Rooting for Leeds

[Eli Zee]

I don't see the problem with it. It's a different group of players, coaches, fans, etc.

I find the hatred of Leeds comparable to, for example, people of color saying they hate all white people for the past - yes, slavery was a terrible thing and people who had slaves were not good people. Many years later - is it acceptable to be mad at all white people, even those that don't and never did have slaves? Or will u understand this is a whole new group of people who have nothing to do with the past?

Another example - Germany. Hitler was a thing. Do we all hate Germany now or do we learn to move on from the past?

So for Leeds - if you didn't like them back then, understand this is a whole new group of people that you are saying u hate cause they associate themselves with a team you didn't like years ago.

 

[amolbhatia50k]

I don't see the problem with it. It's a different group of players, coaches, fans, etc.

I find the hatred of Leeds comparable to, for example, people of color saying they hate all white people for the past - yes, slavery was a terrible thing and people who had slaves were not good people. Many years later - is it acceptable to be mad at all white people, even those that don't and never did have slaves? Or will u understand this is a whole new group of people who have nothing to do with the past?

Another example - Germany. Hitler was a thing. Do we all hate Germany now or do we learn to move on from the past?

So for Leeds - if you didn't like them back then, understand this is a whole new group of people that you are saying u hate cause they associate themselves with a team you didn't like years ago.

I presume you adore Liverpool then

 

[youngrell]

My best friend is a Leeds fan. The one and only Leeds fan I’ve ever met. He’s Irish. Like me. I’ve only set foot in Leeds once. I thought it was ok. I once dated a girl who went to Leeds university. She said it was fun. That’s the sum total of my relationship with Leeds. I’ve never even been in the same football stadium as Leeds fans.

I get why Manchester based folk feel strongly about this. I find the pantomime hatred from fans who’ve never set foot in Manchester (never mind Leeds) quite funny.

They arrive and leave frothing at the mouth and in between that they cause havoc for the stewards and everyone near them. Or that is my experience of them in the early 00s anyway.

I used to post on another sports forum and one of the mods was a middle-aged Leeds fan. He was one of the most reasonable posters on the forum, unless he was talking about Man United.

They've had a very quiet reintroduction to the PL because of Covid, but I'm sure they're chomping at the bit for when they can return to stadiums full of anger.

 

[SuperiorXI]

I don't see the problem with it. It's a different group of players, coaches, fans, etc.

I find the hatred of Leeds comparable to, for example, people of color saying they hate all white people for the past - yes, slavery was a terrible thing and people who had slaves were not good people. Many years later - is it acceptable to be mad at all white people, even those that don't and never did have slaves? Or will u understand this is a whole new group of people who have nothing to do with the past?

Another example - Germany. Hitler was a thing. Do we all hate Germany now or do we learn to move on from the past?

So for Leeds - if you didn't like them back then, understand this is a whole new group of people that you are saying u hate cause they associate themselves with a team you didn't like years ago.

What are you on about? This is football

 

[Brightonian]

My best friend is a Leeds fan. The one and only Leeds fan I’ve ever met. He’s Irish. Like me. I’ve only set foot in Leeds once. I thought it was ok. I once dated a girl who went to Leeds university. She said it was fun. That’s the sum total of my relationship with Leeds. I’ve never even been in the same football stadium as Leeds fans.

I get why Manchester based folk feel strongly about this. I find the pantomime hatred from fans who’ve never set foot in Manchester (never mind Leeds) quite funny.

To be honest I only even get this if they're old enough to have been supporting back in the 70s (right?) when they were actual rivals. Why would younger Manchester based fans care? But then we left Manchester before I was 6 so maybe I'm missing something. I don't have much truck with talk about 'county rivalry', because Manchester United aren't a 'county team'. Cricket fans can have Lancs/Yorks rivalry, not football fans.

I was raised by a man with hatred only for Liverpool, and I've ended up the same way.

 

[youngrell]

I won’t ever root for Leeds unless it benefits us or they play against our (other) rivals.
And I couldn’t care less if they are being managed by Bielsa or Moyes or whoever.

The only time I can remember coming close is when they beat Arsenal in 02/03 to give us the title.

 

[Pogue Mahone]

They arrive and leave frothing at the mouth and in between that they cause havoc for the stewards and everyone near them. Or that is my experience of them in the early 00s anyway.

I used to post on another sports forum and one of the mods was a middle-aged Leeds fan. He was one of the most reasonable posters on the forum, unless he was talking about Man United.

They've had a very quiet reintroduction to the PL because of Covid, but I'm sure they're chomping at the bit for when they can return to stadiums full of anger.

They do sound like scumbags. The most annoying oppo fans I’ve ever encountered at OT were Everton fans, weirdly.

 

[Jean claude van hire]

People get far too precious about this stuff in my opinion. If it directly benefits United then why not. If I had to shout for pool or city to win a game that effectively hands us the title, I have absolutely no problem with that. If that makes me a ‘bad fan’ then so be it!

 

[ivaldo]

What are you on about? This is football

Yeah but can't you see the the clear similarities between a cross county rivalry and centuries worth of systemic oppression? They're basically the same.

 

[Denis' cuff]

I was happy to see them take points of Arsenal in the 90s to all but seal the title for us but otherwise... behave

 

[adexkola]

I don't see the problem with it. It's a different group of players, coaches, fans, etc.

I find the hatred of Leeds comparable to, for example, people of color saying they hate all white people for the past - yes, slavery was a terrible thing and people who had slaves were not good people. Many years later - is it acceptable to be mad at all white people, even those that don't and never did have slaves? Or will u understand this is a whole new group of people who have nothing to do with the past?

Another example - Germany. Hitler was a thing. Do we all hate Germany now or do we learn to move on from the past?

So for Leeds - if you didn't like them back then, understand this is a whole new group of people that you are saying u hate cause they associate themselves with a team you didn't like years ago.

Seriously, I appreciate the laugh.

 

[UnrelatedPsuedo]

The modern fan concept of hating all clubs but your own is a relatively new thing.

In decades gone by, you’d want to beat your rivals, but seeing them lose to the point of irrelevancy wasn’t desirable. Rivalries were valued as it made a win feel important.

I certainly don’t wish the best for City, Liverpool and Leeds, but I’d rather they stay competitive in the same Division as us.

For what it’s worth, I love watching Leeds play. They’re fun. I’d rather see them win 4-3 than lose 1-0.

Similarly, I’d rather win a league title over a good second-placed Liverpool side, than in a season they finished 11th.

 

[Mickson]

Dangerous thread. We hate Leeds and we don't question it.

 

[Eli Zee]

What are you on about? This is football

I know... in 50 years should United fans and Leeds fans hate each other? Or does time change things? I'm pretty sure things change as time passes, except everyone who still is stuck in the past hating Leeds, Leeds fans, Leeds players, etc.
I'm just saying your hatred directed at past players is being directed at current players who have nothing to do with the past. Rivalries are cool, hatred is a little overboard in my opinion.

 

[Eli Zee]

Yeah but can't you see the the clear similarities between a cross county rivalry and centuries worth of systemic oppression? They're basically the same.

I guess u missed the point. Rivalry's are fine. What everyone here is portraying is better identified as hatred.

people hate Leeds because they hated them years ago. Idk how hatred can remain wheneverything about them except their name is different.

 

[ivaldo]

I guess u missed the point. Rivalry's are fine. What everyone here is portraying is better identified as hatred.

people hate Leeds because they hated them years ago. Idk how hatred can remain wheneverything about them except their name is different.

And you seem to be oblivious to the grossly disproportionate example you used.

 

[Eli Zee]

And you seem to be oblivious to the grossly disproportionate example you used.

It's an example to stress a point - maguire isn't responsible for anything Ferdinand did in his time here and Leeds players, coaches, fans, etc now are not responsible for what the people before them did.

I believe rivalries are great. I also think OP has a point that they don't really need to be hated at this point in time, and I explained why I agree. We can agree to disagree.

I don't see why people can't root for Leeds when they aren't playing us, but clearly you have an issue with it based on issues u had many years ago.

 

[Acole9]

I'm certainly not rooting for them. My sisters other half is a Leeds fan and a typical one of that. They don't have a good word to say about any other club and have strange agendas against certain teams.

 

[youngrell]

It's an example to stress a point - maguire isn't responsible for anything Ferdinand did in his time here and Leeds players, coaches, fans, etc now are not responsible for what the people before them did.

I believe rivalries are great. I also think OP has a point that they don't really need to be hated at this point in time, and I explained why I agree. We can agree to disagree.

I don't see why people can't root for Leeds when they aren't playing us, but clearly you have an issue with it based on issues u had many years ago.

The fans are still the same, though. That's the point isn't it?

Of course players and managers come and go but the fans and general feeling around a club remain.

Ask a Leeds fan if they no longer hate Man United and see what type of response you get.

 

[Van Piorsing]

Leeds look positive on the pitch and Bielsa himself was praising Ole by saying the danger from United players was too difficult to handle... Let's just wait when fans return to stadium and they manage to get few better players. The heat and flaming will return and can't wait for that.

 

[Djemba-Djemba]

I don't see the problem with it. It's a different group of players, coaches, fans, etc.

I find the hatred of Leeds comparable to, for example, people of color saying they hate all white people for the past - yes, slavery was a terrible thing and people who had slaves were not good people. Many years later - is it acceptable to be mad at all white people, even those that don't and never did have slaves? Or will u understand this is a whole new group of people who have nothing to do with the past?

Another example - Germany. Hitler was a thing. Do we all hate Germany now or do we learn to move on from the past?

So for Leeds - if you didn't like them back then, understand this is a whole new group of people that you are saying u hate cause they associate themselves with a team you didn't like years ago.

Jesus Christ.

I only ever went to one Leeds match, in the early 2000's, I think Silvestre scored the winner. Wasn't ever allowed to go and watch any games at Elland Road. My Dad's 62, the team he really cannot stand is Leeds. Dislikes them much more than City or Liverpool, he went to a lot of the games in the 70s and 80s when a Utd vs Leeds game was absolute chaos.

The Leeds fans were fecking vile at the game I went to, Munich chants and taunts for the entire 90 minutes, smashed up all the toilets and the seats, ultra aggressive scumbags.

We can revisit this thread in a year or two when fans are back in the grounds and some of the posters in here get to see how lovely the Leeds fans are.

 

[Eli Zee]

The fans are still the same, though. That's the point isn't it?

Of course players and managers come and go but the fans and general feeling around a club remain.

Ask a Leeds fan if they no longer hate Man United and see what type of response you get.

I believe 15 years adds a new generation of fans and allows for an older generation to cease to exist... 15 more years and it'll be even more of a different Fan base.

why do you think some United fans don't care for the hatred? Because they weren't around for it - new generations And time changes things

 

[harms]

I wasn't alive when the Revie team played (and watching them retrospectively just doesn't give you the same feeling) and I never encountered their hardcore fans life, so I have a similar lack of negative feeling towards them. I like Bielsa and I feel no issues sympathising him while his success doesn't get in our way.

I think that can change if I'll actually meet one of the Munich-singing guys that apparently exist.

Leeds also gave us Cantona and Rio, which is something that I massively appreciate

 

[Fingeredmouse]

I don't see the problem with it. It's a different group of players, coaches, fans, etc.

I find the hatred of Leeds comparable to, for example, people of color saying they hate all white people for the past - yes, slavery was a terrible thing and people who had slaves were not good people. Many years later - is it acceptable to be mad at all white people, even those that don't and never did have slaves? Or will u understand this is a whole new group of people who have nothing to do with the past?

Another example - Germany. Hitler was a thing. Do we all hate Germany now or do we learn to move on from the past?

So for Leeds - if you didn't like them back then, understand this is a whole new group of people that you are saying u hate cause they associate themselves with a team you didn't like years ago.

Armando Ianucci eat your heart out.

 

[youngrell]

I believe 15 years adds a new generation of fans and allows for an older generation to cease to exist... 15 more years and it'll be even more of a different Fan base.

why do you think some United fans don't care for the hatred? Because they weren't around for it - new generations And time changes things

Thanks for making me feel old

 

[OnlyTwoDaSilvas]

So for Leeds - if you didn't like them back then, understand this is a whole new group of people that you are saying u hate cause they associate themselves with a team you didn't like years ago.

The Leeds fans I went to school with in the 90s, I would wager the vast, vast majority of them are still alive and still support Leeds. I'm still friends with a few on Facebook, one of which still seems to bang on about Leeds fans being the "hardest in Europe", just like he did when we were kids, because he was (and perhaps still is) unhinged.

I still visit Leeds plenty due to family in the area (except for during covid obvs). I was unfortunate enough to be in a pub in Batley on Boxing Day a couple of years back whilst a United match was on telly. It was rotten. They're still a horrible bunch. If you think everything has changed, then you simply haven't been around it, either then or now.

 

[bsCallout]

They're so irrelevant that I didn't even know we were rivals for the 15 years I've been following United.

Happy for them to take points off Pool and City otherwise they can just continue to be average.

 

[Jeppers7]

Yes, I do. Do you live in this century?

Again, comparing Leeds to our rivalry with Liverpool is absolutely ridiculous. You'd be laughed at the room for even mentioning it in the same breath as City and Liverpool.

Do you understand the basis of the rivalry between United and Leeds?

Our rivalry with Leeds is as vitriolic as Liverpool....can I ask do you live in Manchester?

 

[Jeppers7]

You're literally comparing our rivalry with Leeds to that of Liverpool and City and you're saying I need a dose of reality. It's beggars belief. The most recent poll of fans has Chelsea comfortably higher than Leeds in terms of our biggest rivals, but hey, we've got a page and a half of comments on a thread about rooting for Leeds, that must mean our rival with Leeds hasn't 'somewhat eroded' over the years.

Where is that poll from? Who voted? I’m going to suggest that it’s a Manchester thing....that being said anyone not from Manchester supporting Manchester United literally made that choice. We can’t help it if you don’t get the culture.

 

[Jeppers7]

To be honest I only even get this if they're old enough to have been supporting back in the 70s (right?) when they were actual rivals. Why would younger Manchester based fans care? But then we left Manchester before I was 6 so maybe I'm missing something. I don't have much truck with talk about 'county rivalry', because Manchester United aren't a 'county team'. Cricket fans can have Lancs/Yorks rivalry, not football fans.

I was raised by a man with hatred only for Liverpool, and I've ended up the same way.

Nail on the head.

 

[Revaulx]

I went to school in West Yorkshire in the 90s, so I'll definitely not be rooting for Leeds in any circumstance other than one that directly benefits us.

Every fanbase has its fair share of wankers, but Leeds have a knack of having a far bigger proportion of wankers than just about any other club.

Leeds are hated in most of West Yorkshire

Their support seems to be centred around Wakefield, Pontefract and Castleford, aside from Leeds itself.

 

[ivaldo]

Our rivalry with Leeds is as vitriolic as Liverpool....can I ask do you live in Manchester?

No but family used to live there. Moved to Norwich around 7 years ago.

Where is that poll from? Who voted? I’m going to suggest that it’s a Manchester thing....that being said anyone not from Manchester supporting Manchester United literally made that choice. We can’t help it if you don’t get the culture.

It was the David Dubas-Fisher’s survey ‘The League of Love and Hate.'

See that's the thing, you can't ignore 90% of the fan base just because they don't live in Manchester.

 

[westmeath]

Worst away fans by far. They leave a trail of graffiti and vandalism around the stadium every time. It’s like having the army of the dead in a corner of the stadium. Maybe they’ve copped on since they last visited but I doubt it.

 

[Jeppers7]

No but family used to live there. Moved to Norwich around 7 years ago.

It was the David Dubas-Fisher’s survey ‘The League of Love and Hate.'

See that's the thing, you can't ignore 90% of the fan base just because they don't live in Manchester.

But the culture of the club is rooted in Manchester and to be frank, I couldn’t care less whether those supporters outside of Manchester fully understand the culture of the club they support.

 

[mitChley]

As much as I like Bielsa, absolutely never. All of the absolutely worst football fans I know are Leeds fans, feck em.

 

[Djemba-Djemba]

Leeds City and Liverpool are our three biggest most hated rivals. They always will be.

Arsenal in the late 90s to mid 2000s were up there too but that's died off since.

 

[ivaldo]

But the culture of the club is rooted in Manchester and to be frank, I couldn’t care less whether those supporters outside of Manchester fully understand the culture of the club they support.

The club has long since embraced the world outside of Manchester bud. If you want to shun that and pretend football's climate is the same as it was 60 years ago then that's up to you. We've played them, what 3 times in the last 15 years? But sure, it's just as fiery as it ever was...

 

[Pearl's a minger]

Awful, awful club only superseded by the scummy fanbase they possess. Still can't understand why anyone would root for a rival. This general media wankfest over them playing attacking football and how good it is to watch straight after palace or Leicester have just donked 4 goals past them or even more when you've waited 15 years or so to play your biggest rivals in the league and ship 6 but the media's narrative is at least they kept going. Vile club and would happily see them relegated with 0 points.

 

[Djemba-Djemba]

The club has long since embraced the world outside of Manchester bud. If you want to shun that and pretend football's climate is the same as it was 60 years ago then that's up to you. We've played them, what 3 times in the last 15 years? But sure, it's just as fiery as it ever was...

You're completely wrong on this by the way.

Just wait until we next go to a packed Elland Road.

 

[DOTA]

I don't see the problem with it. It's a different group of players, coaches, fans, etc.

I find the hatred of Leeds comparable to, for example, people of color saying they hate all white people for the past - yes, slavery was a terrible thing and people who had slaves were not good people. Many years later - is it acceptable to be mad at all white people, even those that don't and never did have slaves? Or will u understand this is a whole new group of people who have nothing to do with the past?

Another example - Germany. Hitler was a thing. Do we all hate Germany now or do we learn to move on from the past?

So for Leeds - if you didn't like them back then, understand this is a whole new group of people that you are saying u hate cause they associate themselves with a team you didn't like years ago.

Jesus fecking christ.