The truth is out about Leeds United’s away support
Despite attending in record numbers this season the Leeds United away support are never given an even chance - take the ludicrous actions of Bristol Rovers, Bournemouth and Yeovil Town this season. All three changed their Leeds United fixtures to discourage the attendance of Leeds fans - Bournemouth on the evidence of something that happened over fifteen years ago.
Despite the hurdles put in their way, the travelling Leeds support managed to create record attendances at Bristol Rovers and at Yeovil Town just last Friday. So how bad was it at Huish Park with a record crowd in attendance?
An Avon and Somerset Constabulary spokesman said,
“Home supporters became disgruntled due to the fact that a large number of Leeds United supporters gained entry into home areas of the stadium.
“There were no arrests or ejections for home supporters, but a Leeds United supporter was ejected for poor behaviour.”
So one ejection from a record crowd - if only all football matches were as easy to police?
The main criticism seems to be from Yeovil supporters about the number of Leeds fans in the home supporters section. What was the problem on the night? Did they start fights or were they just enjoying their team getting into the play-offs? Did no Yeovil fan share a word or two or a joke with a Leeds fan?
Or is it that the problem lies with the Yeovil fans who simply don’t like standing next to strangers in THEIR ground? Personally, as a Rugby League supporter, I have always enjoyed game far more when there are a few away supporters with whom to share banter about the game.
But that is a facet of football that is all but dead now and probably explains the malevolent atmosphere at many Premier League matches - when two sides of an argument don’t (or can’t) talk violence is often the only result. Talking to an opponent puts a human face on them and does away with seeing them as the “enemy”, as a distant homogenous mass, uniformly dressed in red or blue, taunting and, apparently, ready for a fight.
On Sky, when you see the hate-filled faces of supporters screaming, swearing and gesticulating over the hoarding at players about to take a throw-in you can only presume that they would not dare to be so threatening if they were stood in a mixed crowd of supporters from both sides. But it is a sad reflection on the modern game and British society when the desire of Leeds fans to watch their team, which provides an all-time record crowd - at a League One match to boot - at which there is no trouble, merely provokes the home club CEO, Martyn Starnes, to announce and inquiry into how the Leeds the fans got their tickets for the away end.
I can save the Yeovil CEO the bother; you see Martyn, all Leeds fans don’t talk with a broad Yorkshire accent, wear a flat cap and always have a whippet at their side - maybe that was your mistake using that as the criteria for spotting infiltrating Leeds fans! Leeds United have been a “big club” for nearly five decades and during that time we have garnered supporters all over the country - including Somerset! Many of the Leeds fans in the home end were there because they bought them in their home town - of Yeovil! And Martyn how about a thank you, on the record, for the extra £85,000 in your bank account from all the Leeds United fans that made it a record-breaking night, despite the best efforts of the Yeovil Town board and the Avon & Somerset Police?
The article in the Somerset County Gazette by Steve Sowden about this is situation perhaps the fairest I have ever read about Leeds fans and their motivations in attending away games. It may help a few Chief Constables and football Chief Executives if they were to read it.
what a brilliant article
I couldn’t agree more. I was in the Carlsberg stand on Friday having purchased my tickets online using my own postcode as I live in Somerset. I couldn’t believe how easy it was and I think Yeovil showed what could only be described as extreme naivity if they thought that this wouldn’t happen. The only aggression I saw on the night was from a few shaven headed Yeovil fans baying for the marshalls and police to “GET EM OUT”. This was an impossible act and I think if the truth be known, there were a lot more Leeds fans in this stand than they realised as quite a few, me included, chose not to rub their noses in it by joining in with the singing. I was close to the line of police sent up to keep an eye on things and to be fair, I saw more banter going on with them than I did with the Yeovil fans who in all honesty were a bit out of their depth and shell shocked that this could happen in their own back yard. I can see no point in launching a ‘full inquiry’. The answer lies in the excellent article above….Leeds are one of the best supported away sides in the country and if you give their fans half a chance to get hold of tickets, they will do in their droves.
I too was in the Carlsberg Stand along with 3 other Leeds fans. We too just wanted to get the chance to see our team and where quiet happy to mix in and keep quiet. We are all based in Bristol so where able to buy tickets using our home postcodes. I’d have to agree with Somerset white, the abuse from the Yeovil fans was the worst thing I saw on the night. I wasn’t far from a group of our fans who where moved to the corner of the stand and there was plenty of banter between them, the stewards and police. I thought the stewards and the police reacted very well to the situation.
I’d also like to point out that I saw stewards letting people they knew where Leeds fans into the Carlsberg Stand. As they went passed them in to the turnstile the stewards where saying to each other ‘Leeds fan’ and smiling about it!
I bought 2 tickets over the internet ticket agency that YTFC use back in September. I was in the Cowlin Stand - along with literally 100s of other Leeds fans! No problems and it was good to share a joke or two with opposing supporters. (I got tickets for Bristol Rovers away from the same website too).
I have to disagree with the above article, purely on the basis that if there were a load of away fans in the Kop at ER we’d be f*cking p*ssed and there would be a lot of trouble. In an ideal world all fans would be able to mix, but it’s not an ideal world so you’ve got to realise you risk a slap if you make yaself known in a home end.
I travelled down from North Derbyshire for the game on friday and was in the Yeovil stand nearest to the away end/cage. No trouble at all and plenty of Leeds fans. There was one Yeovil fan asking for Leeds fans to be ejected but that was it.
I agree with LUFChris to some extent in that if you draw attention to yourself as an away fan standing in the home end you can expect a reaction and he is correct in stating that if it happened at ER there would definitely be a reaction. However, Yeovil (and most other teams in League 1) can hardly argue that in going in the home end we are taking seats away from their own supporters. The crowd on friday and at most if not all of our away matches this season was far in excess of their average attendance. Also, ER is big enough to cater for large away followings without being detrimental to ticket sales to home fans, most grounds in League 1 are not, hence Leeds fans in away ends.
As LUFCHRIS said, away fans will get a slap at Leeds if they come into the home stands, but I don’t think there’s any justification for anyone doing that. When I can’t get a ticket from Leeds for an away game I always try to get one from the home club, and I respect the fact that sometimes away fans have to do the same at Elland Road. (Not this season, but sometimes it happened when we were in the Premiership). As long as away fans are in the home end because it’s the only way to get tickets for the game, they should be left alone.
Good article. Maybe the fact that there was no trouble form Leeds supporters is whta has sparked the somerset media to write articles about it. I mean they were clearly expecting pitch battles in the Yeovil streets lol. Anywho, it’s what we already know as Leeds supporters and news to the rest of the world.
Agree with your sentiments and Leeds are my second club - if you can have a second club - but need to correct you re Bristol Rovers. The police changed the date because they couldn’t man our match and the St Pauls festival on the same day. Pathetoic ,maybe but the latter was only 2 to 3 miles from the ground. Without the latter I am sure we would have played on the Saturday.
Good luck with the points/playoffs.
Re Bristol Rovers - thanks for the correction - that’s the beauty of the internet -the truth will always come out! I have no wish to denigrate Bristol Rovers and thanks for the good wishes re the points/playoffs.
[...] But Yeovil listened to police advice didn’t they? They changed the date and reduced the allocation to Leeds fans - and what happened - Leeds fans did what was necessary to attend this game. Any Police force in the country could have told Somerset & Avon Police that would happen - their “football intelligence officer” should be fired. The fans that “infiltrated” (oh, how exciting!) the home stands were Leeds fans based in Somerset and its surrounding counties - see the comments to our previous story. [...]
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