We Won't Be Renewing Our Tickets - Fan

Last updated : 10 June 2005 By Jim Stockwell
Myself and my wife have been season ticket holders for over 25 years and before that we paid on match days and stood in the kop or scratching shed. My two sons about 15 years ago decided they too wanted to watch Leeds and became season ticket holders.

They bought the latest shirts, videos etc, we went to away games, cup and into europe. We have supported them through the highs and the lows and have never thought twice about renewing our tickets even though this has been very costly.

We have had seats in the centre of the family stand front block for several years now and had a perfect view.

Over the last couple of seasons we have gradually started to get disillusioned with the whole set up at Leeds, their money problems with directors fleecing the club, poor managers making even poorer decisions, buying poor players, watching poor performances always hoping that someone who really cared about Leeds and the teams supporters would buy the club and lead us back to prosperity.

But when we got our season ticket renewals this year we had a family meeting. Our ticket prices had gone up £2560 which was far greater than the price last season, the team is rubbish and getting worse, we have no faith in Kevin Blackwell and even less in Ken Bates.

We wrote to the directors about our concerns and were told that we could move to another part of the ground where it was cheaper if we wished. Well we didn''t wish to do this and we have not renewed.

This was not a decision taken lightly. Match days were also family days where we went united to support UNITED.

We look in the papers each day to see who Leeds are bringing in to strengthen the team but only see items such as Robinson being happy at Spurs or someone wanting to buy our young players but no mention of Leeds getting anyone, let alone anyone who is any good.

Over the years we have sat among many loyal Leeds fans who for one reason or another have stopped coming to see Leeds, some with young families who probably will never come and watch Leeds again.

Leeds' response to their fans is to put the prices up and play rubbish football. Regarding us for next season who knows. We would like to go to Leeds and watch our team play good football and the players to have pride in wearing the white shirt but I fear for the future of Leeds United.

We will stay away and find something else to do on matchdays and maybe we will never go again, who knows.

Even after all this my sons have bought the latest shirts, old habits die hard but then only today they said that they think we made the right decision not to buy our tickets.

Pretty sad really. Good luck to Leeds and the fans who have paid their monies, they are going to need plenty luck in the future.