There spoke a man who knew. Bremner won two league championship medals with Leeds United and was a runner-up on five occasions, showing him the clear distinction between two sides of a very thin line. All the title of his book might have added is that someone invariably has to be.

Where the play-offs are concerned, United received nothing for finishing second in 2006. In fact, they were not even lucky enough to finish with that.

Promotion to the Premier League was the pay-day that never arrived, and Leeds were like the compulsive gambler whose final chip had been collected by the house. United had already flogged their home; 12 months later they lost virtually everything, not least the sum of 15 points. Nothing would have been a preferable bargain.

I spoke to the Leeds chairman Ken Bates shortly after the 2006 play-off final to ask for his vision of the future.

"Sunday was a disappointment," he said, "but we didn't expect to be there so soon. It was a bonus, if you like."

His words made sense on one level, but failed on another. It may well have been a surprise to find Leeds in a play-off final within 18 months of taking over a club which was almost insolvent, but United were not without potential.

In the summer before Cardiff, the club signed Robbie Blake, Richard Cresswell, Eddie Lewis and Jonathan Douglas. Liam Miller supplemented the squad on loan from Manchester United in November, adding to a pool of players which was ageing slightly but still of the required standard. There was just cause for optimism.

Qualifying for the play-offs was a credible achievement, but a bonus? That remains both a matter of opinion and the fundamental difference between 2006 and 2008.

Leeds were contenders from the outset two years ago; in August of 2007, it was impossible not to believe that United's season had the makings of a nasty write-off.

Gary McAllister would concur with Bremner's view of the comparative merits of success and failure, but Leeds United's season has not been devoid of achievement to date. If anything, the credit due to McAllister, his players and everyone else involved in nine months of excellence – even before the play-offs begin – is vast.

The outcome of their season rests on the next 16 days, but the reputation of Leeds and those employed to protect and enhance the club does not. The facts and figures behind this term speak not only of a team that is good enough to join the Championship but also of a team which deserves to hold that status already.

At the end of their 46th game last weekend, United's vital statistics set 27 victories against nine defeats; 72 goals scored against a mere 38 concessions; they boasted a home record bettered only by Carlisle United – their opponents in the play-off semi-finals – and an away record which was eclipsed by champions Swansea City alone.

They say you can prove anything with statistics, but these figures do not require the power of spin.

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A FEW grumbles have been heard this week regarding the Football League's system of distributing gate receipts from the League One play-off semi-finals.

Leeds United are anticipating a possible repeat of the attendance of 38,000 seen against Gillingham for the first leg of their semi-final with Carlisle United at Elland Road on Monday night, but the club does not have full entitlement to the revenue raised by such a huge crowd.

Half of the money raised by all four play-off fixtures will be distributed evenly among the four semi-finalists, with the other 50 per cent shared by all of the Football League's clubs.

Considering that Leeds have the highest average attendance of all 12 clubs involved in the Football League's play-offs, and that theirs is greater than the combined average of the three other teams in League One's play-offs, United will provide a disproportionate amount of the harvest.

The nationwide hand-out may seem unfair but, as one official at Elland Road admitted, there were fewer complaints last season when Leeds received a share of the play-off funds despite finishing 24th in the Championship.

The case is one of swings and roundabouts.