I dislike seeing once great teams going nowhere and this includes Leeds United.

The list of Director’s and managerial names are endless (Eddie Gray, Peter Reid, Terry Venables, David O’Leary, George Graham, Norman Hunter, Billy Bremner, Cloughie and not to mention Don Revie) read like a who’s who of British football. Revie was the most successful manager in their history with two league championships, two Inter-Cities Fairs Cups, one Division Two Championship, one FA Cup, one League Cup and a Charity Shield. 740 games all told under Revie from 1961 to 1974 when England came calling and his successor, Brian Clough, never stood a chance of emulating that feat. Much like following Ferguson at Manchester United – a thankless task.

In the early ’70s it was all Leeds. They were brutish, would kick you hard and didn’t worry about making friends, but on their day they were sublime, elegant, a side brimming with international talent and above all… successful. I recall the day they beat Southampton at Elland Road. It wasn’t just a win, but a display of such artistry that Southampton couldn’t compare and the final score of 7-0 was about as deserved as you can get. Magical.

Then came the early ’90s and another superb Leeds team swept all before them as they became the last winners of the old Division One title in ’91-’92, their third and last major title. This was under Howard Wilkinson, but after such a triumph, the tables turned and life became sour for Wilkinson. George Graham took over, but after a short period with the club, Graham left and in came David O’Leary with Eddie Gray. Leeds went on to enjoy top five finishes in the Premier League under O’Leary and semi-final appearances in European competition, but you somehow knew it couldn’t last.

So where did it all go wrong after being so right? Well, in a nutshell…

I guess it had to implode somewhere down the line and after the heyday under Peter Ridsdale and the money that was spent, it went spectacularly wrong. Large loans were taken against expected revenue that didn’t materialise. Players were sold off against the wishes of the managers that were then sacked until another came in through the revolving door and received the same treatment. Ridsdale resigned from the Leeds board and in came Gerald Krasner leading a consortium of local businessmen. Being an insolvency specialist, Krasner oversaw the the sale of the club’s assets and this included players of all levels. Relegation in 2003/04 duly followed.

Further players were sold to reduce the wage bill following the drop and in the end in 2004, Leeds sold their training ground and the stadium. Ex-Chelsea Chairman, Ken Bates, then bought the club for £10m and whilst more managers came and went without success, in came the administrators in 2007, as the club were relegated once more. To make matters worse, Leeds had been hit with an automatic 10 point deduction, which virtually guaranteed the fall into the third tier for the first time.

In the 2009/10 season, Leeds finally won promotion to the Championship, but not after a few more scares. At one point in 2007, HMRC challenged the CVA as under league rules, if the club were still in administration at the start of the next season, then they would prevent the club from starting their games. This was challenged and KPMG put the club up for sale and once again Ken Bates entered the fray. HMRC withdrew their legal challenge and Leeds had a 15 point deduction this time.

Once back in the Championship, Leeds did admirably, narrowly missing out on the play-offs. However, things are never quiet when Ken Bates is the chairman, as he announced that he now owned Leeds United. With a lack of investment in the team, the fans protested and the chairman and fans fell out, as more managers came and went. In 2012, the Middle East-based private equity group, GFH Capital, completed a takeover. in 2014, another take over by a consortium collapsed due to a lack of financial backing, whilst on the pitch, nothing much happened. A state of lethargy had hit the club.

In came Massimo Cellino, President of the Serie A club Cagliari. Within a day, the manager at the time, Brian McDermott, was sacked and then reinstated, as Cellino wasn’t in a position to sack him. Acquiring 75% of the ownership was also not an easy process as the Football League had yet to approve Cellino.

In April 2014, Cellino finally got his way and appointed a surprise choice as manager in Dave Hockaday, who lasted roughly 70 days. Milanic came in and lasted about a month and that sums up Leeds since David O’Leary really.There are further tensions between Cellino and fans and he is somewhat more disliked than he is liked.

Once again, it is the fans that suffer and despite the board saying that they want the best for the club, they never seem to know what is best and so the club lurch nowhere in particular, selling off prized assets that mean that for the foreseeable future, Leeds United will do well to stay mid-table in The Championship.

Such a shame.

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