Leeds United talking point brings together 2021 ownership promise and Elland Road grumbles

Paraag Marathe, who then became the Whites' vice chairman, spoke with the local media and put on record the intention to 'elevate' the supporter experience at Elland Road.

Fast forward to March 2023 and the news that season ticket prices will rise by 10 per cent, for the second year running. Although the new price is one that the overwhelming majority of season ticket holders will pay, with varying degrees of willingness, they do so in the knowledge that if they did not then tens of thousands on a waiting list would. Supply, demand, the way of the world when Elland Road is the hottest ticket in town.

There were grumbles, supporters groups pointing to the cost of living crisis and fans citing the poor results of the last two seasons. The club acknowledged both points in their announcement, insisting it was not a decision taken lightly, insisting it was made of necessity. A painfully sharp increase in utility bills, a significant rise in matchday operational costs, the price of doing business in a cut-throat market, in a post-pandemic world, were the club's grounds to ask for more a second year in succession, after keeping prices flat for 12 straight years. A less than ideal situation, at the worst possible time, but one that won't change now - unless of course relegation brings in the promised 10 per cent rebate.

What the response to the price hike illuminated was just how unhappy some Elland Road match goers are with their lot when it comes to facilities and comfort.

And this takes us back to Marathe and the club's decision makers, who have long recognised that the famous ground is in need of some serious modernisation.

Two years ago the vice chairman said this: "We are committed to doing all we can to help the club compete for championships against the best football clubs in the world while providing an elevated supporter experience at Elland Road.

"We've done a lot of work over the last two decades in transforming the 49ers, building a new stadium, we've built up a lot of experience and expertise. That's precisely what we want to lend to our counterparts at Leeds.

"One of the things we want to do is to improve and modernise the experience, whether it be in hospitality or premium, while maintaining the aura and magic of the stadium itself. The one thing you have to continue to respect is the 100-year-old tradition of that stadium. We're going to help at Elland Road, at the club wherever we can."

Andrea Radrizzani echoed the sentiment.

"When I started I said I would like to be promoted within five years. We made it. If you ask me the same question for the new cycle, I can visualise five to seven years to be where we want to be, with a new Elland Road, modernised facilities," he said.

"We want to build a modern club, we're still far away."

Elland Road is indeed far away, if not entirely removed, from some of the Premier League's shinier facilities and modern stadia. There are grounds, to which the Whites have paid visits this season, that dwarf Leeds' home not only in size and scale, but in operation.

Premier League money and the depth of ownership pockets makes all the difference to what can be built and offered - Fulham's Riverside stand redevelopment has cost a reported £80m. When complete and fully operational it will be, in the words of owner Shahid Khan, a 'real game changer.' Viewed from the Johnny Haynes Stand it looks the part. A half-time visit to the Johnny Haynes concourse, however, reveals a mass of bodies packed tightly into a cramped space, jostling for position in queues for toilets or food. Full redevelopment to bring entire stadiums up to scratch takes time and vast sums of money.

There's a lot to do at Elland Road to get anywhere near the standards set by some of their Premier League rivals. The West Stand, Angus Kinnear said last year, is the oldest stand in the top flight. "Until the stadium is new, the matchday experience is going to feel traditional," the CEO told The Square Ball podcast.

Therein lies the reality facing Leeds fans, because it won't feel Premier League, or shiny even, until it is redeveloped. What they can do, in the meantime, is elevate the experience as much as humanly possible and ensure the place feels tidy and clean - many of this week's complaints focused on toilet facilities. Even if the old girl is in need of some serious surgery to fulfil the 49ers' and Radrizzani's commitment, some cosmetic details would feel like a halfway house for fans asked to journey a little further into their pockets.