Twelve years is a long time in football. In some cases it seems an eternity. Nearly 12 years ago Leeds United was flying high – on top of the English Premier League as we ushered in the new millenium.
Leeds was one of the UK’s top clubs, a regular in Europe and possessing a young but talented and dynamic squad. They wouldn’t win the title that season, with Manchester United claiming another premiership, but they had finished third and qualified for the Champions League.
The future was bright and the West Yorkshire outfit looked poised to break the dominance of English football shared by the Red Devils and the Gunners since the formation of the Premier League.
It was hard to know it at the time, but that would be as good as it got for the Whites for the next 12 years.
In a few short years, Leeds imploded in spectacular fashion. In fact, few falls of grace have been so immense and so public in any sport. The club finished fourth in 2000-2001, rallying in the second half of the season, but were knocked out of their Champions League semi-final by Valencia.
That blow would set of a series of catastrophic dominoes that would forever change the fortunes of Leeds United.
Under the direction of chairman Peter Ridsdale, the club had taken out loans banking on future money that would come from Champions League qualification. When that bid for qualification failed, Leeds did not have enough money to repay its loans.
This came at time of ridiculous spending for the club, with the use of private jets, £50,000 spent on goldfish bowls, and unsustainable player salaries like Seth Johnson’s £37,000 weekly wage.
The house of cards that Ridsdale had built came tumbling down, with manager after manager shown the door and player after player exiting the club. A procession of quality went – Rio Ferdinand to Manchester United, Jonathan Woodgate to Newcastle United, Robbie Fowler to Manchester City, Robbie Keane to Tottenham.
In the end there was little left. The Aussie heart of the club meant Leeds had established a strong following down under. At one point that included Harry Kewell, Mark Viduka, Jacob Burns, Paul Okon, Danny Milosevic, Jamie McMaster and Shane Cansdell-Sherriff. They all departed over time.
In the 2001-2002 season Leeds finished fifth, but manager David O’Leary was axed. Terry Venables came in and the club finished 15th in 2002-2003, barely avoiding relegation. By then Peter Reid would be in charge. 2003-2004 would not be so kind – Reid was dismissed, Eddie Gray installed in his place, and the Whites were finally relegated.
Leeds have spent the past eight years trying to get back among England’s footballing elite. They finished 14th in the Championship in 2004-2005 and almost made it back into the Premier League in 2005-2006, reaching the play-off final. Leeds then suffered another blow in 2007, entering administration and dropping down to League One, formerly the old third division. In its history since 1919, Leeds had never played lower than English football’s second tier.
The club almost made it back to the Championship in 2008, reaching the play-off final, but under the management of Simon Grayson and the ownership of Ken Bates, Leeds slowly started to climb north.
In 2010 Leeds famously defeated rivals Manchester United 1-0 in the FA Cup and dramatically secured promotion back to the Championship on the last day of the season. Australian defender Patrick Kisnorbo played a big part – in that season he received both the Players’ Player of the Year and the Fans’ Player of the Year gongs.
The following season the club finished seventh and a path to the Premier League appeared to materialise.
But in 2011 it all went wrong again. Several key players left, none was adequately replaced, and eventually Grayson was sacked in February of this year. Many fans blamed Bates for a lack of investment in the playing squad. Promotion specialist Neil Warnock took Grayson’s place, and currently Leeds sit in 12th place.
Just like the turn of the century was a turning point when the club led the Premier League, so may be December 21, 2012. This was the day GFH Capital took over Leeds United Football, the Dubai-based equity investment firm shelling out £52 million to buy the club. The move was supported by virtually all Whites supporters.
It remains to be seen exactly what the takeover by GFH Capital will bring to West Yorkshire. The company has already stated that it won’t be spending “crazy money”, like Chelsea under Roman Abramovich or Manchester City under the Abu Dhabi United Group, to get Leeds United back to the Premier League.
With Leeds’ history it would be daft to go down that path of super-spending again. But GFH Capital has promised to support Warnock and invest in the club.
All will be revealed in the next few months. For now a ray of positivity has descended upon Elland Road. The club remains a proud one with a great history and a passionate supporter base. Better times beckon and Leeds United fans can finally dream again.
After 12 years of hurt, it is about time.
Follow John on Twitter @johnnyddavidson
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