ABOUT THE SQUARE BALL
Welcome to the online home of The Square Ball, the independent Leeds United fans magazine, published throughout the football season and sold outside Elland Road and online. There is an accompanying podcast, released fortnightly during the season; a blog, regularly updated throughout the year; and a chat forum.
TSB’s motto is By The Fans, For The Fans – all our content is written and produced by Leeds United fans and it is created with fans in mind. With the club’s media output so tightly controlled, and the chairman’s tendency to ban people who question his methods, The Square Ball strives to offer what the club will not: an open platform for discussion, whether or not you agree with what we write. And if you feel you’ve got something to say, why not write it and send it to us.
HISTORY
The Square Ball was founded by Ian Dobson in the famous 1989-90 season, starting life as the fanzine that has been published continuously ever since. The origins of the magazine’s title have often been subject to debate, but Ian Dobson cleared up the mystery when speaking to the club’s Leeds Leeds Leeds magazine in 1993, he explained:
“The Square Ball came out of a drunken night in the pub when we were all discussing what the fanzine should be called. Someone said Leeds were famous for playing lots of square passes, so that’s what we went for…If I had the chance again, I’d probably go for a different name, but we can’t change now, can we?”
Despite Ian’s misgivings about the name, The Square Ball has endured in Leeds fan culture, and entered its 22nd season of publication at the start of the 2010-11 season.
THE START
Back in the 1989-90 season, the magazine debuted in some style. The first issue featured a cover of United’s cult hero Vinnie Jones stood outside The Peacock, with a typically punchy interview inside. Living up to the uncompromising, straight-talking stereotype, Jones, then 25, declared that, “A fuckin’ idiot could come here and know the fans are brilliant,” and dismissing criticism of his signing by one of Revie’s legends, said, “Allan Clarke? He’s a tosser, that’s it.”
ON THE WEB
The Square Ball continued to chart the club’s fortunes from a fans’ perspective, from the highs of promotion, winning the league and the San Siro; to the lows of Wembley 1996, Wilko’s sacking and Bowyer and Woodgate’s booze-fuelled flirtations with jail. The rise of the internet in the late 1990s gave birth to a chat forum to go alongside the magazine. Although affiliated to the magazine, it was administered separately, and it eventually found a permanent home at www.leedschat.com.
In February 2008, the community elected to move the forum to brand new hosting, with new software. With a desire to renew the close ties to the magazine, a new website address was purchased and www.thesquareball.net was born.
FRESH START FOR THE MAGAZINE
In the summer of 2009, the admin team from the forum took on the writing, editing and production of the magazine, uniting it with the chat forum. The reborn 32-page publication hit the streets for the start of the 2009-10 promotion season, with the first issue containing an interview with club captain, Richard Naylor. The magazine was enhanced further for the start of the 2010-11 season, and now boasts 48 pages in full colour, although the price remains £1.
PODCAST AND BLOG
24 hours after Leeds United’s famous win at Old Trafford on January 3rd, 2010, the first recording of The Square Ball Podcast took place. Featuring a regular four-strong team of the magazine’s editorial and writing team, the free hour-long show is released fortnightly during the football season.
A year on from the launch of the podcast, a blog was added to the redesigned Square Ball website, bringing the best of the magazine and podcast together in one place alongside new, original writing about life as a Leeds United fan.
