LEEDS UNITED SUPPORTERS TRUST - updates here

[Emsley]

Better we have LUST than nothing.

[Twiggster]

Bates slags of the fans. Lust slags off bates. Both still sat on their big white chargers staring at each other over the field of battle.

Not seen owt from the Trust publically slagging off bates tho?

and isn't your sig supposed to be Zhen Shan Ren, according to Falun Gong?
Hope you are doing good mate - home in a few weeks.if you fancy a beer or two...

[Armleywhite]

Not seen owt from the Trust publically slagging off bates tho?

and isn't your sig supposed to be Zhen Shan Ren, according to Falun Gong?
Hope you are doing good mate - home in a few weeks.if you fancy a beer or two...

my spelling has never been good and yes it is. Been practising it for ages now and really doing me good.

[Crude]

Gary's latest statement from LUST......

http://lufctrust.squarespace.com/blog/2 ... 01112.html

It’s difficult to summarise all that has happened over the last twelve months and put it all into context without writing a novel. What is plain for all to see is that LUST as an organisation has changed in so many ways whilst maintaining its ethos of by the members for the members and its principles of openness, honesty and doing it’s very best to benefit it’s members, the club the local and wider community.

Back in August of 2011 we began a recruitment drive and introduced a new tier of ‘free’ membership, a move that was ground breaking amongst supporters Trusts and one which frightened our treasurer to death; Trusts are self financing and rely on the subscriptions paid by their shareholders. LUST felt a different approach could be taken and could be successful so instead of relying on contributions we decided to rely on donations and merchandising allowing those fans who didn’t want to be or couldn’t afford to be shareholders the opportunity to be members and have their voice heard. Within a couple of months we had 1500 members and the numbers just continued to rise and rise. In January following the publication of our Vision Statement and the repeated mention of LUST in both his programme notes and on Yorkshire radio telling everyone his idea of what LUST must be Mr Bates helped swell our membership to over 5000 making us the fifth largest Trust in the UK. His continued mentioning of LUST over the next month or so helped us to achieve a membership of in excess of 6000 before the season ended so it’s only fair that I thank Mr Bates for helping make us the single largest organised group of Leeds United Supporters with our current membership in excess of 8300, Thank you Mr Bates.

The Vision Statement we published in January represents the thoughts, opinions and ambitions of our members, the wider Leeds fans base and many organised groups including the RMC’s and LUSC who all contributed at public meetings and via email and the social media. It sets out a clear and ambitious vision for the future of Leeds United, it asks no more than we as supporters are able to sustain financially and it marked a very clear difference in emphasis between supporters and the club as we were told we should “build a club first and a team second” and that “supporters should support” with the inference being we shouldn’t meddle in the clubs plans.

Meddle we did however when the clubs 2010/11 accounts were published with so many holes we could have used them to sift flour. Our financial team wrote to the club, Baker Tilly the clubs accountants and raised our concerns with Companies House who found our concerns to be justified and asked that the club re-submit. As stakeholders in the club and its future LUST believes it members have a right to know the clubs owners and board are capable of accounting for the money they spend in a proper and professional manner and that the financial status of the club be represented as accurately as possible, if they cant do that we will be there to scrutinise and ask questions just as we did this year.

Moving on from the accounts LUST took a closer look at the clubs financial health using volunteers with expertise in the field from within our own membership and presented our analysis to Rob Wilson who Mr Bates said after the 2010 Radio Leeds show about who owned Leeds United “knows what he’s talking about”. We raised concerns about the wisdom of ‘mortgaging’ of season ticket money to pay for corporate developments and the preferential share issue to ‘persons unknown’ guaranteeing them a substantial profit if the club is sold or placed into administration. Rob Wilson shared many of our concerns and found the accounting errors to be of concern. He also accepted that dwindling crowds and an increasingly disenfranchised supporter base could lead to cash flow issues which in the long term would threaten the financial well being of the club. LUST feels duty bound to its members to continue to monitor the financial situation at the club and raise concerns where it feel’s they need raises and I am very proud of the work done by our financial team and wish to thank them all for giving their time freely to ensure Leeds united supporters know the truth.

Early in the year we also met with members of LUSC, the RMC’s and blogs to discuss what we called the ‘Leeds Fans United’ initiative, the idea being to provide a platform for all supporters groups to exchange idea’s, opinions and thoughts regardless of who they are and what they are perceived to be. All equals all sharing the same status, Leeds United Supporters and all working to a common aim, the very best for the future of the club and all its fans. The initiative is still very much alive although due to the time needed in other areas during the summer it has not progressed as far as I would have liked but its back up and running and already attracting great support, thanks to all who are supporting it.

This summer has been unbelievable in many ways. It was left to the Trust to point out the club had people bidding to ‘invest’, neither buyers nor sellers seemed to have any intention for so long of letting the people who most deserved to know what was happening, the supporters, the lifeblood of the club, the people whose emotional investment far out weighs the financial gain from investment or as we were told a takeover of the club. For too long there was nothing but silence despite the statements from the Trust publically appealing to both sides to speak.

The events of the summer will be documented fully by LUST at some point in the future and as per all of our statements they will be truthful, I don’t believe they should feature in any greater depth in a Chairman’s statement suffice it to say its still not over and the truth always outs in the end, I look forward to that day.

I would like to thank the board members who have put in so many hours freely and voluntarily, often at the expense of a normal and proper family life and too many times into the small hours of the morning. No Leeds United fan can truly understand just how much time and effort has gone into LUST this year and I would like to include the various teams we put together who too have given up their time and offered their expertise, such dedication to the cause deserves nothing less than our thanks.

Our members, who have supported us in such number and so publically on many occasions, are the reason we do this, it really is all about you so please accept my humble thanks for all the kind words of support, the advice and for turning up to let us know it matters to you too.

Lastly there are five people for whom what I have done this last twelve months have suffered most, My wife Kirsty and my four daughters, they have selflessly given me the licence to miss family do’s, spend hours on the phone when I should be helping with homework or the dishes, during my week long holiday I spent more time on the lap top or mobile phone than I spent feeding the donkeys or rolling on the grass with my kids. And for my wife reading some of the very personal insults and accusations levelled at me and on occasion my family has been a truly terrible experience and I had no right to put her through that. There has been a lot said about my status as a Leeds fan when this is all done and the dust settles but for myself I have no desire other than to go back to being me supporting my club with my brother and his kids being no more than another voice in the crowd; the real ‘legend’ behind my efforts is my wife Kirsty and to her I say thanks woman, I cant be anything I am without you.

Here’s to 2012/13; I still dare to dream!

[Twiggster]

Latest Trust statement re take over:

Leeds United Supporters Trust - Club Takeover Announcement


Leeds United Supporters’ Trust welcome the announcement that Leeds United will soon be under new ownership.

We would like to extend a warm welcome to GFH Capital and to David Haigh, Hisham Alrayes and Salem Patel, and our chair Gary Cooper has contacted GFH Capital to offer his congratulations.

We look forward to meeting with the new Leeds United board members soon. With the club at a crossroads, our members, now more than ever, want to know how GFH Capital and Leeds United are going to build a successful club going forward.

As always, LUST's vision is to see an ambitious Leeds United that has the fans at the top of its agenda, and we will continue our work towards building a club to be proud of.

Spoke with Gary yesterday - membership now approaching 11K!!!
Thanks to the Trust for presenting Bates with the options to sell, all those months ago.
Bates asked the Trust to back up their statement regarding potential bidders with the financial clout. The Trust presented them. One has now taken over our club
In L.U.S.T. I trust!

[Twiggster]

Latest from the Trust:

Trust Public Meeting - Reminder
The Leeds United Supporters Trust will hold their next public meeting at 7.30pm this Wednesday 6th February 2013 at the New Farnley Cricket Club, Lawns Lane, Leeds LS12 5ES

The meeting will be broadcast live on our Ustream Channel and questions taken via our Twitter feed (links below). The broadcast will commence from 7.30pm and is available for you to join throughout. A recording will be added to the 'Listen Again' section of the Trust website within 48 hours following the meeting.

We have contacted the Club and offered them the opportunity to send a representative but as yet have had no response.

All are welcome to attend.

Should anyone wish to ask a question or make a comment but cannot make it on the night please email [email protected] and we will do all we can to make your voice heard on the night.

See you then?

Gary Cooper


Wish I could be there.
Leeds based supporters of our club should be...At least please listen on the live link
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/leeds-uni ... ters-trust
or tweet your thoughts and questions: @lufctrust

[Armleywhite]

Latest from the Trust:

Trust Public Meeting - Reminder
The Leeds United Supporters Trust will hold their next public meeting at 7.30pm this Wednesday 6th February 2013 at the New Farnley Cricket Club, Lawns Lane, Leeds LS12 5ES

The meeting will be broadcast live on our Ustream Channel and questions taken via our Twitter feed (links below). The broadcast will commence from 7.30pm and is available for you to join throughout. A recording will be added to the 'Listen Again' section of the Trust website within 48 hours following the meeting.

We have contacted the Club and offered them the opportunity to send a representative but as yet have had no response.

All are welcome to attend.

Should anyone wish to ask a question or make a comment but cannot make it on the night please email [email protected] and we will do all we can to make your voice heard on the night.

See you then?

Gary Cooper


Wish I could be there.
Leeds based supporters of our club should be...At least please listen on the live link
http://www.ustream.tv/channel/leeds-uni ... ters-trust
or tweet your thoughts and questions: @lufctrust

All due respect. Why?

[Twiggster]

Cos you are a Leeds fan? Just a thought like.

[Armleywhite]

Cos you are a Leeds fan? Just a thought like.

I also have better things to do. Theres another thought. ;)

[Twiggster]

I also have better things to do. Theres another thought. ;)

Fair enough. The Trust is there, for Leeds fans who care...

[Armleywhite]

Fair enough. The Trust is there, for Leeds fans who care...

Condescending tw@t.

The meeting will be broadcast live on our Ustream Channel and questions taken via our Twitter feed (links below). The broadcast will commence from 7.30pm and is available for you to join throughout. A recording will be added to the 'Listen Again' section of the Trust website within 48 hours following the meeting.

And

Should anyone wish to ask a question or make a comment but cannot make it on the night please email [email protected] and we will do all we can to make your voice heard on the night.

Just cos I have things to do doesn't mean I don't care. Nowt stopping you coming back to UK, so go bollocks. You CHOOSE to live abroad, no ones forcing you. Hypocrite!!

[Twiggster]

Condescending tw@t.


And



Just cos I have things to do doesn't mean I don't care. Nowt stopping you coming back to UK, so go bollocks. You CHOOSE to live abroad, no ones forcing you. Hypocrite!!

Say WHAT?? I'm just passing on info to fans who may wish to attend - or participate if they cant.
Dunno what your problem is, but it isn't mine.

[Armleywhite]

I was asking why to your comment of Leeds fans SHOULD be there! There is no need for lots of people to be there, the place is tiny for a start. They are going to broadcast it AND you can email messages to them.

Your comment of "for Leeds fans who care... " asumes I don't.

Hence my response of Condescnding tw@t.

[Twiggster]

I actually said "Leeds BASED fans" and I also said "or listen on the live link"
You are bored on night shift and stirring, eh? :mrgreen:
Hopefully not long to go mate. I'm off to bed. Night Si

[The Subhuman]

I care....but I don't need the trust.

[Twiggster]

MARCHING ON TOGETHER AGAINST CANCER
Leeds and Huddersfield fans unite to raise money for cancer charities

The Trust are pleased to support the efforts of Leeds fan James Bushnell and his family in their charitable efforts before the Huddersfield home game next Saturday.

This afternoon we have given the following press release regarding the event, we hope every Trust member and Leeds fan will support;

The great Bill Shankly is renowned throughout football for saying, ”Some people believe football is a matter of life and death...I can assure you it is much, much more important than that.” Fans of both Huddersfield Town and Leeds United will unite in an effort to prove Mr. Shankly wrong in the 'Marching on Together against Cancer' charity walk on Saturday 16th March, before the two teams meet later that day at Elland Road.

Fans of both clubs will leave from the John Smiths Stadium at 6.30am to walk the 12 miles to Elland Road for Yorkshire Cancer Research, The Sir Bobby Robson Foundation and Alan Courtney, a Leeds fan recently diagnosed with terminal brain cancer. They will be collecting along the route and are looking for donations and sponsorship for this worthwhile event. Numbers are increasing daily with in excess of 50 currently, but is expected to be considerably more on the day.

Event organiser, James Bushnell, said, “Sadly we will all be touched by cancer in our lives either friends , family or work colleagues. With football comes a universal bond and I'm hoping that the 2 sets of fans can put differences aside, walk side by side and March on together against cancer. All we hear in the press is about football fans misbehaving, I want to show that yes we are rivals but they are our family our friends and we are human beings and WE can do amazing things when we all pull united in the same direction.”

The unity of the fans has further been reinforced by the involvement of the Huddersfield Town Supporters Association (HTSA) and the Leeds United Supporters Trust (LUST) who have assisted in the event and will be taking part in the walk. HTSA Secretary, Robert Pepper, said, “I'm glad to be able to walk together on 16th March to help raise funds for in the work against Cancer. As a Grandfather I will be walking with my Leeds fan Grandson, Edward Vickers, putting rivalries aside Marching on Together, with a Smile Awhile.” In support of the event, the LUST Chairman, Gary Cooper, said, ”I am really pleased and proud that LUST is able to help and assist our colleagues at Huddersfield Town to promote such an event and raise money for local charities helping local people whose lives have been touched by cancer. Our thanks to the Club who have assisted us make sure this is a success, marching on together.”

Sally Crerar, Head of Community Fundraising at Yorkshire Cancer Research, said, “We are delighted that passionate fans of two proud Yorkshire football clubs are uniting for a common cause. We are extremely grateful for the support of so many Yorkshire people and we hope that the weather is kind during this very unique event. The money raised will make a huge difference to our goal to help the people of Yorkshire avoid, survive and cope with cancer.”

Both Leeds United and Huddersfield Town have made efforts to assist with fundraising with some of the members of the walk being presented on the pitch before the match and will be donated signed shirts from both clubs, which will be auctioned following the game.

Even though numbers are increasing more sponsorship and people to walk on the day is needed. Walker volunteers on the day should raise £10 sponsorship (or more) and wear shirt of the team they support, not just LUFC or HTFC, anyone can participate.

Sometimes football doesn't have to be about winners and losers and fans of both Huddersfield Town and Leeds United are committed to helping beat cancer, something which unifies all in purpose...at least for a few hours!

Link to donate, should you wish to HERE

[Twiggster]

The Leeds United Supporters Trust will hold a further public meeting on Wednesday 15th May 2013 at the New Farnley Cricket Club, Lawns Lane, Leeds LS12 5ES from 7.30pm - Map.

As always the meeting will be broadcast live on our Ustream channel.

We have invited the Club and local media to send representation, but as always all are welcome to attend.

As this is the end of a tumultuous season we would like to encourage your input as much as possible so we have an agenda with as much contribution from our members as possible which hopefully can be covered in the time available. Of course we will try to take questions from our social media live during the meeting too.

You can ask questions, raise issues or make your point by email to [email protected] or through our social media on Facebook or Twitter. Alternatively, you can even leave a reply on this thread. We will collate all the questions the day before the meeting and do our best to answer them on the night.

We hope to see you there and look forward to your input,

Gary Cooper

Chairman

[white.riot]

For the sake of balance I think LUST have been a negative force. Reading twitter I know plenty agree. Don't join - buy a season
ticket, no better way to suport LUFC.

[Martyn]

For the sake of balance I think LUST have been a negative force. Reading twitter I know plenty agree. Don't join - buy a season
ticket, no better way to suport LUFC.

Yes, we know.

LUST had the temerity to ask questions of your hero bates.

They must burn in hell

[Twiggster]

Yes, we know.

LUST had the temerity to ask questions of your hero bates.

They must burn in hell

Witches, all of them!