Yep. Simon Grayson and his merry men will lead us back to the PL. Maybe not this season but the next.
We are Leeds, no matter what division we are in we are great, even when were not lol. M.O.T ALWAYS..........................
I started supporting Leeds in 1972/73 my cousin got me supporting them. It wasn't until approaching my teenage years that I really followed what was going on, I still remember Trevor Cherry, Tony Currie, Arthur Graham and Eddie Gray, sadly for me this was the time when Leeds were slipping. I remember my dad a Peterborough follower telling me Leeds were "too big a club" never to win again and that they would come back stronger when they were relegated. They did and we won the title in 91/92 I couldn't believe it and I thought the good times were here forever. Sadly things are different now, so massively different in fact. Unless you have a money magnet in charge and you are willing to spend 20 million plus on a player you are never going to be great (define great, premier title, euro champions?). Even Arsenal are slowly slipping from grace, they are finding it hard to compete with Chelsea, Man U and Man City now, not to mention Liverpool who have found some cash. I still believe with United being the only team in Leeds and one of the VERY few major Cities to not be divided by another football team that we will be an attractive proposition for someone one day. I feel we have finished the first transition, the next stage will have to come when Bates has moved on and we have a team capabable of holding their own in the Premiership, then hopefully we will get out own billionaire investor.
Not long until we're back in the PL IMO, this season or next. It will be a bit harder to get back into Europe from there but I think we'll manage that, partly because we'll be a prime candidate for being taken over.
Valid scenario (trying to use as many existing precedents as possible): We get back into the Premiership some time within the next three years We're taken over by a millionaire who actually wants to invest like QPR We invest well like West Brom have in solid players and a dependable manager Like Stoke, we dig in our heels and manage mid-table rather than just survival for a couple of years Like Birmingham, we win the League Cup and get into Europe Like Fulham, we get a great run and end up in the final of the Europa League We push on even further and sign some real international talent Like Everton, we continue to threaten the top order of clubs and get some further decent European runs, helping to attract even more decent players Our Academy begins to produce and retain young players at something like the rate and quality it used to a decade ago We crack the top four and get back into the Champions League, thus securing a future of viable FA Cup campaigns and League title challenges, aided by our lack of debt (after the scrapping of the horrendously indebting East Stand scheme) and high turnover with the introduction of the Fair Play rules. That could all have happened by 2016. An alternative scenario which is equally viable: We get back to the Premiership in a few years We scrap around the lower reaches like other big clubs in Newcastle/Sunderland/West Ham have done after being repromoted There is a looming whisper of relegation every season There is little to suggest we're capable of any cup challenges (focussing on the league) or any real league ambition (players aren't good enough, club isn't rich enough) We stagnate with survival being the objective, like it seems Villa are doing An equally valid alternative: Bates continues to run us into the ground We're saddled with a GBP 80m debt for the East Stand Fair play rules are introduced but we still fail to cough up enough money for players and lack invention with merchandising while other clubs around us flog their shirts nationally, earn lucrative foreign TV contracts and build up persuasive propaganda campaigns to get more fans through the gates We fail to get promoted and stagnate like Coventry or Watford, or even get relegated again We lose our fanbase and become comatose middleweights, rather than sleeping giants We get crowds of 15,000 through the gates, fail to rebuy Elland Road and end up playing at Headingley Stadium to a vacant, mournful crowd In short: the future is uncertain. But I really do fear for the worst and I can honestly say I find it hard to imagine a Leeds captain ever standing at Wembley or Elland Road or some seething away ground on the last day of the season, and raising a cup again.
I don't see any reason why we shouldn't win the League Cup if we get back if Birmingham did. And don't forget, even with your second scenario that Aston Villa have been in the Europa League and in a League Cup final and West Ham have been in the FA Cup final. I don't think we'll just stagnate at the bottom of the table. My guess is that after 5 years or so we'll be one of the clubs continuously trying to break the top 4.
Prefer first bur think second is more likely. You can leave Everton out of first one now as they seem to have overstretched and are set to become another fallen giant like Villa, going nowhere
When the financial fair play rules properly kick in and take effect (provided FIFA/UEFA don't let clubs like Man City cheat round them with dodgy deals and actually take a serious stance for once) then the possiblity of clubs like Leeds getting back to the top end of the Premier League isn't a remote dream. We have a large turnover already, with high ticket prices, fanbase, mercandise etc. and low wage bill (50% of our turnover). The FFP rules will mean clubs like Leeds have an equal playing field with clubs like Chelsea in terms of spending power etc. Owners won't be able to fund massive wages and transfers. With some good scouting, investment in academies (something that owners can fund without it counting as expenditure under FFP rules) and stability, clubs will be able to challenge the top, rich clubs. However, if (and that's a big, massive, uncertain if) UEFA don't bottle it and actually enforce the FFP rules, and another if (an even bigger if) Bates makes smart decisions and allows the club to grow and doesn't drain money from the club with his dodgy deals. Unfortunately, the past of both KB and UEFA suggest that they will do the opposite of this, and the club will possibly win promotion, but end up in the lower part of the table/relegation and become a yo-yo club. The great thing about football is you can never predict anything. In the 70s if you'd have said Leeds would end up in the 3rd tier and Liverpool wouldn't win a title in the entire 90s/00s and that Man City would become one of the richest clubs in world and attract global stars, and Wigan would end up being an established Premier League side, people would have laughed. We can always dream
nobody has loved leeds more than me over the years----but please stop talking silly ---we are not great the truth
Well you started following Leeds just before our greatest season IMO : 1973/4. I believe Leeds is the biggest city in Europe to only have one professional football team.
I've seen this debunked a few times. Paris, Marseille and Lyon among others, are also a one-club cities. The point stands though that we're the biggest one in England.
