United chairman Ken Bates' exclusive interview with LUTV left Leeds fans reminiscing over many a Wednesday, as the Elland Road faithful would tear their hair out at the petulance, idiocy and blatant lies that spilled out through his tedious beard. After a summer without the voice of Ken in our ears, his silence was broken at the weekend in order to update the quoted 150,000 customers of Leeds United on the latest developments surrounding the takeover at Leeds. Yorkshire Radio had hyped up the occasion with it's sole purpose to give fans the latest news that we'd all been craving.
What we received, however, was a thirteen minute interview which offered more time to those that Ken wished to attack than it did to an update on the ongoing investment negotiations, now into their fourth month. Alongside the Elland Road Kop and YEP reporter Phil Hay, the Leeds United Supporters' Trust (LUST) headlined Bates' list of 'idiots' and 'illiterates', ridiculed by the chairman as a 'waste of space'.
Atop the list of criticisms towards LUST was their apparent disruptive behaviour which has allegedly caused significant delays on the takeover (that, and the weather...). Bates claimed that the statements (filled with 'inaccuracies') and twitter account of LUST meant that the prospective buyers required re-assurance that these views were of the minority and not the majority. His damning verdict on the trust finished with them being labelled as a 'pain in the arse' that had set out to attack him, something he called 'disrespectful'.
Despite looking at the previous statements from LUST, it's hard to find what Ken is harping on about. Their statements have, on regular occasions, thanked the club and specifically Ken Bates for their updates over the summer, whilst asking the questions on every Leeds fans' lips. As a trust, their main job is to represent the views and thoughts of their members. This has been accomplished in a dignified and respectful manner, especially towards the club; An offer of respect that the club arguably has not deserved.
It's difficult to spot the attacks from LUST towards the chairman, leaving his claims of bullying seem a bit far-fetched. It may be best not to argue with Ken on the issue, though, his position to spot bullying may be far greater than any of ours. After all, he was characterised as a bully by the courts over his ongoing attacks towards Melvyn Levi earlier in the year. As the saying goes, 'it takes one to know one'. Maybe old Ken is onto something... Somehow though, I doubt it.
And if these ridiculous allegations weren't enough to ridicule any grasp of legitimacy for Bates, they were shot down dead when his employee and Leeds United boss contradicted his criticisms of the Leeds United Kop and support just hours after the interview was aired. Neil Warnock was filled with praise and adoration for the support following United's 2-1 win over Nottingham Forest, contradicting claims of the Kop, labelled as 'idiots' by the chairman.
It doesn't end there, either. After criticising the core support at Elland Road, his rants led him to discuss how the prospective buyers required time this summer to learn the ins and outs of how to run a football club. Whilst this is obviously required, it seems somewhat ironic that Ken would preach how a football club should be run. I'm no expert, but I don't think attacking your main source of income and the membership that speaks on behalf of them is seen as intelligent when running a football club. Nor is getting the club into debt through building projects that will offer no real long term benefit for the club or the fans. Nor is constantly lying to the fans. Frankly, it's incredible he can even utter about how to run a club properly without it being liable.
The aftermath of the interview wasn't exactly great viewing for Ken.
Forums across the internet and discussions within the ground were hardly
sympathetic to Ken's dilemma. It's fair to say that nobody has bought a
single word of his attacks and allegations towards LUST and their
statements.
In fact, it's the petulance and arrogance of the man that has seen
another few hundred Leeds fans sign up to LUST following his interview.
According to LUST's Gary Cooper, this is a common trend; 'We always get a run on memberships and shareholding when Ken has a rant about us'. It
has been a great source of free advertisement for the Trust, who now
boast 8,000 members (approximately 5% of Ken's quoted customer base, and growing), and can proudly state that they are the fifth
largest supporters trust in the UK.
And as we prepare for our Third Round cup game against Everton tonight, we see that only 15,000 of our customers will be making their way to Elland Road tonight. Similar ties against Liverpool and Tottenham saw sell out crowds just two years ago. A drop of almost 18,000 due to another two years of continued lies, lack of investment and petulance would suggest that it is no longer a majority behind Ken, whilst the Campaign for Change heralded by LUST continues to grow.
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To join the Leeds United Supporters' Trust, visit Here (Membership is free).
