o welcome the Supporters Qub_ fold We hope this new start _

ing of a r lationship that will _ e arties and the club as a whole"

LET^S GET BACK TO WINNING WAYS

Well, well, well... Chelsea at home in the quarter-final of the Capital One Cup. Just a reminder to Season Ticket Holders, if you haven't already purchased your seat for the Chelsea fixture, the deadline is 5.15pm today af er which they will be released t for sale. The West Stand Ticket Office is open immediate^ after the final whistle. Members (non-Season Ticket Holders) can apply forone ticket (subject to availability) from Monday November 12 until 5.15 on Friday November 16. Why are we 15th in the table? Simple, we are not converting our chances. We sorely need a striker as a back-up for McCormack, who is, thankfully, now back in training. So is Somma although he is still some way off. If things had happened differently, we would have strengthened the squad in August. Still, we have signed 14 new players so far this season, but it is time that they settled down and clicked. However, we have had just two defeats in 11 games so we should get back on our winning ways. The Championship is tight this year, it's almost like a yo-yo with teams climbing or dropping three places with one result. Currently, football itself is being driven offthe back pages by one thing or another. First of all we had the riot in Serbia following the England Under-21 game. That of course is still rumbling on and possibly will for some time, although we have told Tom Lees that we will back him all the way and give him all the support we can. I think that the Serbian FA is well and truly deep in the fertiliser and their late accusations are an attempt to muddy the waters because they could - and probably shall - be thrown out of next year's international tournaments as it is not the first time they have been in trouble. I wonder if FIFA and UEFA have the bottle?! Second, we have the on-going racism saga, when even black players are falling out over the best way forward, although for the life of me, I cannot see how a separate PFA for black players can help integration. Surely just one PFA is the way forward with all players working together beforehand for a common cause: racial harmony. The latest issue facing football is a criticism of referees. I have never heard so much abuse and blame put on them as I have this season by managers keen to use them as scapegoats for their own short-comings. Why would anybody want to be a referee? They certainly aren't in it for the money, they get a pittance compared with some of the drama queens on the field. No, they do it because they love the game, they have all served their apprenticeship at the lowest level, public parks and the like. Managers and players are quick to blame referees if they made a mistake which goes against them, always forgetting the penalties, fouls and off-sides that go unfairly in their favour. Referees have to make split-second decisions. Not for them the benefit of 20 TV cameras and endless replays enjoyed by the so-called expert pundits in commentary boxes or discussion programmes. Some of whom are former unsuccessful or out-of-work managers themselves. The FA could and should take a firm stand in these matters and also act more swiftly. The current enquiry into the complaint against Mark Clattenberg should be dealt with at speed. Already the unfortunate man has, in effect, been "suspended" for two weekends by not being allocated a game and there should be severe penalties for any player that accosts a referee after a game. Dissent should be punished much more harshly and in any case, it does no good. The referee will not change his decision and could unconsciously influence his future judgement. If players were suspended for dissent, the manager would put a stop to it within a month and an FA fine should be mandatory. Happy birthday to Gwyn Williams, our technical director, who is 65 today. I have worked with Gwyn for almost 30 years and we are very lucky to have him here at Leeds United. Gwyn was originally a schoolteacher before joining Chelsea and af er I left, there were substantial staff t changes. When I joined Leeds I told him that if Chelsea ever sacked him, he could start with me the next day. When the inevitable happened, there was a delay in getting his compensation and in the intervening period, Everton came for him but he refused, saying he had "given his word to the Old Man". Over the years, he has discovered many good players