Leeds United: Whites reissue ticket pledge
Leeds United
Date: 30 April 2009
By Phil Hay
Leeds United chairman Ken Bates has reiterated his promise that every season ticket holder and club member will receive a ticket for the League One play-off final if Simon Grayson's squad book their place at Wembley.
The window for supporters to sign up for United's Members Club and guarantee a ticket for the May 24 showpiece passed on Tuesday afternoon, with the total membership at Elland Road rising to more than 34,000.
Leeds are still to be informed of their prospective Wembley allocation by the Football League, but the club received in excess of 36,000 tickets for the 2008 League One final and expect to be handed at least as many again should they come safely through their semi-final.
A scramble for tickets 12 months ago led to fractious scenes at Elland Road as fans attempted to secure seats for United's clash with Doncaster Rovers, but United are confident of avoiding a repeat of those problems this year with a vast proportion likely to be taken up by members and season ticket holders.
Bates said: "We've said from the very start that every single member, season ticket holder and corporate season ticket holder will be guaranteed one ticket for the play-off final if we get there. That remains the case.
"The Members Club has risen to more than 34,000, but the deadline's passed now and only those who are already (members) will definitely get a ticket."
Leeds will learn the identity of their play-off semi-final opponents on Saturday, though as a result of MK Dons' victory over Northampton Town on Tuesday, they cannot now meet Scunthorpe United or Tranmere Rovers.
Grayson's side will clash with either MK Dons or Millwall over two legs, and the club could secure fourth place in the final League One table if they beat Northampton this weekend and Millwall fail to win at Carlisle United.
Fourth position would guarantee Leeds home advantage in the second leg of their semi-final, and Grayson will have Fabian Delph available to face Northampton after the midfielder completed a two-match ban during Leeds' 1-0 win at Hartlepool United.
United also hope that Robert Snodgrass will feature after the Scottish winger was given a break from training last week to help him overcome an ankle injury.
Bates, meanwhile, has described Leeds' reserve-league triumph as a demonstration of the club's "strength in depth" after Neil Thompson's side won the totesport.com League East Division title on Tuesday night.
Bates said: "A lot of senior players have played in the reserve games, but just as important are the youngsters who've been involved all the way through.
"It's a sign of our strength in depth at the top but also a sign of the quality we've got coming through."
