been finacially screwed to the extent that they don't just get relegated to the Championship for 1 season, but end up out of the Premiership for 8 long years (with no end in sight), have been relegated further to League 1, taken into Administration (8 months after the owner had stated the club was 'debt-free') and threatened with liquidation by the owner, and then financially squeezed by said owner so that there is little money to support the team year on year, then and only then would you be able to compare the level of support!
yeah you may be right but unlike you we wont shit our pants when we play millwall.
Act of betrayal you say. All you ever talk about on your piss pot site is "LEEDS UNITED". As acts of betrayal go your king of the hill pal with constant talk of the real team you support Leeds !!!!
As soon as that old cockney bastard goes, you'll see that just about double I would have thought so the converse of your argument is actually true. Still a little thing like that shouldn't stop you crayoning your usual bullshit
your lass is in next bedroom wanting her legs blowing off whilst your trolling about leeds sad twat
you realy are a smug C**T that not only wants to kick leeds when we r on our downs but rest ashore we will have our ups and when we do and we meet at Elland Road please make your self known as i would love to see if you realy do have some balls because we can all say thing on shit websites cant we .
We had bigger crowds than west ham in league 1
Yes you are right the crowds are down but there also down all around the country except for a certain few.
Only us Leeds fans know why we are not attending the real reasons.
I have followed Leeds for 47yrs home and away and abroad but this season i have been to 3 games let me reassure you once the cockney 1 as gone then i and many many more will return.
Where you are wrong in your comment is that Bates is having a major influence on fans not attending.
I look forward to your comment when we return to normality.
Loads of interesting facts wrapping up complete nonsense as you often do. Warnock has spent hardly anything close season (only purchasing Pearce, Kenny and Peltier for reasonable fees of circa 500k). The other players are freebies and bargain bucket and you are right it's a poor team having lost nearly all of our decent players over the last 2 years. I'll pick and choose the games I go to until someone decides to invest in the team again instead of doing a WHU of 10 years ago and selling the best player every season just to balance the books. When / if the new owners come we'll see who is right and who is wrong but I would 99.9% guarantee gates of 25-30k a game
1711 Your argument falls down when you look at Derby getting over 20,000 for a game against Barnsley - and they haven't had much glory in recent years. And Leicester getting almost 25,000 through the turnstiles on Saturday. And Forest attracting 24,000 for the game against Millwall. And Sheffield Wednesday getting 22,500 for the game against Peterborough. And Middlesbrough getting over 28,000 for a televised game against Wednesday. And Cardiff getting over 20,000 on Saturday. How much glory and heartache have the fans of those clubs experienced in recent years? So why are their fans proving more loyal than Leeds fans exactly? Could it be that Leeds fans are fickle glory hunters perhaps?
Leeds down more than most 1725.
1724 West Ham have NEVER been in League 1!!!!!
1711, well done, I have taught you how to spell "our"! Let's see if you shit your pants! You sure did against Watford!
Lets all shake hands and be friends children ...
West Ham have NEVER been in League 1!!!!!
Leeds hadn't either until a £100m hit and 25 point deduction !
you should have been in league one after the tevez affair.....but you are a London club..... different rules apply
C wen santa clause goes no gud 10-15000 wil b bk and im 1 of them and gud 30-40ladz i no are in the same thinking day he doesnt get my money day i can back my leeds utd bring bk risdale least he put money in lol n who r west spam mugs
Listen you only post about LEEDS to get hits ...you prefer cricket to football and your tosser of a father rotted in front of you from a hideous disease....you are boring,sad,lonely..and i will now block your poxy tedious mundane blog from EVER appearing again.good work. I know you wont show this because you like to dish it but dont like it back...so its bye from me.....what star sign are you ?
17:11 was spot on.....
We are not talking about not having glory, we are talking disaster after disaster......year on year, you really have no idea...
Looks like nasty HF is back...
oh dear
"West Ham have NEVER been in League 1!!!!!"
West ham have NEVER won Division one (top league) more like....
Leeds are and always will be a bigger club than wet spam
Yeah i wonder why middlesborough got 28k for there game it might be the fact that there club reduced ticket prices so low that there fans couldnt refuse not to go and another thing look where they are in the league think that may give you a clue do some research before posting shite
Yawn wait till the premier leagues best teams make you shit your pants! Ha ha!
OMG when are you guys gonna catch on. No one cares what Mr hammerhead thinks. He's just one of those sad twats who goes around putting everyone else down to make himself feel better, just like a primary school bully.
You don't have to bang on about attendances at Leeds to make yourself feel superior mate. Just look in the mirror, your obviously a superior being with a 12 inch knob. Except the knob is either in your gob or stuck up your arse.
Don't get me wrong hammy, lots of my mates are hammers fans and they're all generally a nice bunch. I've got no axe to grind with anybody wanting to talk about their own team or to defend their own team, but you just seem to spend your life knocking Leeds coz you think its easy.
You should get out a bit more, life is far too short just like your penis !
Its really a case of mind over matter... I don't mind what you think and you don't matter
Think you will find no club in the world never mind the championship has gone through what leeds united has over the last few years we have the best fans in the world no doubt about it no fans and i mean no fans from any other club would follow there team like we have over the years where leeds and where proud of it!
Hamperboys.... hammerboys.... no sorry.... hammerheads.... no sorry again camperboys.... no no that's still not right.
Oh bugger who cares
I guess its just not that important
You know nothing about Leeds,
Did you know that Leeds is a rugby league town?. it always has been..
Still hosts the champions and recent world champions...
Leeds united always struggled with support even during the glory days.
You are not stupid, you know some of what has gone on at Leeds over the last ten years, but you have not LIVED IT in the same way Leeds fans have, so how can you form a proper opinion?
You cant have one season in the Championship aided by £20m from the PL and start to make comparisons, with a club recovering from virtual extinction -£100m and a 25 point deduction.
historically West Hams best attendance is only slightly above that of Halifax Town, so don't get on your high horse.
When you get 136,506 for a midweek game involving West Ham let me know
you will have beaten Leeds world record.
love x kisses
Hey West Ham are doing great
are you not a happy hammer?
you should be dead happy and enjoying things rather than
spitting at others...
Someone steal your dollies? when you were mini-hf?
Re 17:26.
You've written an awful lot about us yet you have failed to grasp the overriding feeling of the vast majority of fans.
Reasons to stay away:
1. Standard of football versus prices - Obscene prices for a brand of football which is truly awful.
2. Sheer hatred for the chairman/directors. You just don't seem to get how much people hate him. It's like you and ...erm...Neil Warnock?! Only worse.
3. Current state of football. I.E. crap players on ludicrous wages not giving their all whatsoever, diving about et al - swearing every other word because it's "passionate".
4. Coming up on a decade of useless management.. Seemingly a lost generation for the club.
5. We are still the biggest game of the season for most clubs - but it is not reciprocated at all.
6. I know it's the off season now but come feb (and at the start of the football season)...You can pay (at least)half the price to watch the Rhinos play. Proper passion, proper team, proper players and proper management. PROPER!
I currently hold a season ticket at LUFC - and have had one at Leeds RL several years ago, but tougher times (point 7) meant chosing between the 2. Luckily the Sky machine loves showing Leeds RL.
Your initial blog on the Watford game was bang on - but since you've felt the need to troll. Please stick to giving an honest opinion and stop kicking someone when they're down. You may just get some respect from your readers.
Oh and further off topic - Appealing Pearce's red is a waste of time - the PC thugs will say by the letter of the law etc etc. Looking back technique-wise it was poor but it wasn't dangerous when you factor in height and speed. Looking at it online think the referee was going for a yellow but must have got a call in his ear piece to do otherwise.
We all love Leeds and Leeds
thanks for the interest and the publicity x
You are entitled to your opinion. My opinion is this: - If West Ham had been out of the top flight 8 years, had 3 years in the old division 3, sold their ground, sold their training ground, sold all their best players (an on going process), deducted 25 points, made to pay top prices for tickets and had little or no investment in the team then you would be lucky to get 10K. Steve W - Season Ticket Holder 25 years
Why have you written this blog? Why do you write about leeds? Come on mr intelligent tell us .
It's easy to slate somebody or something hidden behind a blog Billy big bollocks how big and clever are you!! Your problem is you like to wind people up behind your blog and know how much passion Leeds fan have about their club and that makes you a really sad boy thing is nomatter how well you hide someone will find you
hi dumb ass, your facts are slipping over the last couple of leeds posts, first stating varney was the player injured now stating we are 17th, check again dick face, MOT.
So long you stick to facts your blog is fine. The problem is that you do let yourself down.
The Leeds fans are second to none. The crap been played at Elland Road, by the home side is more akin to Sunday pub league. The only way to get through to Papa Smurf is not to go to the match. Hit him in the wallet. So I support a Papa Smurf out boycott.
Do not mention the past, at least Leeds have one. West Ham, have had the odd good player, Geoff Hurst, Bobby Moore, I suppose Trevor Brooking was decent enough. Never had a decent team.
Once the teams in the Premiership way up Alladyce, tactics, your team will be back where they are used to, strugglers in Premership, Relegated or Championship. I could understand your rants if you supported a big side. West Ham are small and that will never change.
I like most Leeds fans live in the real world, time you did.
Hi Hammersfan,
I am a Leeds fan and personally i think that the high majority of Leeds Fans should just accept now that your team are better than us and the history doesn't matter, i mean you are 6th? is it? in the PL and we are floundering in 17th. West Ham's owners don't have deep wallets so it is a massive achievement. The reason that my fellow fans are not paying to see Leeds anymore is becuase they simply don't want any more money to fly into Master Bates' pocket to make them even deeper, I still go to the games but being only 13 i am used to watching a poor united, a similarly skilled team since 2007 but it is harder to watch every week now,
Lucas Whitehead
you are a complete tosser. you carry on getting youre kicks while were down. its the easiet thing in the world to take the piss out of a team when things are going wrong.i hope this takeover goes through and things get turned around then you can ram youre cocky cockney comments down youre fcuking throat.
Bollox - "they barely qualify as one of the top ten supported clubs in the Championship" going on average attendance we're 8th, lees than a thousand from being fourth highest and more than 3 thousand off being tenth highest! - not what i call barely.
We're also still the best away supported team by far!
Oh dear, what comment could I make that hadn't already been said, oh yes that's it BATES OUT!!
Well let's see what ever we are allocated for away games we sell out taking large numbers anywhere. People are pissed off with handing Bates hard earned cash, overinflated prices no investment, squad full of nearly players. Promises are gettingthin, where's the cash for Norwich midfield. Stop talking shit!!!!!
Attendances are bound to drop due to the price of tickets
I wonder what West Hams gates would be after 8 years in the championship. 19, 000 after two relegations and 8 years in the wilderness is bloody good all things considering for the highest prices in the football league.
Well done Lucas Whitehead (2035). In months and months of watching the reactions to HFs posts, yours is probably the most sensible and balanced contribution I've read. You are a credit to your club and your generation.
If more of your elders posted something even half as astute, I am sure that many more fans from other clubs would post encouraging and supportive comments. At the end of the day, Leeds are a 'proper' club and it would be great to see them back in the big time one day.
Cue some plank claiming that either HF or myself has actually posted under a pseudonym.
Guys, you are missing the point. As things stand, by every criteria apart from honours won - and by that criteria Huddersfield Town are a big team - West Ham are now a bigger club, but that's not the issue. You are desperate for Bates to go, but by not attending games, you are making it less likely that the club will be bought. As I say above, lots of clubs in the Championship have been through hard times, but their fans are showing up in greater numbers.
You can't have it both ways. Either you support Leeds or you don't. So what whose pocket the money goes in to? You support the club come hell or high water if you are a true fan. Man Utd fans don't like their owners so they wear a different scarf in protest - but they still turn up!
Hammerfans, why dont you calculate how much time in your life you devote to Leeds United and explain it to your psychiatrist.
Headmaster, why dont you calculate how much time you have spent kissing Hammersfan's backside and explain it to your wife.
but they are buying us hf so your theory is bullshit,like everything else you write....
Thanks The Headmaster,
Lucas
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