Saturday changed things for me.

There I was, sat in the North stand surrounded by other Leeds fans as we watched our team get absolutely dismantled by Watford. The final whistle blew and the majority of us stayed to show the players some appreciation for their efforts in a game that was almost completely out of their reach from the word go.

At that point I thought ‘that’s why we’re the best fans in the world’, but then I thought about the rest of the game and started to wonder why we’d waited ‘til the final whistle to show them some support.

This will anger some fans, but we’ve become a joke.

We are by no way ‘the best fans in the world’ as it stands. The turnout for the game was low, as expected, but the atmosphere inside the ground was non existent. Every now and again a half hearted ‘Bates out’ or ‘Marching on together’ could be heard, but other than that we offered nothing.

In fact, other than the final whistle the only time in the game I can remember us roaring the players on was after Austin had been taken off injured and we were down to nine men.

Why are we doing this to our own club?

We can be angry with Bates for dragging us through the mud but our team are suffering and we are the only ones that can do anything about it. Do you think Ken Bates really cares whether you turn up on a match day? That £26 you’ve kept from him wont even make him bat an eyelid, the man is on his way out and no longer worries about the finances of Leeds United, so no, he doesn’t care whether you’re there or not, but the manager and players do.

As a team with ‘United’ in our name and an anthem boldly titled ‘Marching on Together’ we are failing our great club and we are doing it well. The time for excuses has to stop now, it’s no good slating the team for not playing well after booing their every mistake, what support do they have if we, the clubs fans, turn on them every time they do something wrong?

As for those boycotting until Bates leaves, forget him. Do the right thing and turn up to support the team that currently wear the shirt you have spent your lifetime proud to wear yourself.

Every great structure needs it’s support, the same applies to football teams, and ours needs us more than ever. We are more than just fans.

We need to open our eyes to what is happening and do something about it while we still can, for ninety minutes we have to forget about Ken Bates and focus our efforts and energy on giving the players out full and vociferous support. Turning up at the game and cheering the players on wont get rid of Bates any quicker, but it might just make the difference between a win and a defeat for the team you support.

Below are the lyrics to Marching on together. Read them through word for word and ask yourself if we are really worthy of singing the anthem that has been our heart and soul for some of the greatest years of our clubs great history. Have we given the boys a hand? Have we stood up and sung for Leeds United?

Remember who you are and remember why you support Leeds, then make the decision to do something about it because this season is falling apart and our team need us.

Twitter - @giddy_goose

Here we go with Leeds United

We're gonna give the boys a hand

Stand up and sing for Leeds united

They are the greatest in the land

Everyday, we're all gonna say we love you Leeds, Leeds, Leeds

Everywhere, we're gonna be there we love you Leeds, Leeds, Leeds.

Marching On Together

We're gonna see you win

We are so proud

We shout it out loud

We love you Leeds, Leeds, Leeds.

We've been through it all together

And we've had our ups and downs

We're gonna stay with you forever

At least until the world stops going round

Everyday, we're all gonna say we love you Leeds, Leeds, Leeds

Everywhere, we're gonna be there we love you Leeds, Leeds, Leeds.

Marching On Together

We're gonna see you win

We are so proud

We shout it out loud

We love you Leeds, Leeds, Leeds.

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