My Leeds United: The Premiership misses the Whites

Some five months into the season and we're doing okay, aren't we?
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Injuries aside, we look fitter, composed and structured in most games like never before.

The international break came along very conveniently and we are up where it matters.

So why am I still reluctant to believe?

Marcelo Bielsa. PIC: Simon HulmeMarcelo Bielsa. PIC: Simon Hulme
Marcelo Bielsa. PIC: Simon Hulme
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After a shameful display from the ref against Brentford, it seems the prerequisite for any match official coming to Elland road is to get one over on the Whites!

Chants of “the Football League’s corrupt” and “you’re not fit to referee” were reflective of this shocking, if not incompetent, certainly worst display from an official I’ve seen in 30 years following Leeds.

Having been out of the top flight for 14 years now, it occurred to me that’s a whole generation who have not seen Leeds perform at the top level.

Like the lads who started going in the early ’80s missed the heyday of the Revie era, when the Gaffer made good players great, but did see the revival under Howard Wilkinson, perhaps the time is right for Leeds now.

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I was privileged to see the giants of Europe come to Elland Road on sell-out evenings and have great memories of the Strongbow era. But that’s the past.

Looking up, and seeing the likes of Wolves and Huddersfield levelling out in the Premiership, makes the prospect of promotion even more mouth-watering. Beating tipped teams, sometimes thrashing them when we are at full strength, sends out big indicators of the level of performance expected from our own new “Don”.

With one penalty awarded in the last 58 games, is there any legitimacy that Leeds are the club everybody (else!) seems to hate? Of course we are, but the table speaks for itself.

With Sky Sports TV falling over themselves, showing seven of our eight recent games, it’s a fact Leeds United are very big business, an even bigger attraction for neutrals.

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The Premiership misses Leeds. It seems the team everyone loves to hate might just hold a special place in the heart of those soulless entities that can’t sell out their own grounds.

Apparently, we’re not famous any more!

So will we go up? Have we got the quality and depth of squad? Does Marcelo Bielsa hold the masterplan for success? Will we run out of steam? Will we know by Christmas?

I think this world-renowned coach will be the one to deliver us from Championship mediocrity and, if we play at full capacity, then we can go up.

Taking into consideration the amount of injuries we have had, in a hardly reinforced squad, there is the prospect of a full strength Leeds team hitting the ground running in January.

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We have ever so quietly come round to the possibility of luck being on our side, even if the officials aren’t!

And as for belief? The players seem to believe in themselves and each other.

And we fans, used to disappointment, have every right to believe. This time!

Dave Kelly is a Leeds social worker and a lifelong Leeds United fan.