From the man who wanted to bring in electric fences to Stamford Bridge in the 1980s come these words of moderation, conciliation, and fan friendly compromise to Leeds protesters:

What a few fans are trying to do is cause trouble. They wouldn’t give a s**t if Vladimir Putin bought the club as long as it was successful.

The Leeds boss, under fire for his actions in the crisis Leeds are embroiled in that we’ve reported on before and that David Conn at the Guardian has written in depth about, was then asked about a “flower power” protest at Elland Road. Fans have laid flowers at the statue of former star Billy Bremner. Bates said:

Have you been there? There’s about 100 notices and 10 of them are ‘Bates Out’. Do you think Man City fans give a f**k whether the former Thailand Prime Minister should be in jail for corruption or whatever? Of course they bloody don’t. Do you think West Ham or Manchester United fans care whether Tevez is owned by this Iranian? The critics don’t know what they’re talking about.

OK, so some Leeds fans say, ‘F*** off back to Chelsea and take that little **** Wise with you’. But you always get that. It’s like the National Front. You’ll never stamp them out.

Yes, Ken, comparing your club’s fans to extreme right-wing nationalists is sure to win them over, and definitely seems spot on when their main protest action so far has involved laying out flowers.

Photo credit: idlan on flickr