Read Paul Barber's Leeds programme notes

Welcome back to the American Express Community Stadium for this evening’s Premier League clash against Leeds United. We extend our welcome to the players, officials and supporters from Leeds, and also to the team from Sky Sports who will be covering their fourth live match here so far this season.

Once again, with another sold-out fixture at the Amex that includes 3,000 visiting supporters, I am sure we can look forward to another fantastic atmosphere under the lights. We will certainly be looking to get back to winning ways after a run that, after three successive league and cup victories, has since seen us draw five and lose two of our last seven Premier League matches.

Last weekend’s loss at Aston Villa was particularly frustrating for everyone after neutralising a noisy Villa Park crowd inspired by Steven Gerrard’s arrival as the club’s new manager, and after being in control for large parts of the game. But we also know the Premier League can be, and often is, unforgiving, and in the last six minutes of the game Villa took their chances well.

After tonight’s game, we face successive away matches – a visit to high-flying West Ham United at the London Stadium during the week, and then along the coast to Southampton’s St Mary’s Stadium a week today – before a similarly busy period mid-month when we have two successive home games, versus Tottenham Hotspur and then Wolverhampton Wanderers, followed by a further three Premier League matches leading up to the end of the year.

As is always the case, December is a very busy period for football clubs and not least for our players, coaches and staff, most of whom will work very hard indeed during the coming month and will have very little time at home with their families over the festive period. I’d therefore like to take this opportunity to thank them in advance for their focus, professionalism and great efforts at a time when most people are looking forward to some time off with family and friends.

At the time of writing these notes, Tracey Crouch’s fan-led review of football was due to be published, and by the time we kick off this evening, we will have taken some time to carefully review the report’s findings and, no doubt, started to form our own opinions – as a club, league and industry – on any recommendations.

As one of the clubs that has played in all four of our country’s full-time professional leagues, I’d like to think we retain a genuine sense of perspective on the highly sensitive issue of financial distribution within our sport, as well as a keen understanding of what football clubs mean to their communities. I am also very sure that, despite our rise through the leagues and the significant growth of our fan base in the past decade, we have continued to engage with, and listen to, our supporters. 

With our sport receiving such widespread TV coverage, a lot is said and written about how much clubs value supporters in the stadium (versus those watching at home), and even the value clubs place on revenues from ticketing these days. I can only speak for our club when I say that having supporters fill our stadium continues to be vital to what we exist for. 

Professional footballers want to play in front of packed arenas. Broadcasters want the atmosphere provided by full stadia. And this football club, at least, hugely appreciates revenues from ticketing, and particularly appreciates the efforts people go to, and the sacrifices fans make, to attend our games. This support means a huge amount to us and it’s still extremely gratifying to me that every football fan I speak to would, given the opportunity, still rather be in the stadium to cheer on their team than not. 

The reality is, of course, that very few football clubs can accommodate the number of people that wish to see their games. We are playing at the top of a global pyramid in the most watched league in the world. For our club’s long-term sustainability, and that of all other professional football clubs, a stadium full of fans and live TV coverage must go hand in hand. 

It isn’t, and shouldn’t be, a choice of one over the other. Fans unable to attend matches at the stadium – for geographical, financial, health or other personal reasons – should still be able to watch their team play. And, of course, we simply must continue to work as hard as we can, with our leagues and our broadcast partners, to ensure attending matches is as accessible as it can be for the majority of people as often as possible. There is, after all, simply nothing better than a packed stadium, for those in the stadium and for those watching at home. 

The very significant support we have received from our broadcast partners over the past three decades in particular has, of course, helped to fund the improvement in our stadia, which, in turn, has helped to create a better and safer viewing and matchday experience. The value created by our broadcast contracts has also helped to build our training facilities, and has undoubtedly contributed to attracting and funding many of the world’s best players to play in this country. 

Yes, live TV coverage has also led to fixtures within the top two divisions being spread over an entire weekend rather than all games being played out at 3pm on a Saturday, but this has also coincided with family lifestyles and work patterns changing for many, making 3pm kick-offs far from ideal for all. This is perhaps why TV audiences have continued to grow while our stadiums have continued to reach capacity levels far more often than in the two decades before the Premier League was conceived. 

Like any business in any industry, there is, of course, always room for improvement in what we do and how we do it. We recognise, however, that in many respects football clubs are not typical businesses. Our very high profile and our wider responsibilities to all of our stakeholders, not least our community and fans, often set us apart from organisations many times our size. 

As such, we must also accept that we will receive greater scrutiny on not only what we do and how we do it, but also what we say, and how we say it. And we know that people have higher expectations of us, individually and collectively, like never before. Fortunately, taking part in the world’s biggest and most popular sport also provides us with an enormous platform to be a force for good, and a force for change. 

Indeed, today’s support for the Rainbow Laces campaign, in conjunction with Stonewall and the Premier League, is a great example of this. As a football club, particularly in a city as cosmopolitan as ours, we pride ourselves on being open for everyone, regardless of ethnicity, gender, sexuality or any other characteristic. 

We have forged strong links with our local LGBTQ+ community over a number of years, be it through the club or our charity arm, Albion in the Community, and we will continue to work hard to ensure that the game we all love is accessible for everyone – our players, coaches, staff and, of course, our supporters. 

The Amex Stadium is a welcome, safe space for everybody on a matchday, but if you do experience or witness discrimination, harassment, victimisation or abuse, please report it. Any form of racist, homophobic or abusive chanting at our stadium is an arrestable offence and will not be tolerated. 

Enjoy the game.