Ambition

you are right algarve .. i am not suggesting spend spend spend far from it and if we have to sell then so be it (disappointingly) but success was only a few games away in january and speculation in the right area's of the team at that point may just have got promotion !!! but how quickly we capitulated ......

Roz...I remember stealing Sniffer from Leicester, Mick Jones from the Blunts. Trevor Cherry and Mike O'Grady from Town, Tony Currie and Alex Sabella from the Blunts, Cantona from the Wendies. Allthose players were wanted by their club but our financial muscle prised them away.

I remember the guys you listed along with Smudger and Delph but I didn't have any problem with them leaving because we got a good price for them, the ones to which I objected and all left a bitter taste was Woodgate, Bowyer, Kewel, Robinson, Keane, Lennon Scott Carson and Danny Rose. They were stolen from us when the worst excesses of PP had left us unable to defend ourselves allowing the agents of the above to work with other clubs to rip us off.

So if you want to help your club and football the real target to attack is not Bates who Jonty as a personal vendetta with but the PL who allow carpetbaggers like Dave Whelan, The Serb and the Egyptian to undermine the worth of supporters and use the game as their own personal plaything to pervert the course of football justice..

Trouble is, sometimes players or their agents have a much higher valuation than is realistic, I spent many years in PR and sponsorship, and at times was involved in dealing with Premiership and Championship footballers and their agents. Some of the deals they expected were so far off the wall that it ended up where many of them couldn't even secure any sponsorship because they were known in the industry as leaches. The same must also apply to many when negotiating contracts. Still I suppose there's always another PR Pete at a club who will offer a player crazy money. Where is Seth Johnson nowadays.

What a lot of players have to realise is that football and it's money, except for the top tiers of the Prem, is disappearing down a black hole, and very soon many clubs will cease to exist. Football is not immune from the financial crisis, trouble is most players don't live in the real world.

My local team here in Portugal were promoted two seasons ago back to the top Portuguese division, they spent way over their means, got short term sponsorship deals based on results, and then got relegated. This coming season they are in limbo without money or an owner or sponsors, and look like they will disappear from football altogether.

Who knows one day our kids may be talking about Leeds United in the same way we older fans and our fathers talked about Leeds City.

Just to let you all know the first PR I spent a lot of time in was PUBLIC RELATIONS, not the other PR who was shafting us instead.

Koppite....

I neither like or dislike Bates ..... The club has moved forward under him since the admin days for that i am gratefull ,,,,however Dave Whelan is a Wganer bred & loyal to Wigan ...... Many Wigan people hate him with a passion but he has built that club from virtual part timers to premier status .....However both are businessmen and are very similar in many ways !!!! & attitudes & keep a tight grip on the wallett !! Fine, that's understandable !! you can't mix business with pleasure so they say , ask Ridsdale he tried it & look what nearly happend but if someone with zillions of pounds, dollars,,,shekels or whatever took over Leeds don't tell me you would'nt be licking your lips in anticipation ....... cause i certainly would !!!

Jonty , you , me Highland we're all entitled to our opinion mine is i wanna keep our best players or at least try to keep them, reward them for doing good, if we have to sell them then replace with equal or better but to just sell and put a small amount of that transfer back into the team is a sacrilege in my opinion.... i wish Donnie & Chewbacca all the very best and they have my support while they are with us !! but things could be a lot better & should be.

"Just to let you all know the first PR I spent a lot of time in was"

i would'nt like to think you spent a lot of time in the other PR ! (wink)

RoDz...WRONG!!!!

I would hate it if Leeds became like Chelski and Manshitty!

I 1st followed Leeds when we had won nothing and were getting our Rses kicked everytime we played a top team. I watched them relegated and almost relegated again before slowly build a team and then a club we could all be proud of.

I've seen many ups and downs. The downs were bitter but they made the ups all the sweeter.

So I don't want a flat pack successful team bought by some squillionaire from MFI. I want to see the team built from within by the fans and the academy and when it's finished we can stand back, tired but happy and say ....

WE BUILT THAT !!! .....ISN'T IT GREAT???

Koppite

i mirror what you say up to the flatpack bit ...... we built teams in the past & they were great ...... inc PR Pete's ....... however times change & all that plus the cash is needed nowadays !!!! Man u (pft pshht Splutter ) were among the first to try buy success years ago and it didnt work untill they got one man !!!! A certain monsieur ( i think thats right ) Cantona on the cheap from yea you guessed it US !! & the rest is history so ,,,,,, yes you are right & so am i ....... it needs team spirit ,academy,,,, youth experience talent , supporters & most of all CASH adiminstered wisley ............... to cain & continue success hmmmmm just like BARCA !!!

They got Cantona for the price we paid for him! It was in the contract!

Blackpool, Norwich, and others have proven you don't have to spend squillions to get a club promoted and M/boro have proven you can spend squillions and not get promoted so there is no proven formula although the know nowts on here like Doc, Jonty, BBKP, Liw and there ilk will tell there is.

They got Cantona for the price we paid for him! It was in the contract!

STILL CHEAP !!!

As far as Blackpool they lasted long !!!

the others we will have to see