LUFC fan column: A certain Schadenfreude over play-off result for Leeds United's rivals

Regular LUFC columnist Rob Atkinson casts his eye over an eventful play-off weekend at Wembley.
Derby chief Frank Lampard. Pic: Howard Roe.Derby chief Frank Lampard. Pic: Howard Roe.
Derby chief Frank Lampard. Pic: Howard Roe.

I’d been dreading watching the EFL play-off finals over the bank holiday weekend, given that my beloved Leeds United had snatched defeat from the jaws of victory against a Derby County team we’d beaten comfortably three times this campaign.

I usually enjoy the play-offs. They offer a sort of tense, late season Wembley fiesta.

Former LUFC man Lee Bowyer was celebrating success with Charlton.Former LUFC man Lee Bowyer was celebrating success with Charlton.
Former LUFC man Lee Bowyer was celebrating success with Charlton.
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But I was in no mood to see Frank Lampard celebrating as he’d already done, prematurely as it turned out, at Elland Road following that bizarre United capitulation.

In the event though, I really enjoyed my long weekend of sudden death soccer - mainly due to the demise of various old enemies.

A last-minute winner for Lee Bowyer’s Charlton on the Sunday had condemned Sunderland to at least one more season in League One, and ensured that the first two play-off finals, at least, had panned out as per my personal requirements.

It had been good also to see Newport depart on the return journey to Wales empty-handed. Quite apart from having had a soft spot for Tranmere since their FA Cup exploits under John Aldridge, I’ve not yet forgiven Newport for our FA Cup humiliation a year or so back. Call me bitter and twisted, but that’s just the way it is.

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How much more riddled with spite am I then with regard to Sunderland, who have been living off their FA Cup success against Leeds ever since 1973?

Much more, that’s how much.

The fact that one of my heroes of the past few decades, Lee Bowyer, was a direct beneficiary of the Mackems’ inadequacy simply made a sweet occasion all the sweeter.

I’ve been anything but an admirer of Sunderland for all the time I’ve been a Leeds fan, and I’ve celebrated joyfully every time we’ve beaten the Wearsiders, as we usually do. Comically, they’ve kept going back to Wembley in the years since that fateful Cup final, and they just keep failing.

After the first two play-off games, all I then needed was for Aston Villa to beat Derby on the Monday – with a few Lampard tears thrown in as payback for his classless attitude towards Leeds all season.

And so, entertainingly, it came to pass.

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Lampard and his players had celebrated at Elland Road as though promotion was already in the bag, apparently heedless of the fact that they might be setting themselves up for an almighty fall.

Don’t get me wrong, I’m not a fan of Villa either. But they deserved their success this time around, having paid the deposit for their jubilation with last year’s pain.

And, really, this is what sets football apart from most other sports. The compensatory option of still deriving enjoyment from the failure of your foes, even when your own hopes have come crashing down.

As I’ve mentioned before, the Germans have a word for this delight in the failure and woe of others – Schadenfreude. It’s a very real thing, and I’m currently delighting in being able to rub the nose of my Derby-supporting pal in his team’s failure.

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Now, all I need to feel really quite okay about this season is for Liverpool to inflict defeat on Tottenham to lift the Champions League.

Grant me just that wish and I’ll look forward to next season in a spirit of satisfaction and optimism.