Chrispmartha

Ive been to the store this morning as they have finally got the player issue shirts in to buy they are far better fit and quality than the supporters versions, but no good if you are carrying a few extra pounds as they are extremely tight fitting! and they are also £80!!!! So I toolk the chance to look at the retro tat, and I can confirm they are indeed, tat, really poor quality and cheap looking, I have a 94 Ellgren shirt and even though it is made from the most horrible material known to man it still seemed better than these. The 91 zig zag replica is all kinds of wrong, it's just a wasted opportunity, I like the idea of retro kits but they should be done as authentically as possible. I have a Watersplash final replica and the detail is absolutely first class, even down to it having padding built in to the shoulders like the original, that's the shirt I still wear to matches. I am probably overly bothered about this, but I collect the shirts and if they had done these properly they would have sold a few more as Id have had them butters no way Id part any cash for these they are just awful.

So Leeds, well, Oxen released 5 - yes 5 retro shirts today - so that is now 8 shirts they've released this year, and the retro shirts look absolutely horrendously cheap, like those knock off football shirts you see in cheap souvenir shops.

‘New retro’ New retro what? I see their marketing is as high quality as their gear.

Maybe Oxen had some self realisation that now isn't really the time to be peddling more cheap tat to Rhinos fans. Maybe it's going to be shirts from every year we have had a ###### season and got rid of a coach.

Im No architect but I would have thought because of the size of it it wouldn’t be able to be all standing? Plus it gives supporters a choice.

Maybe so but I wouldn’t want them to do it, as I say its a horrible stadium and they need to concentrate on filling their own stadium not somewhere else

Bradfords decline also didn’t help with falling attendances at Leeds, we don’t really have a derby anymore even though there are teams close by. Those sell out derby games against the bulls are some of my best memories watching the rhinos the atmosphere was utterly electric, I vividly remember the home game at Easter in 2004 when Danny Mcguire, Rob Burrown and Sinfield ripped them to pieces, it was like a realisation that we had something very special happening.

Yes but in fairness theres the same crossover for Wakefield and Castleford fans who all seem to support LU Persoy I can’t stand football

The two games sold well because they were a bit of a novelty. I wouldn’t be getting a season ticket at ER its a horrible stadium

I was under the impression The stands couldn’t have been built the other way around because of how it connects with the cricket stand, its not a normal layout for a stadium. The Southstand is the iconic stand which people want to be in, why compromise that just so it looks a little bit better on TV? The aim should be to fill both not hinder sales in the most popular stand.

Popular but the Northstand wasn’t completed till halfway through the season so it’s difficult to gain much from that years data.

I agree totally with your last point, I just don’t think the stadium layout is the issue. As I’ve mentioned look at the Merchandise, cheap (not in price) tat being released constantly, only for it yo be reduced a month later when they release the next set of tat. It’s insulting to the fans. The youtube videos are pathetic with every week being the same dull 2 minute interviews about how they have trained well during the week, often conducted on a windy training field so you can’t hear anything. No marketing incentives other than a post on Social media saying ‘you don’t want to miss this’ with nothing but negative comments below it. Why not have a Rhinos TV subscription channel that costs lets say a fiver s month or its included in the Gold membership and produce dome interesting content? Everything they are doing at the moment screams a lack of enterprise and ambition for a club with the history and standing in the game it’s unforgivable . Leeds need to get a grip and fast, the stadium is the least of their worries (other than the debt of course) and is probably the only thing they have done well in the last 5 years.

I can honestly say it’s not something i focus on, I’m watching the action on the pitch.

You sell the seats that are the most popular first, hindering the attendance so it looks good on TV is a strange way of trying to increase attendances. If the focus when someone watching a game on TV is empty seats id suggest what’s happening on the pitch is the issue, not which tickets the are offering to sell first. How would you propose to sell Northstand tickets first when the majority of ST will be in the Southstand? Restricting ticket sales is just daft IMO. The only way it could possibly work is to make one half of the Northstand the ‘away end’ but even then youre restricting ticket sales in the hope the away fans fill a stand

We played well and won the comp at the start of the renovations. we then had a season where we sacked our best ever coach, then the season after we were utterly terrible and sacked a coach mid season and ended up in a relegation fight for the second season in a row, then Covid hit, then in our first proper full season with the stadium complete with no covid issues we are again looking utterly dire. The total perfect storm ruining what should have been a period of celebration for the club. Get a side together performing on the pitch and nobody will be discussing wether there should be seats in the Southstand or that we have too much corporate facilities.

It’s irrelevant though imo. The atmosphere is fine from the few games since the stadium has been rebuilt that we have actually played well the atmosphere is great, the reason it all feels flat is because the entertainment on show is flat

But the seats sell well in the South Stand, they aren’t the issue. Put it this way, let’s say everything has clicked and Leeds are playing great RL, competing at the top and matching teams like Saints, do you really think fans will be put off attending because of the layout of the stadium?

The Southstand is the most popular stand though, so the layout is not the issue. Rearrange the stadium all you want, if the product on the field is as poor as it is at the moment the crowds won’t improve. shifting fans from the southstand to the Northstand just do people watching on TV think the grounds full is just rearranging the deckchairs on the titanic. The stadium is not the issue.

But the southstand is the first stand to sell as its popular, the southstand configuration is not the issue far from it, they layout of the stadium isn’t an issue, sort the playing side out is the main issue

I agree with a lot of that but as I keep saying I personally don’t think the stadium layout is the issue, Headingley is a fabulous stadium to watch RL, no stadium however good is a great place to watch what Leeds are serving up on the pitch. I couldn’t agree with you anymore on the quality of kit and merchandise, it is utterly dreadful a club the size of Leeds should be aiming much higher than cheap tat being released every month and weekly knock down sales. The stadium is the only thing they have done well with over the last 5 years

Because it meant the capacity was larger than if it was all standing because its two tiered, the South Stand is generally almost full, the stadium layout really is not the issue, if the north stand was full but the southstand was half empty the crowds would still be low, shuffling fans around to pacify tv watchers is not a solution to falling crowds.

Agreed and its no coincidence that those few K are missing when the stuff served up on the pitch is sub par. Sort the on field stuff out and we will see crowds return, going to watch the tripe served up last night is not an enjoyable way to send an evening.

The club can't run the risk of not selling as many tickets just to satisfy crowd spotters on TV, the South Stand is the go to stand at Leeds and there wasn't really an option to put the tv gantry on the other side due to it being a shared stand between corporate, the rugby and Cricket. Moving the camera position won't solve the issue of falling attendances, the plan should be to fill that stand not hide it away

The Southstand is the most popular stand, it would be commercial madness to close that before selling out the North Stand. As I said above its not the stadium that's the issue.

The stadium isn't the issue, what they have done to modernise an old stadium is fantastic IMO. The issue is the fair being served up on the field, ever since the stadium has been renovated the team and performances have fallen well short of what had gone the previous 15+years. If Leeds can get back to being anything like they should be there will be a difference in both atmosphere and attendances. Also Thursday nights are terrible and we seem to have had non stop Thursday night games in crappy weather, unfortunately the first Friday night home game will be against Saints and if they don't change their attitude quickly it will be an utter embarrassment. Ive said this on the Leeds forum but as a usually optimistic Rhinos fan Im really despondent at the moment The performances on the field The state of the pitch The sub par Kit and apparel supplier pedalling cheap tat on sale every week The Thursday nights in terrible weather (it was nice last night to be fair) All are making life as Leeds supporter fairly miserable at the moment, a club the size of Leeds with the facilities they have should be doing better in every respect.