david in sweden Posted 20 October, 2015 Share Posted 20 October, 2015 (edited) ....and who might we be speaking of.....well, Leeds United, of course.... ......(at least that's according to Steve Evans ...(their 11th ...that right .....11th. manager in the last 3 years.) Freshly awaken from his 25 year coma....Mr.Evans is seemingly still living in the 1970's time warp when Don Revie managed the side that almost won everything, and was the best runner-up in the country, and insists that Leeds should be playing in the Prem. (although recent results seem to prove otherwise). Taking key points from a rarely-remembered Nicola Cortese speech from 6 years ago, Steve assured fans that Leeds were on the way up again soon to the Prem. Hopefully. Leeds have a Board with lots of money available to buy their way back up to the top level and put aside the memories of previous club chairmen like Ken Bates and the legendary Peter Risdale who borrowed pots of money against everything the club had ...(and a lot more that they didn't have) before bankrupting them in 2004. Remembering our own long haul back to the top, we can but wait until we see how Mr.Evans & Co. handles the new task, and wish him luck. It is not clear how long the Leeds board will give Evans before he gets the sack, but judging by past performances, he's best advised not to move house too soon. HOW IS THIS SAINTS-RELATED?.....for older fans.. there was a time when Leeds United were the team we all loved to hate... Much of their success was based on their club motto " hard ...but fair " ...their fans once countered the Anfield Kop..with their own rendering of ....." You'll Never Walk AGAIN " ....Nuff said. Edited 20 October, 2015 by david in sweden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the saint in winchester Posted 20 October, 2015 Share Posted 20 October, 2015 .....deserves to be in administration, more like. How did Celino (sp.?) ever get approved as a fit and proper owner? Nutcase. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mystic Force Posted 20 October, 2015 Share Posted 20 October, 2015 Fortunately they have away of deciding who is in the premier League. It is a points based system attributed by performance. If everyone who thought they "deserved it" it would be a very bloated league indeed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Pamplemousse Posted 20 October, 2015 Share Posted 20 October, 2015 Leeds should be in the Premier League, given the size, history and passion of the fanbase, but it just goes to show how important being a well run club is. Leeds have been so badly mismanaged over the years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VectisSaint Posted 20 October, 2015 Share Posted 20 October, 2015 Leeds should be in the Premier League, given the size, history and passion of the fanbase, but it just goes to show how important being a well run club is. Leeds have been so badly mismanaged over the years. Leeds should be a Premier League side, no doubt. They aren't and won't be until they sort out their ownership and get someone sensible in place. But have no doubt, Leeds United are a massive club and should be top 8 at least. Its not a 1970s thing David, they won the league in 1992, the last season before the Premier League started. Ridsdale finally screwed them in 2001 and they were relegated in 2004. They haven't been lower league for as long as you may think. But they are going nowhere soonish, except maybe down. Still, no love lost there, dirty Leeds, and Norman 'bites yer legs' Hunter and all that. At least we don't get to see the 7-0 thingy as much while they are down amongst the dead men. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Kingsland Red Posted 20 October, 2015 Share Posted 20 October, 2015 I agree, strange that a wealthy person / organisation hasn't managed to buy them at what must be a knock down price. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadoldgit Posted 20 October, 2015 Share Posted 20 October, 2015 Teams only deserve to be in the Premiership on merit. Leeds have been second rate for many years now, There are plenty of teams that have played in the top flight and cant get back in. The day they get promoted will be the day they deserve to be in the Premiership. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buctootim Posted 20 October, 2015 Share Posted 20 October, 2015 Leeds should be in the Premier League, given the size, history and passion of the fanbase, but it just goes to show how important being a well run club is. Leeds have been so badly mismanaged over the years. Size of fanbase doesnt count as much anymore. It used to be those with the biggest crowds got the most income and could sign the best players. Now its those getting the tv money are top dogs. If you arent already on the PL gravy train or getting parachute payments then you need a very rich owner to bankroll you there. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Village Saint Posted 20 October, 2015 Share Posted 20 October, 2015 Leeds should be a Premier League side, no doubt. They aren't and won't be until they sort out their ownership and get someone sensible in place. But have no doubt, Leeds United are a massive club and should be top 8 at least. Its not a 1970s thing David, they won the league in 1992, the last season before the Premier League started. Ridsdale finally screwed them in 2001 and they were relegated in 2004. They haven't been lower league for as long as you may think. But they are going nowhere soonish, except maybe down. Still, no love lost there, dirty Leeds, and Norman 'bites yer legs' Hunter and all that. At least we don't get to see the 7-0 thingy as much while they are down amongst the dead men. No they have never been a massive club. Indeed at various points their relatively poor attendances have put them in financial danger. Nearly all of their trophies came in the Don Revie era in the 60s and 70s. They were never more than a yo yo club before 1963 and I cant see any reason why they are going to buck the trend of most of their 96 year history and get back to the Revie-inspired glory years. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david in sweden Posted 20 October, 2015 Author Share Posted 20 October, 2015 Leeds should be a Premier League side, no doubt. They aren't and won't be until they sort out their ownership and get someone sensible in place. But have no doubt, Leeds United are a massive club and should be top 8 at least. Its not a 1970s thing David, they won the league in 1992, the last season before the Premier League started. Ridsdale finally screwed them in 2001 and they were relegated in 2004. They haven't been lower league for as long as you may think. But they are going nowhere soonish, except maybe down. Still, no love lost there, dirty Leeds, and Norman 'bites yer legs' Hunter and all that. At least we don't get to see the 7-0 thingy as much while they are down amongst the dead men. 1992 (?)......oh yes that was their "swan-song". Our daughter was born the year before ...next year she's 25. For Leeds it's been a long time between successes. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buctootim Posted 20 October, 2015 Share Posted 20 October, 2015 1992 (?)......oh yes that was their "swan-song". Really? you dont rate CL semi finals in 2002 then? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitey Grandad Posted 20 October, 2015 Share Posted 20 October, 2015 1992 (?)......oh yes that was their "swan-song". Our daughter was born the year before ...next year she's 25. For Leeds it's been a long time between successes. So your daughter has never known a Liverpool league title either? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winnersaint Posted 20 October, 2015 Share Posted 20 October, 2015 (edited) Really? you dont rate CL semi finals in 2002 then? European Cup Finalists in 1975 v Bayern in Paris, the year before our one and only trophy. BTW that was a night of daylight robbery on behalf of Bayern and it really kicked off in the Parc des Princes when they went two up. Edited 20 October, 2015 by Winnersaint Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winnersaint Posted 20 October, 2015 Share Posted 20 October, 2015 Interestingly watching footage from the 1975 game having reminded myself of this, Yorath's assault on Andersson aside, they were a very competent footballing side that wouldn't look out of place in the modern era. Beckenbaur's trip on Allan Clarke in the Penalty area and the disallowed Lorimer volley both should have stood, but that's football. Leeds were never the same after this. Most of the were 80's spent in Division 2, but by 1992 they'd been five or so years in the top flight and won it thanks to an enigmatic Frenchman and a near retiring ginger haired Scotsman. Since then they have been a basket case of a club with the Risdale and Krasner years and now Cellini. If ever there was a competition for poor football club governance they would have won it most years this century. My own view of them will always be them taking the **** out of us at Elland Road when they beat us 7-0 in 72, and having to endure it on MoTD. ****-em. Nasty team, nasty northern monkey fans apart from the handful I know personally who are good people who happen to be misguided in who they support. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadoldgit Posted 20 October, 2015 Share Posted 20 October, 2015 I had forgotten that match. That was back in the days when I used to support all British teams in foreign competitions and remember actually feeling sorry for Leeds. Well, I was a lot younger then! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
diggers Posted 20 October, 2015 Share Posted 20 October, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stockportsaint Posted 20 October, 2015 Share Posted 20 October, 2015 Leeds are ruining their own Manager Of The Month competition again this season. I was 8 years old in 1975 - it's the first European Cup Final I remember watching. I remember feeling angry at the injustice they received that night but not knowing why, being too young to really understand. Watching it back on YouTube confirms what I remember, with 40 extra years of understanding. Ridsdale was an arrogant & incompetent ****, I have little sympathy for their current plight. No one has a divine right to be in the top flight - Liverpool were a second division team in the 60s, Forest were 3rd division until Derby County's board of idiots sacked Clough and he gave Forest their 15 years in the sun, unlikely to ever be repeated. Chelsea spent much of the eighties in the second division, and we all know how long Man U went without winning the title before Lord Ferg came along. Nothing lasts forever. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitey Grandad Posted 20 October, 2015 Share Posted 20 October, 2015 Leeds are ruining their own Manager Of The Month competition again this season. I was 8 years old in 1975 - it's the first European Cup Final I remember watching. I remember feeling angry at the injustice they received that night but not knowing why, being too young to really understand. Watching it back on YouTube confirms what I remember, with 40 extra years of understanding. Ridsdale was an arrogant & incompetent ****, I have little sympathy for their current plight. No one has a divine right to be in the top flight - Liverpool were a second division team in the 60s, Forest were 3rd division until Derby County's board of idiots sacked Clough and he gave Forest their 15 years in the sun, unlikely to ever be repeated. Chelsea spent much of the eighties in the second division, and we all know how long Man U went without winning the title before Lord Ferg came along. Nothing lasts forever. 'All things must come to pass' Matthew 24:6-8 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david in sweden Posted 20 October, 2015 Author Share Posted 20 October, 2015 Really? you dont rate CL semi finals in 2002 then? nothing counts - if you don't win it ....... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david in sweden Posted 20 October, 2015 Author Share Posted 20 October, 2015 'All things must come to pass' Matthew 24:6-8 just finished watching Arsenal v.Bayern Munich. Bayern made over 600 passes.......but Arsenal scored the goals. The only stat. that matters was.... Arseanl 2 Bayern 0. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VectisSaint Posted 20 October, 2015 Share Posted 20 October, 2015 No they have never been a massive club. Indeed at various points their relatively poor attendances have put them in financial danger. Nearly all of their trophies came in the Don Revie era in the 60s and 70s. They were never more than a yo yo club before 1963 and I cant see any reason why they are going to buck the trend of most of their 96 year history and get back to the Revie-inspired glory years. You clearly have no idea about their relatively recent history. How could they be a yo-yo club before 1963, they were only relegated 3 times in 44 years. Their record attendance, nearly 58k. League Champs in 1992 (long after Revie) and PL top 5 on several occasions. Average attendances of about 39k 2000-2003, seriously get real mate. I do agree with you though that they are unlikely to get back to their glory times until there is a major change in the way the club is owned and managed. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VectisSaint Posted 20 October, 2015 Share Posted 20 October, 2015 1992 (?)......oh yes that was their "swan-song". Our daughter was born the year before ...next year she's 25. For Leeds it's been a long time between successes. You do know only 5 clubs have ever won the PL, including Blackburn's single win. Leeds won the league (Division 1) more recently than Liverpool and were top 5 in the PL several times in the Noughties. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
VectisSaint Posted 20 October, 2015 Share Posted 20 October, 2015 If ever there was a competition for poor football club governance they would have won it most years this century. I think the Skates would have given them a run for their money a few times though Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
CB Fry Posted 20 October, 2015 Share Posted 20 October, 2015 nothing counts - if you don't win it ....... Obviously it does. Champions League last four is a cracking achievement. Pretty much every Saints fan would explode with joy if we finished fourth and qualified for the final qualification round of next year's competition, never mind reach the semi final of the thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
stockportsaint Posted 20 October, 2015 Share Posted 20 October, 2015 Obviously it does. Champions League last four is a cracking achievement. Pretty much every Saints fan would explode with joy if we finished fourth and qualified for the final qualification round of next year's competition, never mind reach the semi final of the thing. If we finished fourth in the CL I know it would give me at least a semi. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
St. Neil Posted 20 October, 2015 Share Posted 20 October, 2015 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
the saint in winchester Posted 20 October, 2015 Share Posted 20 October, 2015 Flipping eck. Someone should remind him what he said there, and he was right the first time. You're going down, Stevie. I give him 6 games max. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hutch Posted 21 October, 2015 Share Posted 21 October, 2015 Evans will fit in very nicely there. Now that the owner has been suspended under the Fit and Proper Person rules again after another conviction in Italy, there shouldn't be too many eyes looking at what he gets up to: After an average playing career in his native Scotland that was cut short by a knee ligament injury at the age of twenty-eight, Evans briefly pitched up at Corby Town as chairman in 1994 before moving on to Stamford FC. After four years at Stamford, he was given a managerial leg-up when he accepted the managerial job at Boston United – a club frequently described at the time as “sleeping giants”, in non-league terms at least – in 1998. Two years later, they were promoted into the Football Conference as the champions of the Southern League, and after a further two years, following a neck and neck race against Dagenham & Redbridge, he took his club into the Football League on as slim a margin as goal difference. Both of these title wins, however, would come to be regarded as fundamentally tainted by the revelations that followed them. Within weeks, the FA’s then-compliance officer, Graham Bean, had launched an investigation into the financial irregularites at Boston United, and, July of that year, the club was found guilty by an FA disciplinary committee of systematically lodging false contracts for players. The ploy was a simple one. Players signed contracts that were worth a fraction of the value of what they were being paid. In one case, Ken Charlery was recorded as being paid £120 per week when he was actually being paid £620 per week and had received a £16,000 signing on fee for the club, against which no tax had been paid. In another, the former Liverpool defender Mike Marsh was contracted as being paid £100 per week when he was actually earning £1,000 per week. The difference was paid through “expenses”, against which no tax was payable. The club was fined £100,000 and docked four points for the following season, a decision that enraged Dagenham & Redbridge, who had missed out so narrowly on promotion to Evans’ club. More notable than this, though (at least from the point of view of this particular story), was the fact that Evans and the club’s owner at the time, Pat Malkinson, were both found guilty by the FA of having, “”facilitated a payment of £8,000 to a witness to attempt to mislead, impede and frustrate” the FA’s enquiry into the scam. Malkinson was fined £5,250 and suspended from football for thirteen months. Evans was fined £8,000 and suspended from football for twenty months. Evans may have been banned from football, but he wasn’t out of work for long, taking a job working for a recruitment company owned by a Staffordshire businessman called Jon Sotnick. Sotnick (who went on to act as Chief Executive at Darlington and was linked with a take-over of Sheffield Wednesday in 2008 ) was persuaded to put money into Boston United and Evans returned as the Boston manager in February 2004. By this time, though, the mere bans of the FA were the least of Evans’ concerns. A criminal investigation had been launched into the goings-on at Boston, and in September 2005 he and four other people connected with Boston United (including former Boston chairman Pat Malkinson) were charged with – and denied – committing fraud at the club between 1998 and 2002. Meanwhile, on the pitch, he was earning himself a reputation for the levels of abuse that he threw around when decisions didn’t go his way. In February 2006, for example, he was escorted from Grimsby Town’s Blundell Park by the police after verbally abusing the fourth official. After the match, Sotnick (by then the Boston chairman) claimed, with regard to the police’s involvement during the match, that, “There seems to be a conspiracy at work. At every game Steve seems to be singled out for extra attention from the police – and I’m determined to get the bottom of this”. Perhaps the choicest quote of all from Sotnick on the matter, however, was this, which needs no further comment: Steve was thrown out of the ground with no money, no mobile phone and was left to fend for himself. Sotnick resigned in June of 2006 to take over as the Chief Executive of Darlington, and sold his shares to director Jim Rodwell for a nominal sum. The trial of Steve Evans, Pat Malkinson, et al, meanwhile, reached trial at Southwark Court in September 2006. The court heard evidence regarding the contracts from Ken Charlery, and the total amount that had been creamed off by the club through fraudulently failing to pay tax and national insurance contributions on the wages of Boston’s players was confirmed at £245,188. While two of the other defendants were acquitted by the judge and one more had his case thrown out, though, Malkinson and Evans changed their pleas to guilty at the last minute. Malkinson was given a two year prison sentence, suspended for two years and ordered to pay back the money that the club owed in tax plus just over £100,000 in interest. Evans received a one year suspended sentence. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toomer Posted 21 October, 2015 Share Posted 21 October, 2015 When ever the name Leeds Utd is mentioned I can't help say to myself dirty Leeds! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitey Grandad Posted 21 October, 2015 Share Posted 21 October, 2015 When ever the name Leeds Utd is mentioned I can't help say to myself dirty Leeds! They'll always be that. Dirty, nasty, spiteful team under Revie. Not a trace of sportsmanship to be found anywhere. The term 'beautiful game' never applied to Leeds. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Toomer Posted 21 October, 2015 Share Posted 21 October, 2015 They'll always be that. Dirty, nasty, spiteful team under Revie. Not a trace of sportsmanship to be found anywhere. The term 'beautiful game' never applied to Leeds. Some of the youngsters on this forum would not understand what we are on about and their wonderful fans that kicked off in Bounrnemouth. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
hutch Posted 21 October, 2015 Share Posted 21 October, 2015 I was trying to remember that team without using google. Sprake, Cooper, Hunter, Charlton, Bremner, Lorimer, Gray, Jordan come to mind. They were dirty b*stards weren't they? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The9 Posted 21 October, 2015 Share Posted 21 October, 2015 .....deserves to be in administration, more like. How did Celino (sp.?) ever get approved as a fit and proper owner? Nutcase. Only passes the test when he's not being convicted of something at that exact moment, basically. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
mickn Posted 21 October, 2015 Share Posted 21 October, 2015 I was trying to remember that team without using google. Sprake, Cooper, Hunter, Charlton, Bremner, Lorimer, Gray, Jordan come to mind. They were dirty b*stards weren't they? Off the top of my head the team was Sprake, Reaney, Cooper, Bremner, Charlton, Hunter, Lorimer, Clarke, Jones, Giles and Gray. Paul Madeley was also a really versatile player who was in and out of the side. They might have been nasty but they were also very good footballers. Eddie Gray was unplayable at times. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The9 Posted 21 October, 2015 Share Posted 21 October, 2015 (edited) The simple facts of "deserving to be in the Premier League" is that there have now been 47 teams who have played in the Premier League, and ALL of them, plus a load who still haven't, think they are deserving of being in the Premier League. There's one in League 2 which immediately springs to mind, for a start. Hence the meritocracy. FWIW in the ALL-TIME Prem table based on points gained, the top 20 is, as of last weekend, this: 1 Manchester United 2 Arsenal 3 Chelsea 4 Liverpool 5 Tottenham Hotspur 6 Everton 7 Aston Villa 8 Newcastle United 9 Manchester City 10 Blackburn Rovers 11 West Ham United 12 Southampton 13 Leeds United 14 Middlesbrough 15 Fulham 16 Bolton Wanderers 17 Sunderland 18 Coventry City 19 Leicester City 20 Sheffield Wednesday Meanwhile, the all-time Top Division record looks like this: 1 * Liverpool* 2 * Arsenal* 3 * Everton* 4 * Manchester United* 5 * Aston Villa* 6 * Chelsea* 7 * Tottenham Hotspur* 8 * Manchester City* 9 * Newcastle United* 10 * Sunderland* 11 * West Bromwich Albion* 12 * Blackburn Rovers* 13 * Bolton Wanderers* 14 * Sheffield Wednesday* 15 * West Ham United 16 * Derby County* 17 * Wolverhampton Wanderers* 18 * Leeds United* 19 * Nottingham Forest* 20 * Middlesbrough* 21 * Sheffield United* 22 * Stoke City* 23 * Birmingham City* 24 * Burnley* 25 * Leicester City* 26 * Southampton* Edited 21 October, 2015 by The9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The9 Posted 21 October, 2015 Share Posted 21 October, 2015 (edited) I quite like the bottom of the "all-time" top division table - here's something for Bournemouth to aspire to, overtaking Glossop North End and Darwen: 58 Barnsley 38 7 4 8 25 35 3 1 15 12 47 -45 35 59 Northampton 42 8 6 7 31 32 2 7 12 24 60 -37 33 60 Swindon Town 42 4 7 10 25 45 1 8 12 22 55 -53 30 61 Darwen 56 10 5 13 56 71 1 3 24 19 124 -120 30 62 Carlisle U 42 8 2 11 22 21 4 3 14 21 38 -16 29 63 Leyton Orient 42 4 5 12 22 37 2 4 15 15 44 -44 21 64 Glossop NE 34 4 6 7 19 22 0 4 13 12 52 -43 18 65 AFCBournemouth 9 1 2 1 4 3 1 0 4 7 14 -6 8 Edited 21 October, 2015 by The9 Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitey Grandad Posted 21 October, 2015 Share Posted 21 October, 2015 Off the top of my head the team was Sprake, Reaney, Cooper, Bremner, Charlton, Hunter, Lorimer, Clarke, Jones, Giles and Gray. Paul Madeley was also a really versatile player who was in and out of the side. They might have been nasty but they were also very good footballers. Eddie Gray was unplayable at times. They were capable players but if an opposing team started to get on top of them they would resort to all sorts of dirty tricks to try and kill the game. But I do remember one midweek game against Sheffield Wednesday who beat them 2-1 and simply outplayed them with quick, passing football. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
melmacian_saint Posted 21 October, 2015 Share Posted 21 October, 2015 I honestly do not miss any of those clubs in the PL, and would much rather have a debut season for another club than their return. Recently I read an article by Gary Neville where he basically reminisced about the presence in the top-flight of many northern city clubs, and the competitive decline of others, except the only thing he could remember were rough crowds, slanging contests and foul pitches matching dreadful weather. So nothing about football really, which I think is the problem with many of these clubs. They like to emphasize on their atmosphere, and history, yet they are the first ones to wish for the basic football that has done so much damage to our talent and national team. In that same article, Neville also conveniently forgot, while accusing southern clubs of rising through rich owners/investors, that their rise and glory was perfectly correlated with the economic prominence their regions had for most of the last century. Would Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield have had such good clubs if it weren't for the glory days of British industry? I don't think so. In the meantime, aside from the odd adventures of others, we were the only club teams would consistently visit south of London and the only way we did it was through the rise of the occasional academy star and a stadium that was cutting more corners every year. I'm glad that is changing (and even more so that it doesn't include Pompey), and even though it may not be fantastic because of many other factors, I think it is much more healthy for football in this country to see other regions (including Wales) get teams in the PL than the same old gang within 20 miles of each other. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Monkou Posted 21 October, 2015 Share Posted 21 October, 2015 I hate these "should be in the premier league" arguments. It is not a "biggest fanbase" league, or a "most history" league. It is a league for the 20 best teams in the country. If you are not one of those then you shouldn´t be there, its that simple. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
The9 Posted 21 October, 2015 Share Posted 21 October, 2015 I honestly do not miss any of those clubs in the PL, and would much rather have a debut season for another club than their return. Recently I read an article by Gary Neville where he basically reminisced about the presence in the top-flight of many northern city clubs, and the competitive decline of others, except the only thing he could remember were rough crowds, slanging contests and foul pitches matching dreadful weather. So nothing about football really, which I think is the problem with many of these clubs. They like to emphasize on their atmosphere, and history, yet they are the first ones to wish for the basic football that has done so much damage to our talent and national team. In that same article, Neville also conveniently forgot, while accusing southern clubs of rising through rich owners/investors, that their rise and glory was perfectly correlated with the economic prominence their regions had for most of the last century. Would Liverpool, Leeds, Sheffield have had such good clubs if it weren't for the glory days of British industry? I don't think so. In the meantime, aside from the odd adventures of others, we were the only club teams would consistently visit south of London and the only way we did it was through the rise of the occasional academy star and a stadium that was cutting more corners every year. I'm glad that is changing (and even more so that it doesn't include Pompey), and even though it may not be fantastic because of many other factors, I think it is much more healthy for football in this country to see other regions (including Wales) get teams in the PL than the same old gang within 20 miles of each other. It's an interesting point, but I'm not sure that "old football had bad pitches" is relevant to the discussion when the same teams nowadays have good pitches. Your point about geographical diversity is definitely valid, but with the exception of south Wales, there aren't many places where top level teams exist where they didn't 50 years ago - there are some nuances outside the Premier League, like the rise of Fleetwood, Morecambe, Burton and Crawley, but are they so different to Workington, Barrow, Glossop and Wimbledon? With Swansea in already, the only thing that's going to significantly shift Prem football geography in the UK is the likes of outliers like Plymouth, Carlisle or Lincoln making the Premier League. Hull was a fairly big deal due to the size of the city but they're still relatively close to Leeds, Sheffield etc. The long and short is, unless you're involved with a specific club, it doesn't really matter. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
buctootim Posted 21 October, 2015 Share Posted 21 October, 2015 nothing counts - if you don't win it ....... I guess Saints dont count then. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
ScepticalStan Posted 21 October, 2015 Share Posted 21 October, 2015 My old boss was this revolting, gappy-yellow-toothed old Northern c*nt of a Leeds fan. Constantly made jokes about Hillsborough (and I do mean with the victims as the butt of the joke). Awkward as hell watching everyone trying to offer a polite smile but utterly failing to be able to. All clubs have their brigades and both retards and normals but for some reason Leeds seem to have more than their fair share of contemptible mongs, but for some reason I wouldn't mind having them back in the Premiership. They have more character and make a better pantomime villian than the likes of Stoke. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david in sweden Posted 21 October, 2015 Author Share Posted 21 October, 2015 So your daughter has never known a Liverpool league title either? NO !....thankfully she has been spared that ..... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david in sweden Posted 21 October, 2015 Author Share Posted 21 October, 2015 (edited) They'll always be that. Dirty, nasty, spiteful team under Revie. Not a trace of sportsmanship to be found anywhere. The term 'beautiful game' never applied to Leeds. think you've just about summed it up there, Whitey.......and don't forget that other wonderful maxim ....." if you can't get the ball....get the man who's got it ":rolleyes: Edited 21 October, 2015 by david in sweden Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Winnersaint Posted 21 October, 2015 Share Posted 21 October, 2015 (edited) Some of the youngsters on this forum would not understand what we are on about and their wonderful fans that kicked off in Bounrnemouth. Indeed they did. https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=IRByjrFW-Po. Just to enlighten them. Yes there was football in the olden days and strangely it was in colour. Leeds Utd were the first team I ever saw at the Dell in October 1963 in Division 2 . This was the team managed by Don Revie and was a team that was a mix of promising youngsters and more experienced players, and they had a reputation for being a dirty side. The likes of , Bobby Collins, Jack Charlton, Billy Bremner and reputedly the nastiest of the lot Johnny Giles took few prisoners. They were niggling and downright dirty in the day when a tackle really was a tackle. Stuff that would result in immediate red or at best yellow cards today was more tolerated and Leeds were arch exponents of the dark arts on the pitch. They were promoted the following year, and reached the 65 Cup Final, losing to Liverpool. From then on they missed out on the League title on a couple of occasions before winning it in 1969 and repeating the feat in 1974, effectively the end of the Revie era. In between they won the equivalent of today's Europa League twice and were runners up twice, once in the Cup Winners Cup which was replaced and subsumed into today's EL. Strangely some of their fans have yet to get over Paris 75 which is just plain funny. Whilst their history in the past is impressive this gives them no divine right to play at the top level. You only have to look to the period after Leeds dominance at Forest who arguably had a more impressive record. Champions two years in succession, League Cup Winners two years in succession and champions of Europe two years in succession to see how little history counts these days. Leeds were the footballing pantomime villains of the early 70's and have been badly run for years so they deserve no sympathy. Edited 21 October, 2015 by Winnersaint Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david in sweden Posted 21 October, 2015 Author Share Posted 21 October, 2015 Obviously it does. Champions League last four is a cracking achievement. Pretty much every Saints fan would explode with joy if we finished fourth and qualified for the final qualification round of next year's competition, never mind reach the semi final of the thing. Naturally we would, but Saints aren't in the " Super club status" like Citeh, MU and Chelsea......oh ...and Arsenal too, if you will. Of course it would be incredible if we got to that level, but the 4 regular clubs who get to play CL football every season, only look to win it. When they go out, they say " nearly", but there are no cups awarded for second place. For a team like the " mighty Leeds" they didn't have that much to rejoice over in going out of the competition, and I didn't cry for them. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david in sweden Posted 21 October, 2015 Author Share Posted 21 October, 2015 I guess Saints dont count then. Yes they do ....Top 3 gets you promotion in lower leagues... and 1976 was OK - wasn't it ?....but few of us still " rejoice " at losing the 2003 Final. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
sadoldgit Posted 22 October, 2015 Share Posted 22 October, 2015 Yes they do ....Top 3 gets you promotion in lower leagues... and 1976 was OK - wasn't it ?....but few of us still " rejoice " at losing the 2003 Final. Not me. I am still gutted at the team WGS put out that day. Played it way too safe. I still think we could have won that day if he had been bolder in his team selection. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Whitey Grandad Posted 22 October, 2015 Share Posted 22 October, 2015 Not me. I am still gutted at the team WGS put out that day. Played it way too safe. I still think we could have won that day if he had been bolder in his team selection. That still rankles with me. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
david in sweden Posted 23 October, 2015 Author Share Posted 23 October, 2015 That still rankles with me. ..as it does with us all...... Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Recommended Posts
Create an account or sign in to comment
You need to be a member in order to leave a comment
Create an account
Sign up for a new account in our community. It's easy!
Register a new accountSign in
Already have an account? Sign in here.
Sign In Now