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‘A sea change in Leeds Utd ownership’: Marchers demand Ken Bates resignation
The marchers make their way though Leeds
HUNDREDS of Leeds United supporters marched through the city on Saturday, calling for changes in the club’s management policy.
A march organised by the Leeds United Supporters Trust made its way from City Square to Elland Road before the home match against Brighton, which Leeds lost 2-1.
With a police escort, they waved banners emblazoned with the words “Premier League not Premier Inn”, “We’ve Had Enough” and “Morons”. Some also chanted protests at Leeds United owner Ken Bates.
The organisers cited United’s failure to achieve promotion to the Premiership and its reliance on loan players while at the same time investing in development of the Elland Road ground.
Leeds United Supporters Trust chairman Gary Cooper said: “This is part of our campaign for change we are spearheading for members and fans who have asked us to act for the future of Leeds United.” “There are concerns about just what has been going on over the last year or two, on the pitch and off.
“We should have a team that will get us into the Premiership and keep us there.
“Supporters are concerned about transfer window activities. We have been selling our best talents or allowing our them to leave including our own home grown captain Jonny Howson who represented the future. We have been replacing them with loan players, who if Mr Bates is to be believed, cost us a lot of money,”
He added: “We need a sea-change, whether that is a change or ownership or the way that the club deals with supporters remains to be seen. We need a changed business plan and a changed investment policy. The East Stand was excellent, but did not produce results.”
The protest continued at the ground, as the marchers congregated at barriers put up around the entrance.
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Comments
There are 10 comments to this article
Page 1 of 1
tonycurriesfanclub
Wednesday, February 15, 2012 at 09:54 AM@9 allanb78 :- I don't have a specific name to give you right now but it's not the point. LUFC has history and huge potential as a brand and buyers will be forthcoming were Bates minded to sell. His reputation, rhetoric and actions are major deterrents to investors right now. Let me ask you these questions: do you really believe that Bates saved our club from going out of existence? I don't - this was an opportunistic purchase Do you believe that Bates has any significant money of his own invested (i.e. at risk) in LUFC? I don't - whatever cash was initially used has long since been taken back out. Do you see Bates as a sage and prudent Charman? I don't - I think he is an asset stripper, nothing more. He assumed control of a loss-making business that had high turnover and plenty of cash flow. There's no fiscal genius in what happened next: Costs are slashed by selling the highest earners (who happen to be the best players) and the proceeds are retained not reinvested. Ticket, merchandise, food and drink prices are raised to the max and the pips squeezed, by adding on booking, handling, membership etc fees wherever possible. Administration wipes out millions of pounds of debt and gets rid of the small shareholders (and stiffs St john's Ambulance and many local small businesses for good measure). In short, the typical asset-stripper ploy - massive short term boost to the balance sheet and to hell with the long term - which, for LUFC, is life in Leagues 1&2, dwindling crowds, meagre sponsorship and a whole generation of Leeds youngsters growing up supporting Man U. And Bates? He'll long since have moved on to his next victim. I don't agree with much of what I hear from LUST but I've joined anyway because I believe, first and foremost, we have to stand together against this horrible little man.
allanb78
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 08:33 PM7tonycurriesfanclub.As you seem to be one of the more agreeable posters on this site perhaps you can help me out.I've posed this question on numerous occassions but never recieved a single answer. Given that you want Bates out, (and of course you are fully entitled have your own view) who do you replace him with and have you seen that persons money?.There have been mahy wild claims on this subject but no one has produced hard facts.A sincere answer would recieve my deepest thanks
Jibb
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 04:34 PMLUST may not represent the "20,000" who attended, but they do at least represent a proportion of them, they also represent the thousands of supporters who have voted with their feet and vowed not to set foot inside elland road until ken bates leaves the club. and i would guess they represent a large amount of season ticket holders who have decided not to renew their ST for next season. I cannot understand how uncle ken can charge prices more expensive than some ST at old trafford, to watch a team of freebies and loanees with a part time manager play abysmal football, and then label them morons when they complain about it. what happened to "if you want premiership football, you need to pay premiership prices" well ken, we have... for years now yet we are in no better position to when you took over. the only difference i see is that we missed out on paying £6m to buy back thorpe arch and spent £7m on some empty corporate boxes added onto a stadium we dont own. (although i think we all know who really owns TA & ER)
tonycurriesfanclub
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 04:27 PM@6 allanb78 - Like many others I long to see an upturn in the club's fortunes and future prospects and this will only happen if we bear one vital thing in mind;the fact that this is LEEDS and this is UNITED. Put this petty bickering behind you,get out on the terraces and give the lads the old Yelland Road Roar.We've been in bigger trouble than this and we've always ridden out the storm.So we shall again,but only if we do it together NO - THis paragraph would read perfectly if you changed the last few words "... but only without Bates".
allanb78
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 03:01 PM! Robstrong.Excellent presentation.Like you I will not be swayed by thr propaganda coming from the Lust faction.Just what do they expect (or should I say hope) to achieve by their actions.So far I have heard nothing of substance from them.Ask them a practical question and the answer,if any, is the usual barrage of abuse and misrepresentation of facts.Who are these mysterious, anonymous would be investors? I hear no names, I see no evidence of hard cash on the table.The pro LUST group attempt to bewilder us with vague garbled references to the finances of the club,details of which they no doubt gather from some remote internet source.Yes,they have a fair number of amateur accountants and woud be statisticians but thet have no factual knowledge of the full picture.Such information can only be aquired by a complete audit of the accounts and I very much doubt that they have access to them Like many others I long to see an upturn in the club's fortunes and future prospects and this will only happen if we bear one vital thing in mind;the fact that this is LEEDS and this is UNITED. Put this petty bickering behind you,get out on the terraces and give the lads the old Yelland Road Roar.We've been in bigger trouble than this and we've always ridden out the storm.So we shall again,but only if we do it together. .
lowfields71
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 01:49 PMRob, your out of order calling Leeds fans Morons. To take the line trotted out by Bates as gospel is lazy (and I mean no insult by saying that unlike you with your moron comment), it doesn’t take much thought to realise that the spin that he...er well 'spins' doesn’t add up, for instance, I'm not a tax exile he claimed a couple of years ago, yet he now cant be around to interview management candidates because of the 'silly 90 day rule' That’s the 90 day rule regarding to Domiciles, the 90 day rule that is law in our land, ken is above all that isn’t he, it makes him a tax cheat not a tax exile n my book, if he is willing to con the tax man it stands to reason he will con you without a second thought. Where is the alternative funding coming from you ask, well one thing is for sure while bates is at the helm no one with any intelligence will invest in Leeds United, doing business with him is tantamount to throwing the money down the drain, lets imagine he actually put the club up for sale however, viable prospect? I think anyone would have to admit the potential of Leeds United is fantastic and a very good opportunity (despite bates and not because of him), especially if we were to get promotion.
IRONMANHUNTER
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 01:15 PMMy suggestions is you lobby the ex-players and get them on board and become part of the group in an official capacity and obtain publicity from them. Youve started with Nigel Martin. You will start to obtain more credibility by doing this. It will make the EX players who are on the Bates payroll sit up and think whether they are batting for the wrong side. Remember the old saying "evil prevails where good men do nothing" Well done LUST.
grouchy
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 12:57 PMrob------ I think it is untrue to say that the march did not represent the 20,000 others at the Brighton match. I sit in the West stand probably the most conservative part of the ground and most fans round me are fed up with Bates, his lies, his spin and his overall treatment of ordinary fans.
chareose
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 12:22 PMRob.........It has to start somewhere. There is no time to be bickering amongst ourselves as to who should be leading the fightback. Lets just get behind one group and get this over and done with so we can move on........... LUST have got plenty of publicity so far.
robstrong
Monday, February 13, 2012 at 11:51 AMIf only it was that easy - go on a march to get us promoted - please tell us where the alternative funding is coming from! The trust has no money or contacts. Who elected this Gary Cooper anyway - he doesn't speak for me and the 20,000 others who attended the Brighton game and didn't go on this march. We all want success on the pitch but this moronic Bates out campaign is futile and silly unless they have a plan and backing. Now I've heard they are planning to boycott the sponsors of Leeds United - where do they think this is going?
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