LUST Open Letter to Neil Warnock

Dear Neil,

On behalf of more than 4,500 members and shareholders of Leeds United Supporters’ Trust, we would like to welcome you to our club. Leeds United and Neil Warnock have a long history as rivals, but we are delighted to see you have finally come over to our side. And we hope that already, less than a week after taking the job, you can feel what a difference it makes to have Leeds fans on yours.

You have taken on the manager’s job at an interesting and difficult time. You are no doubt aware that this season the frustration and dissatisfaction that has been growing in a large section of our support has come to the surface. Less than a fortnight ago, before the match with Brighton, more than 1,000 Leeds fans marched from the centre of Leeds to Elland Road to demonstrate their strong desire for change at Leeds United. When Ken Bates took over our club in January 2005, we were 11th in the Championship. Today, Leeds are 10th in the Championship, having endured relegation, administration, and three seasons in League One; and fans pay some of the highest ticket prices in the country while the chairman dismisses their worries as those of “dissidents” or “morons.” Many Leeds fans, seeing our best players leave while the club spends millions on building projects, have had enough of the direction Leeds United has taken, and around 5,000 fans opted not to renew their season tickets for next year.

The next organised protest had been proposed for the televised home game against Southampton, in which Leeds fans intended to attract national attention by remaining outside Elland Road for the first seven minutes of the match - one minute for every year of Ken Bates’ time as chairman. The question of how best to show our feelings to the club has always been a difficult one, and this became even more difficult when it became apparent that the Southampton match would be your first home game as manager. We have always sought to make it clear that while we campaign for change off the pitch, the players and staff will always have our full support on it, and we have taken heart from the comments of players like Robert Snodgrass who have recognised our right to make our views known from the stands. The Trust board became concerned, however, that supporting a protest at the start of your first match as manager at Elland Road would not be the right way to begin what we hope will be a positive relationship between Leeds fans and Neil Warnock.

We put the question of whether L.U.S.T. should continue to support the Southampton protest to our members, whose opinion guides the direction of the Trust. Of more than 600 responses we received by email, over 80% declared that the protest should not go ahead.

The comments we received made our members feelings clear. We feel that March 3rd would be a day better spent giving our full, vociferous backing to you and the players, to give you a taste of what it is like to have Leeds United fans on your side. One of the aims of the Trust is to see Leeds - the club, the fans, the players, the city - united behind a successful football team. We are enthusiastic about the prospect of your management helping to bring that about, and are keen to give you all the help we can. Neil, we hope you will understand that our decision not to support the protest is a gesture of the fans’ faith in your ability, and a demonstration of the support you can look forward to receiving as manager of Leeds United.

This doesn’t mean that our Campaign for Change is over. Getting things right on the pitch is the main aim of every football club, but while we look forward to your work in bringing that about, we have not lost sight of the other problems at Leeds United. Our members wanted to make it clear that not supporting the protest should not mean the end of our Campaign for Change. Our Vision Statement called on Leeds United to match the ambition of the fans by concentrating resources on the pitch in an effort for promotion to the Premier League; to work towards repairing relations with supporters, who have felt disenfranchised by the events of the last seven years; and to work with local bodies and fans’ groups to bring a positive atmosphere back to Elland Road. We hope you can see, Neil, that our aims and ambitions for Leeds United are directed towards making this club as successful and inclusive as possible. Your arrival as manager feels like a step towards our vision for the team on the pitch, and we hope that the board follows up your appointment by giving you their full backing over the next eighteen months as you reinvigorate the team and fight for promotion. Off the pitch, we welcome the free shirts for kids promotion that the club has announced this week for the Southampton game; but there is still a lot of work to be done to make Leeds United a club that once again shares the aims and ambitions of its fans. L.U.S.T. will continue to Campaign For Change at Leeds United, and to make the voices of the fans heard.

On your first day in charge, Neil, you were quoted on Leedsunited.com saying, “I think there's times when you need to tell [Ken Bates] what you think is right for the club and he's got to listen.” The 4,500 members and shareholders of Leeds United Supporters’ Trust could not agree with you more. We wish you well this Saturday against Portsmouth, and we look forward to raising the roof for your first game at Elland Road on 3rd March. We hope these two games will be just the beginning of an exciting and successful partnership between Neil Warnock and the fans of Leeds United.

Marching On Together,
Leeds United Supporters’ Trust

Supporters can also join more than 4,500 other Leeds fans and have their voice heard as members of the Leeds United Supporters’ Trust by filling in the form at http://www.lufctrust.org. Membership is free.