[Albion] Deluded Leeds (an EFL club) fans

[ATFC Seagull]

I have just read more than 60 pages about the iniquities of we poor stupid saps who support Leeds and would like the right to reply, if I may?

You can't judge an entire fan base on a few internet blowhards. Most of whom sound as though they are at school. This is the internet, it means nothing.

Leeds fans know that Ben White is a Brighton player, no argument about that, we might put in an offer, but I doubt it. Why does it so irritate you that he has done so well with us? You should be pleased?

And whilst you might be annoyed that some Leeds fans don't accord Brighton the respect you feel you deserve once again it isn't everyone. I remember going to the Withdean in the Third Division in 2007, we won a dreadful match through a Kandol goal. The transformation of your club since then has been stunning. A good team, an ambitious, rich owner, a splendid (if small) stadium. A great youth system, as we can see with White.

You don't like Leeds, I get that. Few clubs do. But surely we are a breath of fresh air in the Premier League? An exciting young team, mostly British, costing little and paid a pittance. A world class manager. A fanbase which will proved a ground as passionate and noisy as any in England. In a bland landscape of identikit stadia, overpaid foreign players and bored, spoilt crowds aren't we a throwback to how top flight football used to be.

A proper football club?

Good post - agree with almost all of it. Like many on here I've got mates from university etc who were big Leeds fans and had some good nights out up there before/after Albion games at Elland Road.

I do however think you're perhaps papering a little over the general issues with your fanbase that go back way beyond the days of internet trolls and keyboard warriors. Ask any matchgoing fan in this country where is the most unwelcoming and intimidating place to go to as an away fan and it would be Leeds. I know there's this idea that football has become overly-sanitised and we all want an atmosphere with a bit of edge, but not actually feeling all day like you're one idiot away from getting your head kicked in. I've been to Elland Road 10+ times and the majority were trouble-free, met lots of great home fans, but the nastiness is there in a way it isn't at *most* other clubs. I think there's also a more obvious element looking for fights amongst your away following as well compared to most - the trains and pubs around the station are never their most fun when Leeds are in town. In recent years Leeds fans have also risen right to the top of the homophobic league in recent years as well - although I appreciate we are in very different times since we last played you, so this could well be something we don't really see/hear again.

For me Leeds are a great old club with great traditions and do "belong" in the top flight (if you subscribe to the idea you want the biggest clubs with the biggest traditions in there), but too much hassle for my liking.

 

[RM-Taylor]

I have just read more than 60 pages about the iniquities of we poor stupid saps who support Leeds and would like the right to reply, if I may?

You can't judge an entire fan base on a few internet blowhards. Most of whom sound as though they are at school. This is the internet, it means nothing.

Leeds fans know that Ben White is a Brighton player, no argument about that, we might put in an offer, but I doubt it. Why does it so irritate you that he has done so well with us? You should be pleased?

And whilst you might be annoyed that some Leeds fans don't accord Brighton the respect you feel you deserve once again it isn't everyone. I remember going to the Withdean in the Third Division in 2007, we won a dreadful match through a Kandol goal. The transformation of your club since then has been stunning. A good team, an ambitious, rich owner, a splendid (if small) stadium. A great youth system, as we can see with White.

You don't like Leeds, I get that. Few clubs do. But surely we are a breath of fresh air in the Premier League? An exciting young team, mostly British, costing little and paid a pittance. A world class manager. A fanbase which will proved a ground as passionate and noisy as any in England. In a bland landscape of identikit stadia, overpaid foreign players and bored, spoilt crowds aren't we a throwback to how top flight football used to be.

A proper football club?

Are we forgetting the almost 10 years that your ground was half empty and was pretty much silent on most occasions. Yes I will give you credit that in the last few years your fans have been decent especially since you turned the South stand into a vocal standing area. Nothing against you or Leeds (best mate is a Leeds fan and I’ve been to a handful of games with him, losing at home to Cheltenham on a wet Tuesday night when Anthony Elding actually scored, and better days away at Bolton winning) but to say your home fans and home crowd have been great for so long is bollocks.

 

[spence]

Good post and thanks for the contribution. I like Leeds, they have won me a fair few quid over the past two seasons and its a great city with genuine people.

Im genuinely excited to see what happens with them next year if Bielsa stays. From the outside in, El loco has been a revelation. I still dont think Bamford is premiership class so interested to see what the transfer activity looks like.

More than anything, I am hopeful that they survive and dont over-reach for the sake of all their fans.

What a cringeworthy post.

 

[PILTDOWN MAN]

Good post and thanks for the contribution. I like Leeds, they have won me a fair few quid over the past two seasons and its a great city with genuine people.

Im genuinely excited to see what happens with them next year if Bielsa stays. From the outside in, El loco has been a revelation. I still dont think Bamford is premiership class so interested to see what the transfer activity looks like.

More than anything, I am hopeful that they survive and dont over-reach for the sake of all their fans.

 

[swindonseagull]

For me Leeds are a great old club with great traditions and do "belong" in the top flight (if you subscribe to the idea you want the biggest clubs with the biggest traditions in there), but too much hassle for my liking.

NO ONE belongs in the 'top flight' you get there by merit.

 

[Killer Whale]

I think what you will find is the Brighton internet blowhards are the ones with the problem. Most of us realise this and know Leeds fans are not all like the few idiots who scream loudest on social media. It is the same here: the NSC idiots who scream loudest do not represent us all.

One point: I would not call the Amex small, isn't it only 7 or 8k smaller than Elland road? It is smallER than yours, but not small.

Elland Road is too small too. There is talk of increasing it to 50,000 but that will require several years in the Premier League and/or some serious investment from some putative new owner, Arab Sheikhs are the favourites. These are constantly talked of but never arrive. Like Billy Bunter's Postal Order. Maybe that is for the best, though, as we would lose our soul as a club, as (also once of the third division) Man City did.

The bigger the better the stadium, surely? I know that gate receipts are a smaller and smaller percentage of total revenue nowadays, but still...

Of one thing I presume we are agreed, though. Your present home is quite the step up from the Withdean!

 

[spence]

NO ONE belongs in the 'top flight' you get there by merit.

Agree with this. I do hate when people spout that bollox. You hear that from commentators and ex footballers all the time.

 

[Swansman]

I have just read more than 60 pages about the iniquities of we poor stupid saps who support Leeds and would like the right to reply, if I may?

You can't judge an entire fan base on a few internet blowhards. Most of whom sound as though they are at school. This is the internet, it means nothing.

Leeds fans know that Ben White is a Brighton player, no argument about that, we might put in an offer, but I doubt it. Why does it so irritate you that he has done so well with us? You should be pleased?

And whilst you might be annoyed that some Leeds fans don't accord Brighton the respect you feel you deserve once again it isn't everyone. I remember going to the Withdean in the Third Division in 2007, we won a dreadful match through a Kandol goal. The transformation of your club since then has been stunning. A good team, an ambitious, rich owner, a splendid (if small) stadium. A great youth system, as we can see with White.

You don't like Leeds, I get that. Few clubs do. But surely we are a breath of fresh air in the Premier League? An exciting young team, mostly British, costing little and paid a pittance. A world class manager. A fanbase which will proved a ground as passionate and noisy as any in England. In a bland landscape of identikit stadia, overpaid foreign players and bored, spoilt crowds aren't we a throwback to how top flight football used to be.

A proper football club?

I agree with most of what you are writing and I think it will be fun to have Leeds back up. Fun with a "bad boy" team, much prefer that above... Bournemouth.

But that part about White... I dont know. Ive been checking a lot of Leeds forums, and I was surprised to see that a really large majority seems to believe that there is no way White is ever playing for Brighton - "he will play in Leeds or a top 4 team". Its pretty ridicilous. In the last few days it seems like some fans are starting to understand that he wont be sold to you and very unlikely sold at all.

Also the talk of playing in Europe etc... wish it was just a small, loud minorty heh. But makes it all funnier to see you battle in the bottom in the end.

Unfortunately Bielsa wont buy the hype and he will prepare the team to fight for survival and I think you will make it if you get a few decent signings and avoid injuries.

Going to be fun to see Potter vs Bielsa again, the Swansea vs Leeds games 18/19 were both very exciting and very high level Championship games.

 

[Wozza]

Good post and thanks for the contribution. I like Leeds, they have won me a fair few quid over the past two seasons and its a great city with genuine people.

Im genuinely excited to see what happens with them next year if Bielsa stays. From the outside in, El loco has been a revelation. I still dont think Bamford is premiership class so interested to see what the transfer activity looks like.

More than anything, I am hopeful that they survive and dont over-reach for the sake of all their fans.

Still waiting for the punchline...

 

[RM-Taylor]

Not to mention planning permission. Can the site that Elland Road is on even be used to hold 50k and pass all the regulations these days?

I’ll answer this for him, yes. The west stand is due to be redeveloped so that it is pretty similar to the giant east stand opposite. The land behind the current west stand is used by the club as a car park. Not 100% sure but think they already have planning permission for this.

 

[Killer Whale]

Good post - agree with almost all of it. Like many on here I've got mates from university etc who were big Leeds fans and had some good nights out up there before/after Albion games at Elland Road.

I do however think you're perhaps papering a little over the general issues with your fanbase that go back way beyond the days of internet trolls and keyboard warriors. Ask any matchgoing fan in this country where is the most unwelcoming and intimidating place to go to as an away fan and it would be Leeds. I know there's this idea that football has become overly-sanitised and we all want an atmosphere with a bit of edge, but not actually feeling all day like you're one idiot away from getting your head kicked in. I've been to Elland Road 10+ times and the majority were trouble-free, met lots of great home fans, but the nastiness is there in a way it isn't at *most* other clubs. I think there's also a more obvious element looking for fights amongst your away following as well compared to most - the trains and pubs around the station are never their most fun when Leeds are in town. In recent years Leeds fans have also risen right to the top of the homophobic league in recent years as well - although I appreciate we are in very different times since we last played you, so this could well be something we don't really see/hear again.

For me Leeds are a great old club with great traditions and do "belong" in the top flight (if you subscribe to the idea you want the biggest clubs with the biggest traditions in there), but too much hassle for my liking.

I don't disagree that some Leeds fans are, how shall I put it? Unreconstructed. They aren't woke. Part of it is that Leeds is a gritty working class city whereas Brighton is quite comme il faut. But that isn't the whole story.

But it is a different world from the seventies. I am old enough to have been crammed into the away terrace at Anfield, opposite the Kop, and having to dodge darts and bottles or pi$$ thrown at you every few minutes. Then ritualised fights, outside the ground. Elland Road at its worst now is a kindergarten compared to those days.

 

[Wozza]

NO ONE belongs in the 'top flight' you get there by merit.

Indeed. Some fans have a fixed notion on who belongs/doesn't belong in the 'First Division', usually based on the league table when they were a kid. Move on!

 

[Killer Whale]

Indeed. Some fans have a fixed notion on who belongs/doesn't belong in the 'First Division', usually based on the league table when they were a kid. Move on!

I agree.

You won't find me arguing that Leeds belong in the First Division, more than half the time I have supported them, they have been out of it. Football is a meritocracy and a survival of the fittest.

But surely we have suffered enough to be allowed to have at least a brief moment in the sun?

 

[BN41Albion]

NO ONE belongs in the 'top flight' you get there by merit.

Absolutely. They've been out of the top flight for 16 years ffs! And they averaged crowds of 25k for a lot of their time in the championship, with the top tier of their largest stand closed. They're a big club, they have a decent fan base who have flocked back now, but they certainly don't 'belong' in the Premier League any more than other clubs. They've certainly earnt the right to play in it next season, especially after doing what we did and regrouping and coming back stronger after last season. It'll be interesting to see how they get on, and their games against united will be fun to watch for sure

 

[Mancgull]

I've been to Elland Road about seven times. The first 3/4 times were very unpleasant with very aggressive stewarding and generally an unwelcoming feeling.
Then in 2014 (best guess for year) I went and could see that there had been a really significant effort to make the away fan more welcome. It was a refreshing change.
Re Ben White, I think what has irritated some Brighton fans ( including myself) is the the way that the Ben White loan has turned into a bit of a shitstorm with a number of Leeds fans insulting our club by saying that White would never want to return to Brighton when he has the option of staying at Leeds. The very strong fan opinions has led the Director of Football at Leeds to state that there will be discussions about White. I can see that he's under pressure from Leeds fans to try to sign White but he could have chosen his words more carefully . Eg ' Ben is a Brighton player and we'd like to thank him for the contribution he has made to our promotion this season'. Perhaps then make a formal, and confidential enquiry to us as to what our asking price is for White.
I just don't think that Leeds have handled the situation very professionally.

 

[BN41Albion]

Indeed. Some fans have a fixed notion on who belongs/doesn't belong in the 'First Division', usually based on the league table when they were a kid. Move on!

Sky Sports and Talksport seem to, as well

 

[Barnet Seagull]

What a cringeworthy post.

Thanks x

 

[Killer Whale]

Absolutely. They've been out of the top flight for 16 years ffs! And they averaged crowds of 25k for a lot of their time in the championship, with the top tier of their largest stand closed. They're a big club, they have a decent fan base who have flocked back now, but they certainly don't 'belong' in the Premier League any more than other clubs. They've certainly earnt the right to play in it next season, especially after doing what we did and regrouping and coming back stronger after last season. It'll be interesting to see how they get on, and their games against united will be fun to watch for sure

Leeds averaged 26K in the season I saw us beat you at the Withdean, with a high of the season of 38,200 against Gillingham. Maybe they had a huge away following that day, who knows? I don't think that is a bad average for a third division season. It is not as though the football was entertaining or anything...

 

[Stat Brother]

I’ll answer this for him, yes. The west stand is due to be redeveloped so that it is pretty similar to the giant east stand opposite. The land behind the current west stand is used by the club as a car park. Not 100% sure but think they already have planning permission for this.

Currently Elland Road is the 'stadium' palace are aspiring to be.

3 cow sheds and 1 stand - all very 'pig wearing lipstick'.


It most definitely isn't fit to grace the Premier League.

 

[LamieRobertson]

I agree.

You won't find me arguing that Leeds belong in the First Division, more than half the time I have supported them, they have been out of it. Football is a meritocracy and a survival of the fittest.

But surely we have suffered enough to be allowed to have at least a brief moment in the sun?

Oh go on then...but not for long mind