On the way up?
The dream gets ever closer to becoming a reality. With each match that goes by in which Leeds United maintain their lead over the side in third place in the Championship table, the club inch towards the glory moment of a return to the Premier League for the first time since they were relegated in 2004.
If you had told any Leeds fan back then that it would be some 16 years before the club returned to the top flight, they probably would have laughed at you. Despite the club’s financial troubles and mismanagement at that time, few would have believed that it would take quite so long for them to return to the top flight of English football.
But coach Marcelo Bielsa has breathed new life into a club which was defined by instability and managerial upheaval in the years before he joined. He has become Leeds’ longest serving manager since Simon Grayson, who left the club in 2012 – proof of the chopping and changing which supporters have become so accustomed to. Bielsa brought with him a wealth of coaching experience from across the globe, and has made Leeds a more reliable outfit. The Argentine has made them difficult to beat and effective in possession, and the reward for both the manager’s and the players’ hard work is tantalisingly close.
They are not there yet, but with a buffer between Leeds in first and Brentford in third at the time of writing, and only five games remaining, it would take a total capitulation for the club to be denied their moment in the sun. The latest odds on the Championship seem to suggest that Leeds are unlikely to let it slip at this stage of the season.
That said, last season provided a stark reminder to anyone who was not aware that the Championship does not forgive complacency or a drop in standards. Throughout the season, Leeds were in or around the automatic promotion places, but when push came to shove towards the end of the campaign, they let their level drop and ended up in the play-offs.
From there, Leeds put themselves in a good position after winning the away leg of their semi-final tie with Derby County 1-0, but the pressure became too much in the second leg, and a 4-2 defeat consigned the club to another year of Championship football.
It’s clear that Bielsa and his team learned lessons from that disappointment, and Leeds have been a more assured outfit this season than last. They have hit form at the right time in a division where momentum is everything, and Bielsa stands in a class above in terms of managerial reputation in the Championship.
Bringing the Argentine to the club was always a decision geared towards taking Leeds to the next level. In the past, too many managers have come through the door who were not up to the required standard to take charge of such a big club, but finally Leeds have a manager to match the ambitions and hopes of its support base. There is still a job to be done in the games that remain this season, and every Leeds fan will be hoping that they have something monumental to celebrate very soon.