The blues run the game
IF IT walks like anti-Leeds bile and talks like anti-Leeds bile, then it must be anti-Leeds bile. Right?
Well, not necessarily. When the state of the club’s finances was turning fishier than an anchovy’s fanny, some pretty well-founded speculation was dismissed in most quarters as mere conspiracy theory. Yet now, we’re expected to believe en masse that football’s authorites are waging a fierce multi-faceted war on the club.
Perhaps a fuller picture of the former may explain the latter in some people’s minds. Leeds fans are not obliged to take heed of anything the likes of Paul Scally say, or place much faith in what supporters of rival clubs come out with, but having a mind that doesn’t believe Ken Bates either, I’m inclined to do so from time to time.
Sources external to Leeds United more readily make the sound distinction between the club and its custodians. They see more clearly Bates seeking personal conflict from the boardroom and Wise more than adequately matching him on the pitch. We, on the other hand, are encouraged to view such exploits positively.
However, as far as the club’s concerned, it’s starting to look like self-harm and not the vendetta that the chief protagonists would have us believe. If Wise lived up to his surname, he’d spend less time in the stands and more on the touchline doing his job, swearing at referees.
“Fuck off to the Football League” may be an effective terrace soundbite, and no doubt galvanising in the short term, but it’s an irrational attitude to take professionally. Without the Football League, we wouldn’t have a pot to piss in.
The club were dealt with harshly, but Ken Bates is an experienced insolvencyman and would have recognised the risks. He will almost certainly recognise that the Football League’s sanction punctured the mounting pressure on him and conveniently carries the added bonus that he’s unlikely to face court scrutiny.
The club were punished, Bates was not. Self before side in action, folks. Our “Blues Brothers” would be well advised to heed Donald “Duck” Dunn’s approach to Jake and Elwood. “If the shit fits, wear it,” even if it is a little too tight for comfort.
