04 Mar 2025 12:30:09
Hearing about the potential takeover of Rangers by SF 49er’s doesn’t excite me at all and if honest I’m very disappointed and it could be a problem for our club in the future.
For me a dual or multiple ownership of clubs by a single owner or an enterprise invites conflict of interest.
If taken over, Rangers with their easier route to European competitions including Champions league, whether by qualifying rounds or league stage could create more interest of them for the ownership.
It’s why I also don’t want a takeover by Red Bull which we are being led to believe it’s not even a consideration when RB bought their minority share in Leeds United, but now with the SF 49er’s current interest in multiple ownership of football clubs it’s sadly no different.
I don’t like it and really hope it doesn’t happen and a definite no to a RB full takeover also.
To say it wouldn’t invite any conflicts of interest would be very naive.
The day our club name is changed to RB Leeds it will be a massively sad day indeed.
04 Mar 2025 13:09:35
Totally agree about Red Bull. I think a full takeover will remove a lot of the clubs history (RB Leeds would inevitably be the name) , and whilst they’re clearly good at running clubs it would feel a bit sad.
Less concerned about 49ers and Rangers. The financial pull of the EPL will always outdo the SPL, so Leeds would be of greater overall interest than Rangers.
04 Mar 2025 16:24:59
Sorry, may be a bit of a whore here but if they pump millions into the club I for one am ok with RB Leeds. After all to anyone that counts the name still is LEEDS. In fact didn't we have a "name" change from the Peacocks to the whites without so much as a whimper?
Even the stadium can be called The RB Stadium (for an astronomical fee) it does not matter because to you, I and the faithfull it will still be Elland Road.
If my children and my childrens children want to change it the so be it. I guess that's what they call progress?
04 Mar 2025 17:00:56
OP 100%agree.
04 Mar 2025 17:59:06
100% agree with Leodis
Bring on RBLeeds.
04 Mar 2025 20:33:30
Far from weakening their respective clubs, the RB franchise have strengthened the clubs under their umbrella in terms of on the pitch success, where the teams can collaborate to an extent for the greater good. Rangers could be an excellent feeder club for us and a proving ground for young talent in a much weaker league. I'm more with Leo on this one.
04 Mar 2025 20:44:13
Good post Cuppa.
04 Mar 2025 20:46:27
Baz you’ve got no morals or sense of tradition, just a slave to money.
Do you reckon Don Revie would have sanctioned Leeds United to be renamed RB Leeds?
04 Mar 2025 20:59:19
The mercenary Don Revie would definitely have sanctioned it if it meant more cash for him. Revie also proved he cared little for tradition when he changed the colour of our strip to white.
04 Mar 2025 21:04:01
Alf, Jesus Christ, do you really believe Rangers fans would be happy about being a feeder club to us ?
I think you might need to reconsider what you just posted fella.
04 Mar 2025 21:22:55
Maybe we become the feeder club to Rangers?
04 Mar 2025 21:33:07
I don't give a stuff about Rangers fans. The facts are that the Scottish league is weak and decent players don't want to play in it so naturally move on to more competitive leagues. As long as the players at Rangers are good enough to be winning the title or something every year that's Their ceiling. They are never going to keep enough food players to be competitive in the Champs league.
04 Mar 2025 21:49:24
Show me the money
Cuppas best posts for years
Redbull over an investment arm any day of week.
04 Mar 2025 22:02:50
As I said before Alf, do you think the Rangers fans will want that kind of deal and prospect?
04 Mar 2025 22:22:29
Don Revie would be turning if he thought for one second that Leeds United would become RB Leeds!
Or would he?
Revie was very revolutionary, always trying to think differently, and don't forget, the reason we play in all white (as opposed to the blue shirts with yellow sleeves) is down to the Don.
Until it happens it's all irrelevant anyway, plus don't forget that Newcastle's owners are as wealthy as anyone but thanks to the fixed financial system run by a handful of clubs, even they can't overspend and buy success - RB Leeds would fall into the same boat!
04 Mar 2025 22:25:25
Your comment Alf has too much arrogance and disrespect in my opinion. Maybe I don’t flow with the modern times but in my head if this happens it will not be good for our club in the long term.
We’ve invited more than our fair share of crap at club in the past, do we really need more?
It’s a fair question if you are willing to consider it.
04 Mar 2025 22:29:22
OP Who cares? Scottish fans and English fans don't get along.
Game is about big money ? now. In order to compete at high level.
Don't mind little Rangers feeding us their best.
Don't mind big Leeds feeding Rangers our worst.
Don't mind loaning Rangers our top prospects.
As for RB, I'd prefer no RB Leeds but if it must happen in order for us to evolve into a cash rich gold rich crypto rich mega giant who have a shot at winning titles each season with a 100,000 stadium so be it.
04 Mar 2025 22:42:22
You are the epitome of contradictions Baz, and iyou are not even worthy of this conversation in my very humble opinion.
04 Mar 2025 22:47:09
Some really interesting posts and personally I fall between both arguments. Of course we want everything Leeds United to remain as close to our history as possible, however, in reality that ship sailed years ago.
Probably why I often say I prefer the championship I’m burying my head in the sand over the inevitable when it happens…. hopefully.
Isn’t it only three teams now that are English owned in the EPL, Brentford, Brighton and Spurs and the last two have billionaires backing them.
Truth be told, it most certainly is survival of the richest and in reality any child, teenager who grew up with a mobile phone is probably desperate for anyone with the requisite billions to take and keep us up in the promised land.
Sentimentality is what keeps us supporters of Leeds United going through all those barren years, but deep down we know it’s not discovering the next Mark Viduka, it’s having the serious financial clout to compete on level terms.
Sadly, when you weigh up how many more years we all have to experience success it’s perfectly understandable why people support and hope for RB/ Major investment.
Other than Bates or GFH, what supporter even cares who owns us so long as their team is successful.
04 Mar 2025 23:02:06
Alf Would you have preferred to play in red?
04 Mar 2025 23:20:11
I guess you would have to ask them OP but surely they would be happy winning their respective league again year in year out. It's as much as can be expected from that league imo.
05 Mar 2025 00:21:40
Great posts Class and Geo ?.
05 Mar 2025 06:57:34
Would actually like a red strip George. Teams that wear red have historically been dominant. Liverpool, Arsenal, Bayern Munich,
AC Milan, Benfica, Flamengo for example.
05 Mar 2025 08:26:44
Having extremely rich owners doesn’t buy success, it’s only about successfully running a club by employing good people and getting everyone pulling in the right direction working to their maximum of abilities.
There are two clubs who are the polar opposites in comparison and they are Brighton and Man United.
Brighton are the perfect role model in my opinion of how a non elite Premiership club should be owned and run.
Having a German coach and American owners is not where my argument lies, just in the simple fact that in dual ownership can create conflicts of interest.
For example, would you Leeds fans be happy if SF49er’s hypothetically were about to buy say Bayer Leverkusen or Atalanta Fc, it’s very possible that we are not now the main club of interest.
I know already there are several clubs in the Premiership that it’s owners have bought ownership in other clubs on the continent, like Man City, Villa, Forest, Bournemouth and so on, it’s something that I personally don’t like and feel very strongly against.
Changing our club name would be the epitome of how much it disgusts me.
Everything becomes desensitized, no sense for tradition and heritage, let’s get rid of our club anthem Marching On Together and replace it with a Katie Perry pop song, absolutely why not, it brings in more money.
Who cares anymore? I care.
05 Mar 2025 12:09:41
I hear what you're saying OP and agree with you.
We are becoming desensitised and tradition and heritage are being thrown away but unfortunately it is the world we now live in - God knows I wish it wasn't!
05 Mar 2025 13:19:35
Yes Cleggy and fans do have a voice to be heard.
Remember when Radz wanted to charge our badge? The fans made a huge noise about it and the idea was dropped.
But then again, maybe the majority of fans do want to have our club name changed to some shjjty sugar drink and really don’t care?
05 Mar 2025 13:31:42
Good post OP, Brighton are a model of a well run club and in David Weir probably have the best recruitment team in the league. And in Paul Barber a brilliant chief executive, Brentford may be a better comparison in your analogy with Man United.
Was talking (in a larger group) with Paul Barber who is chief executive at Brighton and there is a plan in place to wean the club off Tony Bloom’s generosity in that he’s built the stadium and put over £400million into Brighton and much of this money was loaned interest free!
Brighton are known to work miracles with transfer but changing de Zerbi and some historical bank loans resulted in Bloom injecting another £70 million interest free once more.
Now Bloom still travels to all away games by bus or train usually with supporters despite the fact that he’s a billionaire and has no intention of leaving the club anytime soon and wants his legacy to be that Brighton remain a successful functioning business but without Bloom having to underpin the finances.
05 Mar 2025 14:04:54
OP You make little sense to me on this issue.
Filthy rich does not necessarily equal losing your religion especially with Leeds ?? fans.
This is what makes Leeds so unique and a unique opportunity.
So long as the shareholders buy into the Leeds culture everything shall be fine which to date Paraag and CO have done.
Remember and this is with any club, no fans no business. Owners know this.
The proposed ESL and its rapid collapse prove that the power always ultimately vests with the fans.
If a mega rich owner buys Leeds, no-one will think ? oh that means our anthems are banned!
If you want to worry about a genuine threat to humanity and traditional way of life, there are far more potent existential threats than a highly successful global energy drinks company.