Where do I say that supporters haven't got the right to voice an opinion??

Errm, in the title of your own thread? The implication is clearly that those who complain are only fair weather supporters.

You're welcome.

Sanctimonious

ˌsaŋ(k)tɪˈməʊnɪəs/
adjectivederogatory

making a show of being morally superior to other people.

Meh.

How long did it take for you to come up with this? You're probably pretty pleased with what you consider to be a very good, apt analogy. Trouble is it's crap.

Leeds and the game are in the entertainment business; people want a 'feel good' return for their money. If they are served e then they are unlikely to want to return for more. However, if you're an indoctrinated acolyte then I guess you might feel differently.

Is that why they are called Spectators (speckies) and not Supporters anymore

This really annoys me - being called a "Fair Weather supporter" or not a 'True' supporter simply for criticising the players, coaches or management.

The criticism I give the club is because I really care about what happens at Leeds.

Over the years I have come to believe that about 90% of the people that watch Rugby League have no real understanding of what they are watching (present company excluded obviously), and just see 26 blokes running around trying to knock the cr@p out of each other. These people's understanding has been replaced with blind faith, which means at no point can anyone say anything negative about their beloved club because if they do then they aren't a 'true' supporter or are a fair weather fan.

I tend to find it amusing in all honesty especially as plenty of the fan base who have witnessed real turmoil would be the the ones who will be left standing should a major plummet down the league return.
Its also interesting that at no point the aforementioned "Uber fans" grasp the context of the criticism.

I think in these circumstances it's fair. Their's been some previous times like last year when after we had such a strong start we had a 3 match winless run with losses to Wire and Widnes and draw vs Hudds when SOME people laid it on thick carrying on like it was the beginning of the end.

That's why I've defended the team in the past, not because I'm an apologist, but because when you look back at some of the things/periods people got carried away with in terms of criticising and compare to the current run then it's almost laughable how worked up they got previously.

Printer- 99% of the criticism is rellevant to the performances at that time did fans stop going?
No they didn't again the context has to be understood & at no point is it a p!$$ing contest into who the "real fans" are supposed to be.

Precisely this. People can (and do) still care about the club even when offering opinions perceived to be critical/negative/unconstructive.

Whatever happened to the maxim that everyone, in this largely free country, is entitled to their opinion and to express that right in any way they see fit?

I've supported Leeds for the best part of thirty five years. In that time, I've seen sat through some absolute dross but, I'm still a paying customer and I will be until somebody nails the lid shut. However, I don't think it is my place or anyone else's for that matter, to criticise how other people exercise their freedom of expression.

Punters of any kind tend to vote with their feet, it really shouldn't be a surprise to anyone.

Apologies to all who have taken offence as I did not mean that you didn't have the right to criticise or comment on the current state of affairs.
Perhaps I mis worded my post.
The point I was trying to make was that IMO I think that any team which lost 4 key players and then suffered so many injuries to other 1st choice players would struggle to keep pace with the competition.

Never said nobody wasn't real fans or that they stopped going.

But way too often people have overreacted to the slightest thing that didn't go well, it's the extremes of what people say I find ridiculous at times.

JAN 2015 - after the way the 2014 season ended with 5 league defeats and the playoff exit to Catalans, quite a lot of people were saying we had too many old players, our signings like Briscoe and Aiton were poor, guys like Hardaker can't do the basics like passing, players like Ward were used incorrectly as a workhorse 2nd row and we'd lucky to make top 4

Skip forward to APR 2016
Now people are saying any coach could've lead that group of players to a treble and that we should've dominated the league.

I mean come on which is it, either they were good enough to win a treble with any coach or they were too old/poor signings/unable to do basics/played incorrectly. It's one extreme to another.

I would suggest it is somewhere between the two - the basic skills of some Leeds players is embarrassing for a pro player.

You cannot look at Leeds in isolation you need to consider the competition as a whole. Were Leeds any better in 2015 than 2014 not sure I saw a huge improvement in standard in fact it could be argued they went backwards but not as fast as everyone else. So winning everything one year and not winning the GF the previous year does not prove your point either way.

It could be argued that both statements were in fact true.