As with any new season, a clean slate brings hope and expectation to fans of all clubs. Everyone dreams of success, but for the vast majority it is more hope than expectation. English football has changed, in my opinion for the worse, since the advent of the Prem and Chumps Leagues. Today it is criminal how clubs like Arsenal, Spurs, Liverpool, Everton all aim for finishing fourth rather than actually winning the league. What's even worse than that is the fact that their fans actually accept fourth place as success. Then you look at the rest of the Prem and seventeenth spot is their wish, anything above that is seen as a bonus. Even traditionally "big" English clubs like Villa and Newcastle have survival as their main goal. Bizarre, but that is how the sponsorship monies (not self generated revenue) has corrupted and skewed the game. So to Leeds United and our expectations. For me, our club and its supporters should demand winning the Championship every season we are in it. Yes, DEMAND it. A club like Leeds should not be scratching around in this division the way we have been. A decade and counting outside the top flight is a damn disgrace for Leeds United, and should be seen as such. All this "sleeping giant" and "too big to be outside the Prem much longer" comments mean nothing until the club behaves like it wants to win the league. It really bothers me when club officials publicly talk about consolidation and stability. It sets the bar for mid table obscurity, and lo and behold that is where you end up. It pissed me off last season when GFH said that promotion was not the target for the season, because players were given the excuse to not push themselves. This lack of pressure to succeed meant a mindset where failure was acceptable as long as it didn't result in relegation. The key thing about the Championship is that ninety percent of the clubs are actually pretty darn close when it comes to ability. Yes, there will always be those with parachute money who keep a strong squad in place and roll the financial dice, but we've even seen those struggle at times to go straight back up again. Last season QPR were seconds from disaster. So, with the clubs in the Championship so evenly matched, and we see it every week where we don't even blink anymore when a Barnsley beats a Forest 5-0, the one thing that stands out between the promotion chasers and the also rans is DESIRE. When Steve McLaren took over at a woeful Derby County, he didn't go into the job looking to "consolidate and stabilise", he went in looking to get promotion. The result? Derby were the so-called surprise package who were literally stopped seconds away from possible success. That says a lot, and their rise from the ashes was down to their manager demanding performances and results. Take a look at other "big" clubs who fell out of the Prem ... Newcastle didn't mess about because the club EXPECTED to win the league, West Ham did the same and went straight back up, and when Man City unexpectedly found themselves visiting the likes of Colchester they rallied and went back to the Prem in two seasons. We can blame past owners and circumstances for our poor showings, but ultimately we Leeds United supporters must NEVER accept mid table obscurity. We must DEMAND promotion every season, DEMAND results and performances from our players. They must know that playing for this great club is a privilege, and nothing less than one hundred percent is good enough. The President and his management team must be told by us that we are Leeds, and failure is not an option. Clubs visiting Elland Road must feel the determination and energy at Leeds, and must be under no illusions about the kind of game they're going to get. If Leeds United, as a collective, can set these expectations and demand success, then we can genuinely push on as a club. So when our President talks about "maybe next season we look at the Prem as a possibility" then we must shout NO!! NO, NO, NO, NO, NO!!! We must look at promotion EVERY season, because for a club like Leeds anything less is not acceptable. Is this unrealistic thinking? Ask Sean Dyche at Burnley and watch him crack a smile. Ask Nigel Pearson at Leicester, who were woeful the season before they walked the division and see what he says. Leicester would have been forgiven if they settled for finishing tenth last season as it would have been a huge improvement on the previous season, but they DEMANDED promotion, and expected nothing less. Funny how almost exactly the same team went from almost relegated to Champions so quickly. They didn't all suddenly improve their skills dramatically, but they did improve their attitude and what they demanded from each other as a club striving for success. At Leeds United we must demand and expect better than we've seen for a while now. We must build a culture where failure is not accepted. Gary Neville talks openly about his absolute fear of failure when he played at Scum, because everyone knew it wasn't tolerated, and if you let your performances slip you'd be shown the door in a hurry. Liverpool had that culture until finishing in the Chumps Lge places became more acceptable than winning the league, and a similar thing happened at Arsenal. At Leeds United it now seems staying out of Lge One is the accepted goal. Bull!! Absolute bull!! We are Leeds, we don't give a fcuk, and we are here to win!! So Cellino and Hockaday, pull your fingers out, rally the troops and make it clear to whoever gets to wear the famous White shirt on matchday that anything less than one hundred percent is punishable by death ... or a free transfer to Millwall. MOT!!
Fine words. Unfortunately it's down to the owner. If they can keep enough people coming through the turnstiles to make the club profitable, then it's a nice earner for them. If they don't then they buy cheap and sell those that develop into stars, to balance the budget. The only way out of this is to get a sugar daddy owner or go bust and start as a fan-owned club. Don't get me started on Sky TV either, it has ruined football in this country.
Nice post Billy - I agree with what you say but despite some thinking and feeling I am always doom and gloom I would accept less as long as I saw progress and stability season upon season. For me this coming season and with the mess we have been left in after Bates and GFH I would accept a top 10 finish IF I could see improvement in every area which includes finances and performance. It wasn't that long ago we were probably 2 first team players short of a promotion winning side, now going into this season we are 11. I say 11 as Ross has gone and those that are left showed last season that they were not good enough. The players being brought in are unknown, we have no idea how they are going to perform or respond when things go bad or behave. If this time next year we can look at the squad and say we have 5-6 players that we would not want to be without then that is pretty good progress all things considered. Some might argue that Pearce and Murphy are good enough, maybe they are but they are not what I would call irreplaceable, maybe this season they will become that and we might just be 2-3 players short of a promotion winning team. It would take a miracle to gain promotion this season, too many new faces and a lot of the new ones have never played English football before. Yes we will all hope for it, some will demand it but take your Leeds Utd hat off and look at us from a neutral perspective, pretend you support another championship team for one moment and ask yourself, would you see Leeds Utd as a threat for a promotion challenge when you look through the squad and the fact that the leading scorer has gone?
I agree completely, but we have the issue that our President says we're not good enough to get promoted yet, which sends out the wrong message to the players. We should be going for the top every season. I think the signs are looking positive, blooding hungry young Leeds lads with some hopefully tasty Italian players. Just need a proven goalscorer and a cb to partner Pearce and think we got a good chance. I want to go to Elland Road expecting a good performance whereas last couple of years been expecting and seeing crap most of the time.
Can't understand why he would spend all this money on what seem to be good players but have an absolute knob of a manager....
I think that when Cellino says we aren't good enough he says it tongue in cheek the blokes a winner so I expect at least a top 10 finish but if we want a top6 it will depend on the new faces this week and next
Let's hope so, I'd be quite happy with top 10 if we are showing some fight and passion. Yeah god knows why he would trust The Hock with 15m worth of new players. But hey if it works ill be happy as a pig in..
Billy, a great read this morning sat in my garden. Spot on in sentiments for most fans. Reality sets in and then we realise what it means to get out of this division. Firstly its as always investment in the team. A committed team with belief and desire to get the job done. We are at the beginning of a new chapter for Leeds. The support is there, as ever, and it seems a start has been made on the investment side for players. Will the full amount be put back in the team from the Ross transfer ? Will the new platers fit in? Etc etc etc. I look at the other teams and see that they are in a stronger position as far as finance, players and continues support from the biased parachute payments. We have a big job on our hands this year and a playoff spot is, according to the bookies, not likely !. Its been a long time coming but my new season thoughts are just the same... I live in hope that it will be our year.
Good post Billy, sums up the emotional and passionate side of my Leeds supporting without a doubt. The realist is thinking that if we are fighting top 10 then this pre season will have been a success in terms of transfer dealings and everything else. As MC has got us back on a stable financial footing, and if we were top 10 he would have done so at the same time as actually improving on last season (not hard to do so really!) All being said and done though, let's have automatic promotion wrapped up by Christmas. The Hock's the man to deliver it (Oh and welcome on board parnee!)
Every team that has gotten out of this division has had a manager who was switched on. Tactics won them alot of points, as many have said there isn't that big a difference between the quality in the championship, the manager is what gets you out imo. I'd be very surprised if Hockaday proved to be a good manager but I'm willing to see
Yes, I agree that whoever is the "manager" at Leeds must be backed at first Josh, and so it is with the Hock ... I firmly believe that expectation helps to shape reality, and as such we must demand success at Leeds United ... for me Cellino has a lot to prove at Leeds as he never really achieved anything at Cagliari, so now he has a real chance to establish his legacy in football at a genuinely big club in the home land of football ... Cellino will be driven and determined, and I feel that if we are anywhere near the playoffs in January he will add to the squad and push us on ... the key for me is that as a club we now stand up and demand the success expected at a big club Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
I've always thought we should be expectant that the teams competes. We always seem to come up with an excuse why we will fail and we need to get out of that. There will always be a reason that we can't get promoted and need to get over that.
Great post Billy and I agree totally with the sentiment, although I have a couple of caveats. 1) Derby and Burnley last season had great managers and owned their own grounds, without huge debts. Cellino is wiping out the debts and buying back our ground, so laying the foundations. 2) Cellino is shrewd and doesn't gamble. The only person at the club who will be really worried is the Hock, because he is getting quality players, already has some decent players who need some direction and a bunch of quality kids. If results are poor its bye bye Hock. 3) There is a huge divide in clubs who have parachute payments and those without. Yes we should be big enough to compete, but the facts are that cash has been leaking out of the club making it impossible due to the greedy, grabbing twats who owned us. Cellino by wiping out the debt and getting us our home back as well as investing in (Bronze quality) players will with luck close the divide and get us closer to the top. 12-years and sick of waiting but will be happy if Cellino stops the rot, gets us ER back and gives us entertaining football again with top 10 safety this season, with a view to attack it next season.
Agree 100 % with you 60. Cellino also stated a month ago after meeting each player individually, they were a great bunch or words to that effect. Since that he's been trying and succeeding in getting a lot of them out the door. I suspect a lot more may go if he can offload them. Hunt Morisson Kenny to name but three. I think Cellino is a very shrewd businessman
You had a player wage bill of £20M - He is now saying your budget is only £15M - So all the "high earners" like McCormack and Peltier are being replaced by freigners on a fraction of their wages - but as the old saying goes "you pay peanuts..............................."
