Never was a truer word spoken.

Lombardi would have found a home away from home at Elland Road this season, a ground which will soon be renamed as the school of hard knocks.

The conclusion of Leeds United's fight to overturn their 15-point penalty saw the worst fears of their supporters realised yesterday but, to coin another famous quote, it is wrong to confuse a single defeat with a final defeat.

Leeds conclude their 46-game season against Gillingham tomorrow and when the biggest Football League crowd of the term blows away the cobwebs of frustration in anticipation of the play-offs, the remarkable nature of the club's combined efforts over the last nine months will be clear once more.

Here, Inside Elland Road reflects on the players, the matches and the moments that have made the most swashbuckling of campaigns possible.

Player of the Year – Jermaine Beckford

A desperately close call between Beckford and David Prutton, who readers of the Yorkshire Evening Post have voted as their player of the season.

The ballot was so tight that there was scarcely room to fit a cigarette paper between the pair and it is with a serious thought for Prutton that IER sides with Beckford.

It is not just the striker's 20 league goals that make him worthy of the nod as Player of the Year but the timing of those goals and their impact on Leeds United's league position.

Think Nottingham Forest in August and Hartlepool United on Boxing Day; think also about the six goals scored in the seven-game winning run at the start of the season.

Prutton's consistent excellence has been thoroughly commendable, but Beckford's star quality and killer finish were the key to the manner in which the campaign began. It was there that United's ambition of promotion was born.

Highly commended: David Prutton, Rui Marques.

Most Improved Player of the Year – Jonathan Howson

Leeds United are proud of their academy and there is no greater reward for the staff who devote themselves to the youth team system than to see a player with Howson's quality thriving in the senior squad.

His breakthrough came last season, but the current term has been the making of him and it says much about the midfielder's potential that Gary McAllister has selected him regularly during his tenure. Howson fitted ably into the centre of midfield and the noticeable improvement in his performances over a short period of time have shown his quality.

Trustworthy enough to carry the armband at 19, Howson is a player that United cannot even contemplate losing. Tottenham Hotspur were linked tenuously last month and any concrete approaches should be met with the words "No Way".

Highly commended: Jermaine Beckford, Ben Parker.

Goal of the Year – Jermaine Beckford v Hartlepool United at Elland Road (September 8 2007)

The perfect coup de graceto Leeds United's 15-point penalty which was wiped out emphatically by a fifth successive league win on September 8.