Sky Sports' Johnny Phillips: To Elland back over badge of dishonour

Whenever a corner was won and the players moved forward into the box, a raucous chant of ‘Leeds Leeds Leeds!’ went up accompanied by the vociferous fans on The Kop closing a fist and pumping an arm out in front of their chests.

In fact, for any form of attacking set piece that was the rallying cry that resounded around the famous old ground and has done ever since.

Leeds’ doomed crest is essentially modelled on a Vinnie Jones long throw-in. It is a bizarre design, with some also likening it to the logos of Gaviscon heartburn tablets and the Pro Evolution Soccer game. The club announced that it was delighted to have found an image that reveals the passion and identity of the club.

There is certainly passion in the image, but there is something mildly threatening about it too. The sort of thing that might have appeared on a National Front flyer back in the day.

Leeds apparently consulted 10,000 people ‘connected’ to the club, “through digital surveys, one-on-one and group interviews and meetings with legends, current players, club staff, the owner, partners and representatives from the Leeds and Yorkshire communities.” No doubt at significant cost.

The Yorkshire club clearly has identity issues because this is the sixth design in the space of the last 45 years. The club’s old owl badge was ditched in 1973 by then-manager Don Revie, a superstitious man who had been told that owls were unlucky birds.

In a nod to the current shambles, Revie was persuaded by an artist and innovator called Paul Trevillion to revolutionise the image of the club and along with a new badge came numbered sock tags and names on tracksuit tops.

The simple ‘LU’ symbol which replaced the owl remains a favourite among many of their fans to this day. A more ornate version followed, but lasted only three years between 1981-84.

The last two versions incorporated the white Yorkshire Rose.

This latest incarnation was met with much weeping and gnashing of teeth from the Leeds faithful and – quite rightly – the club has backed down, saying it will, “seek further consultation”.

Which means it is ditching the badge.

It has been a tough few years for Leeds fans but this season has seen an air of stability return to Elland Road. An act of self-harm like this is the last thing they need.

Redesigns are not a bad thing per se, but if any club is going to embark on the process it must be prepared for the most forensic examination of the result, because fans are fiercely protective of their club’s crest.

Take the example of Brentford’s recent makeover, which provoked small scale entomological uproar.

When the club proudly announced the new crest at the start of this season, via social media, they were inundated with appalled fans pointing out that the bee in the new badge now only had four legs instead of six.

Not all clubs make changes out of choice.

In 2015 Ayr United were accused by a fan – who really ought to have a long hard look in the mirror – of a rival club of breaking an ancient heraldic law which dated back to the reign of King Charles II.

Their old badge was a shield with scroll bearing the team’s name along with a saltire, all of which fell foul of ancient legislation meaning their crest was deemed to be an unregistered coat of arms. The new badge came into effect for the start of this season.

Over time, badges build up an identity and any change must be done with eyes wide open to interpretation of the result. The Leeds badge fails on so many levels, but mainly because it does not recognise the history of what has gone before and has the appearance of a generic design, as shown by the fact that versions of it have been used to sell indigestion tablets and computer games.

On a local level Wolves, too, embarked on several redesigns of their own in the 1970s but despite the wholesale changes, some of which disappointed supporters, the badge managed to retain an identity.

Between 1970-74 a leaping wolf over the letters ‘WW’ did the job.

That was replaced by the hugely popular three leaping Wolves. Many fans from that era maintain it is the best badge the club has ever had.

But that crest only lasted five years before a new wolf head design first appeared in 1979. A brief return to the city’s coat of arms, first used pre-war, was trialled in the mid-nineties but it proved unsuccessful.

The current badge is essentially the same simple and iconic design as the 1979 version, albeit with a needless hexagonal border. The simplicity of its design is undoubtedly one of its strengths.

Supporters can be wary of change, but they are not Luddites. Fans will embrace something that they believe is good for the club.

The new Leeds badge clearly does not fit into that category.

A scientific sample of Sky’s Soccer Saturday production crew yesterday did not identify any trends, ending hopes that lazy and undemanding research would produce some definitive answers as to what makes a good club badge.

Luton Town’s got the nod from one colleague. “A boater, a bee hive, a bee, a bundle of straw, so much going on,” he explained approvingly. Before another piped up, “I like Morecambe’s. No f***ing about. Red shield. Morecambe FC. Shrimp.”

It really is all in the eye of the beholder.