Tag Archives: Spoughts

Image of Ken Bates

The Delusions of Ken Bates


Image of Ken Bates

Ken Bates is completely sure that what he does at Elland Road is correct. As much as the various outlets that criticize the running of the club disagree with what occurs, that one fact can stand above all others as an undeniable truth. The man in charge is completely, entirely, devoutly convinced that the Ken Bates method for running Leeds United is right. Not only this, it is the only way. The only way that Leeds United can have a future, Ken Bates feels, is through him.

A dictator is defined as “a ruler with total power over a country, typically one who has obtained power by force”. Many people would suggest that equating the chairman of a football team with those who cause strife around the globe as ridiculous. I would probably have agreed a mere seventy-two hours ago. This week, however, was the week in which the extensive nature of Ken Bates’s delusions came to the fore. He, dictating down to one of the various lackeys who crop up in statements that come out of the club, decided to ban the board of the Leeds United Supporter’s Trust (LUST). Clearly, judging by Ken Bates’ weekly interview that occurred a few days ago, this is in response to a group he knows little and cares little about. It must, therefore, have been as part of a giant cull of fans, because otherwise the event would not have occurred.

In doing this, Ken Bates has managed to galvanize the support base. Ideally, he would have hoped it had brought about a fan base united behind himself. He’d finally proven to the world that these were merely ‘morons’ and ‘sickpots’. Even if he hadn’t, at least these people who opposed him would no longer be an intolerable nuisance in the ground he does not own.

There are several fundamental flaws with this concept however. The first stems from the facts the majority of Leeds fans have become well acquainted with. Ken Bates, in his budgeting of Leeds United, spends at most 42% on the playing side of the team. We’ve covered this thoroughly already, but the fact is worth repeating. Football is primarily a game of dreams, a game in which fans should enter a season with hope and dreams about what may have unfolded by the end of the year. Yet Leeds have a set of fans well-adjusted to the notions of a summer of discontent. Last summer alone, Leeds lost several key first team players. It was clear the season was not going to be a positive one. This runs opposed to the very nature of football. Simon Kuper wrote about the almost permanently solvent nature of football clubs in The Blizzard, arguing that football clubs will always exist in one form or another, given the significant demand for them. Leeds fans do not ask for ridiculous debts to be run up, but they do ask for at least some risk, as without this, reward cannot come.

Secondly, as much as Ken Bates seems unwilling to accept this fact, there are laws governing the island on which his football team resides. Aside from the potentially repeated violations of the Data Protection Act in his weekly address, Ken seems convinced that denying LUST an outlet in the stadium is to deny them any outlet at all. Sadly for Kenneth, the ‘wishy-washy BBC watching liberals’ in charge incorporated the European Convention into UK law in 1998. This guarantees freedom of speech under the Human Rights Act. So, where Ken publishes only the positive through his various outlets, the various publications that people turn to for Leeds United news will continue to report the realities of the situation at Elland Road. This one incident alone has swelled the ranks of the Supporter’s Trust by a ‘mere’ thousand members. This is not Noel Lloyd. Ken is not the dictator of a secluded paradise. The outcry can, and may well lay siege to Bates’ regime at Elland Road.

Finally, Ken doesn’t seem to understand the movements football governance is taking. The Supporter’s Trust movement is backed by no less than the current Con-Dem Coalition, ideologically most likely to support anything that leaves business alone. For them to show this sort of opposition to the politics of football shows how far in the wrong direction it has travelled. English football is finally making moves towards the German model of ownership. Should Ken not rectify his relationship with the Supporter’s Trust, he may soon find himself permanently attached to a very hostile 51% co-owner.

Ken should therefore genuinely rethink his actions at Elland Road. Whether it is merely the output of his media outlets, or the actions he takes with regards to the fans, or if he does a proper rethink of the club’s policies, now is the time, ahead of next season, with mild positivity in the air, to really take advantage. Football is, by its very nature, for the fans. The fans are beginning to seriously demand change at Leeds United, and as LUST say, Ken Bates can easily be part of that. Alternatively, he can become an eternally decried figure in the annals of the club.

Amitai Winehouse is followable on Twitter @awinehouse1. Read his article, ‘The Gwynterview’ in the latest issue of The Square Ball, available now.

Forget Mariappa, the signature Newcastle must now secure is Captain Coloccini

With the January transfer window meandering to a close last night, Newcastle fans are today breathing a sigh of relief at making it through without losing any of their major assets. However, the failure to bring in much needed defensive cover is, for some fans, a cause for concern. With the club unable to reach an agreement with Watford on the valuation of central defender Adrian Mariappa, the centre back position looks worryingly threadbare should the likes of Williamson and Coloccini join Steven Taylor on the sidelines for an extended period of time. James Perch, many people’s man of the match in the FA Cup defeat to Brighton, is of course able to fill in at the centre of defence for a few games, but over a prolonged period of matches it is surely essential to have a natural centre half, someone who knows the position and is not learning it as they play. These concerns are certainly valid, and should not be dismissed lightly.

Nonetheless, the fact remains that, second half capitulation against Fulham notwithstanding, Newcastle’s centre half pairing of Williamson and Coloccini is up there with the best in the league, an effective combination of aerial prowess and guile. Against Bolton, QPR, and most notably Manchester United, they have looked almost impenetrable. It is Coloccini, though, a leader on and off the field, who has impressed most this season. Before injury ruled Steven Taylor out for the rest of the season, and brought to an end his partnership with the curly-haired Argentine, Newcastle had one of the tightest defences in the league, conceding only 8 goals in 11 unbeaten league games. Coloccini was at the centre of everything good defensively. Imperious against Everton, undaunted under the usual aerial bombardment away to Stoke and even faultless in a 3-1 defeat to Manchester City – with 2 of City’s 3 goals coming from the penalty spot, after a clumsy challenge from Hatem Ben Arfa and a handball from Ryan Taylor, whose earlier mistake also led to City’s first.

Coloccini has been one of the league's most impressive defenders so far this season

What has also sometimes gone unnoticed is the way in which other players’ performances seem to have been raised when playing alongside Coloccini. Ryan Taylor is the perfect example of this, having excelled at left back early in the season, despite openly admitting to not being a natural in the position. This showed at times, with the versatile midfielder often caught out of position or making silly mistakes. These rarely proved costly, however, as Coloccini’s excellent reading of the game meant he was almost always there to snuff out danger when it arose. The Newcastle captain’s excellent communication and leading of the line must also have made it easier for Taylor to cope defensively in a position he was learning as he went along.

It is of great concern to fans, therefore, that Coloccini’s contract expires at the end of next season, something which calls to mind a similar situation last year with Newcastle’s star defensive performer from last season, Jose Enrique. A refusal to enter contract negotiations and the opportunity to join a club seemingly on the rise in Liverpool led to his departure in the summer, an outcome that fans will be hoping doesn’t repeat itself this time round. The signs this time, it would appear, are positive. Stories in this morning’s Journal suggest that Coloccini’s agent is due in Tyneside to discuss the terms of a new five and a half year deal. A long contract for a 30 year old, but one that is a just reward for one of Newcastle’s star performers this season, as well as one that offers a potentially high resale value – something that will not be lost on the owner. If such reports prove to be true, and Coloccini signs on for the long term, then Newcastle may have made their shrewdest signing yet.