Absolutely agree LIW, no club should have it's name and reputation tarnished unless hard and fast evidence is also made public

Completely agree, what a complete and utter boffoon to say that. The guardian now has a hysterical article up saying Leeds are "engulfed" in "allegations" ha! based on the vague comment of someone who I wouldnt be surprised if he forgot his own name. Although the journo of that piece is definitely not a fan of leeds and obviously not happy with the way current results are going

Club have released a statement saying they have heard nothing from the FA or the PFA as yet.

"Leeds United have not been made aware of any allegations regarding sexual abuse from the PFA or any other governing bodies to date.

The Club would take any complaints seriously and will cooperate fully with the PFA and the FA with any such investigations.

The safeguarding of our young players is of the utmost importance to Leeds United.

Anyone with any complaints or concerns should contact the NSPCC helpline on 0800 023 2642 or contact the Club's Safeguarding Officer via email on safeguarding@leedsunited.com"

7 clubs named yet most newspapers have Leeds as top billing

Yep.

Cellino's being quiet, we've got a top class manager and we're actually chasing promotion.

The media have been looking for an excuse to destabilise us and ruin our season for months. Of course they're gonna be like flies on schitt with this.

Taylor is a diick but nothing would surprise me where these sick individuals are concerned. I can't see Taylor saying this without evidence to be honest - much as I hate his guts.

It seems there was a ring of them in the north and hopefully all the dirty barstewards will be caught and punished.

If we had a problem at Leeds United then I would welcome any investigation.

One thing we can be sure of - the papers will rake up as much crap as they can get their grubby prints on.

Agree with everything said, it is a joke. Shouldn't be going around with flippant remarks like that.

Hope they catch these disgusting people. I think it is really going to be a lot more widespread than people think

Can't make a comment on the allegations but if you look at the sky news site right now there are 7 club badges including citee and Barcodes, 6 of which are in the background and a big one at the front - Guess which club? - Just so typical and unfair - What is it with my Footy club - why us?

Its bad the way its been leaked, but, if they've done it like Stoopo says there must be something in it!..

But, to be fair to clubs no names should be mentioned until someone has been charged and link to a club!..

Bad start to any investigation!..

My real concern is Speedo!

He has been linked with this Bennell guy as he was his coach during his early years.

Both Bennell and Speed's family have denied he was abused ..... but it does make me wonder if it had anything at all to do with him taking his own life.

Somebody must have come forward and implicated someone at LUFC in order for Taylor to mention us.

The other really worrying aspect is that it seems that some clubs actually covered up the abuse. It stinks and could be so similar to the Savile case.

As a parent it's your worst nightmare. You trust these people to look after your kids yet they abuse them and ruin their lives.

I remember my son being coached at TA and Sheffield United some 18+ years ago. It's scarey to think the danger I might have put him in as I, like many others, thought that these vile people just didn't exist in the numbers we are now seeing come out.

Now Taylor has implicated the teams he has then he just has to come out with the details and a full investigation has to happen.

If he doesn't have the detail he implies he has then I agree he should be sacked and taken to court by the clubs whose names he has trashed.

That was my first thought Stoopo when I read Speed was coached by him. Hopefully it doesnt turn out to be true.

He has been caught asleep in charge of an organisation that should have been on top of this issue, allegedly reported to them years ago

Now they are doing a classic headless chickens routine

The info on what this was about should have been given to the club before or at the same time as their name was mentioned.

Not surprised papers are mentioning us, we are a big club or hadn't you noticed

@@@@@@ing young boys who are desperate to succeed in football is serious stuff though so I don't we should be defensive. If it happened, when was it and a) what are we doing to be sure it cant happen again and b) what are we doing to ensure whoever did it has their career ruined and hopefully spend some time as a guest of her maj ?

Stoopo

My first thought was Gary Speed when I heard Leeds name mentioned.

Some serious dirt could be about to be unleashed.

If the FA have been found to in any way involved by covering up they should be sacked and sent to prison as well.

Sorry but what the hell are people on about?

Our name has been mentioned so there must be something in it?

Are you serious? An allegation is the same as a conviction now is it?

Mentioning the club means nothing, if anything it weakens any possible case against anyone involved as they can claim any case against anyone has been influenced by the media talking about the case.
This guys a clown for mentioning any club involved before the police or anyone legal.

This is something that could be going back to before Speeds time, well I'd say long before, I wonder how many people out there are sitting nervously on triggers hoping they don't get mentioned?..

Hopefully anyone that is mentionable get mentioned sooner rather than later!..

If kids were abused at Leeds and the club didn't put safeguards in place the club deserves to be hauled over the coals there is a duty of care and the club cannot hide behind oh they all hate us.
Equally if it happened and there was institutional collusion with the perpetrators then that needs to come out and those responsible dealt with.
I assume that all the staff who have access to kids nowadays are DBS checked in every club and though this will not stop kids from being abused it reduces the risk.
All we can do is try and safeguard the kids in the system now and in the future and provide support to victims in the past. A robust investigation does no harm if it goes someway towards meeting these twin aims.
If Leeds are implicated so be it.

Mattyp - not sure than simply mentioning Leeds weakens any case as there are no details out there. But completely agree with your assessment of Taylor - a clown who shouldn't have lasted as long as he has. He's neither bright nor particularly competent. It's incredible he's still there.

Scara - whilst you might wish that Leeds had 'safeguards in place', I'd suggest you'd be dreaming to think that any club had such things in the 1980s. The definition of 'duty of care' has gradually changed over the decades.

And I'd also say that when I first read the story, I concluded that it was a case of Taylor opening him mouth when he shouldn't have. I can only assume that there is a link with Leeds that he has heard about, but whether that will be publicised or not, we'll have to wait and see. It was crass, unprofessional and, unless something comes out subsequently, could potentially be viewed as slanderous. He should never have mentioned any club that the press didn't already know about.

I suspect the club's lawyers have been at Elland Road most of the day. Or at least on conference calls.

The issue here is surely mentioning that you're investigating seven clubs, and then naming these clubs. Unless they can provide evidence that we have been involved in such actions then they shouldn't be so quick to point the finger elsewhere. No doubt there are vile people like this in football, but they will be everywhere, not just at seven clubs.

This comes from an association that should surely be on top of such things, not finding out about them twenty years or more later. It shows that the right safeguards were clearly not put in place at the time, and have likely been ignored since. This is just as much a scandal for the FA and their associates, so this just seems like a way to name and shame the clubs as a way of passing the buck.

They could just have said that seven clubs were under investigation, without naming which the clubs they were. This would have been the most prudent and efficient way of having a quiet and unbiased investigation, that wasn't swung by media bias and the like. It is a bit of a farce to have done this in the way that they have.

Nonsense thread. Why shouldn't we accept that our club did wrong? Instead of burying your head in the sand, think about the victims.

Taylor is spot on. The only embarrassing thing about the whole article is that we''re being mentioned in the same breath as Man City. Other than that I hope whoever was involved pays for it with their life. LUFC can then move on.

Hellocunts - I think the thread is pointing out there is no evidence as of yet... if there is proof, then of course you are correct.

comment by Smoking Mad Monk (U21260)
posted 2 hours, 27 minutes ago
Hellocunts - I think the thread is pointing out there is no evidence as of yet... if there is proof, then of course you are correct.
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Who says there is no evidence?

Having evidence and putting it out in the public domain are two different things.

Taylor is a useless, overpaid, prat but I think he will have the evidence against the clubs mentioned. If he hasn't then he is liable for his accusations.

Who says there is no evidence?

Having evidence and putting it out in the public domain are two different things.

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well I havn't heard anything concrete yet, therefore from my perspective... no evidence... if there was, it should be mentioned when artcles like this appear, otherwise its an article with no back up..

Taylor is a useless, overpaid, prat but I think he will have the evidence against the clubs mentioned. If he hasn't then he is liable for his accusations.

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Agree Stoopo