Leeds United sack manager Simon Grayson

Leeds Hippo · Post by **Leeds Hippo** » Wed 01 Feb, 2012 6:43 pm

http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/2012 ... sfeed=true

jdbythesea · Post by **jdbythesea** » Wed 01 Feb, 2012 8:02 pm

I don't suppose it comes as a great surprise to anyone - least of all to Grayson himself following Howson's transfer. Bates is the real culprit though: has he lost his chequebook?

simong · Post by **simong** » Wed 01 Feb, 2012 9:54 pm

At this point in the plan we were supposed to be at least top 6 and the casino and hotel were supposed to be half built, then Bates would have been willing to make the push into the Premiership. Now I think there's an exit strategy.

yorkiesknob · Post by **yorkiesknob** » Thu 02 Feb, 2012 10:36 am

To me this a good summary of LUFC over the last couple of years.http://www.guardian.co.uk/football/blog ... ds-sacking

somme1916 · Post by **somme1916** » Wed 12 Mar, 2014 12:04 pm

Don't know if this is the correct thread to post on(did a search and nothing else looked more suitable)....just wondered what everybody's thoughts were about the ongoing saga that is LUFC ? Have followed much of the press releases and fan's comments in the YEP etc and things look absolutely dreadful at the moment.How on earth this once mighty football club can be in such a mess is unbelievable.Below is just one of the more recent comments in the YEP.Quote:"This is not even funny any more we have a stalemate, Cellino want's Mcdonut out but can't fire him, GFH want Mcdonut out but can't afford to fire him, Mcdonut will not walk away because he loses his money so we have a club that doesn't want the manager and a manager who doesn't want to be here but want's his money, We are well and truly screwed now all we need is the final nail in the coffin which is the football league rejecting cellino and we going into administration and minus 15 points, a Relegation and a clear out of all assets worth anything but for pennies does this sound familiar ?"You have to really despair as a fan and loiner watching all the unsavoury business unfold.What do others think ???? p.s.if an admin finds a more suitable thread in which to post this,please do so.

jdbythesea · Post by **jdbythesea** » Wed 12 Mar, 2014 3:46 pm

This depressing saga seems destined to continue its run. Living where I do most people are Hull City fans and most of them have absolutely no sympathy for LUFC. I get a fair bit of stick from them even though I'm more of a Rhinos fan than a United one : it seems popular to scorn a once mighty club that finds itself on hard times. I fear that Somme1916's opinion may well be the final outcome.That a club the size of Leeds with the fan base as large as it has can have come to this sorry state is almost criminal. It also paints a sad picture for the City in general as well. Where is an Abramovich, Glazer or Saudi royal when you really need one?

somme1916 · Post by **somme1916** » Wed 12 Mar, 2014 6:12 pm

jdbythesea wrote: This depressing saga seems destined to continue its run. Living where I do most people are Hull City fans and most of them have absolutely no sympathy for LUFC. I get a fair bit of stick from them even though I'm more of a Rhinos fan than a United one : it seems popular to scorn a once mighty club that finds itself on hard times. I fear that Somme1916's opinion may well be the final outcome.That a club the size of Leeds with the fan base as large as it has can have come to this sorry state is almost criminal. It also paints a sad picture for the City in general as well. Where is an Abramovich, Glazer or Saudi royal when you really need one? Thanks for your input jdbythesea.It wasn't my own opinion,was quoted verbatim from YEP web site from an obviously,very frustrated and pessimistic fan.That said,i do fear that he/she may well be right in the direction things are heading.Don't think LUFC will get much sympathy/support from football league HQ either.For historical reasons,there seems a degree of enmity towards anything Leeds United from certain quarters.It's the fans who lose out ultimately and it just seems a shame that the decline in fortunes in the football club have been overly long and painful.The current stalemate will take some sorting.....the FL meet tomorrow but it's by no means certain a decision will be taken as to the suitability of the Italian gentleman to take over the club.They are reported to be awaiting the outcome of another legal hearing/charge against him and that won't even proceed until next week at the earliest.A cynic may well suggest that the FL might be happy to do this in the knowledge that Cellino is reported to feel "humiliated" by events and may be on the brink of walking away.Where would that leave Leeds ??? He has been bankrolling the club for the last few weeks,paying wages,bills etc etc but in his absence ???? Will GFH step in ??? Does administration and a 15 point deduction lay in wait ? If the latter,it would leave them in a very precarious situation at/near the foot of the league.With the current uncertainty and the feeling that most of the players are not "playing" for the club anymore......relegation back to the 1st division is a very real possibility.How did it all come to this ?

raveydavey · Post by **raveydavey** » Wed 12 Mar, 2014 9:21 pm

Personally, I still blame Ridsdale even a decade or more on.More control of the purse strings and the players and we'd still be a top 4 team now. If you want a truly depressing read, Google him and see the train wreck he's left behind him - not just at Leeds either. Living the dream indeed....

Phill_dvsn · Post by **Phill_dvsn** » Thu 13 Mar, 2014 12:07 pm

It seems the only thing to cheer Leeds fans up this season is what's going on t'other side of the hills

simong · Post by **simong** » Thu 13 Mar, 2014 7:06 pm

I think the lack of goodwill in the club was hugely underestimated after relegation from the Premiership and the subsequent collapse. Bates wanted nothing else than to exploit the land at the cost of the club if necessary and was thwarted by the financial collapse and the loss of the future value of the east car park, on which he was mortgaging the value of the business.Now, there are two types of investor aiming at the club: the well off fan, who would like to be able to sink money into the club to get it back to the Premiership because they're a fan but in reality doesn't have the cash to do it. After years of cargo-cult speculation the mysterious sheikh briefly became real but has seemed to be as nebulous as the rumours have been for ten years, probably because the club is in a worse state than had been imagined - running a digital radio station at a loss to support your ego can't be cheap, for example.On the other hand we have the speculator who would like to buy the club, get it into the Premiership and make a return that way. The only problem is the deep pockets needed to buy a club's way into the top tier and keep it there for long enough to make that return. Only one club, perhaps two, have succeeded in doing this in the last ten years. The rest have stumbled and fallen, often with spectacular public fallouts such as what has gone on at Hull and Cardiff recently.Leeds United may turn out to be the example that leads to reform in English football. I've felt for ages (well, since we've been there) that the Championship is the true top tier of English football, that the Premiership is no more than an investment vehicle, with no allegiance to its fans, just to its shareholders, and the teams that play in it, although technically excellent, could be playing anywhere. Danny Baker's often-repeated assertion that Chelsea will find themselves a nice new ground somewhere up the M4 soon still hasn't happened but localism means little in the Premiership. The ideal would be collectivisation, for the supporters to buy enough of a stake in the club for it to be meaningful but not so much that liabilities cripple that stake. The chant of 'we're not famous anymore' stays true, but for true recovery, the club doesn't try for a while, and rebuilds on a regular fifth or sixth place finish to stay strong but not risk all in a fateful run to the Premiership. The alternative appears to be a stream of the hopeful faithful or chancers, looking for an opportunity that neither can provide.