Leeds United Almost four months have passed since 49ers Enterprises took full control of Leeds United and so far everything is going well, writes DAVID PRUTTON.
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and live on Freeview 276 I remember standing in France talking in this column about the weekend when Andrea Radrizzani was absent from the final match of the season.
There was a lot of conjecture, debate, hostility and venom felt.
We saw a very angry fan base, they were extremely angry about the ownership and also the playing staff because of the way Leeds were dumped out of the Premier League with just a whimper.
Then we entered uncharted territory without knowing what the 49ers would bring and who would be there or who would be in charge.
But the 49ers have come in and I think from what I’ve seen, what I’ve heard, and what has manifested itself on the football pitch, they’ve been a steady hand on the tiller.
It’s all been brought into sharper contrast this week with regards to other owners and other football clubs.
Leeds know all about it.
Putting rivalries aside, when it comes to clubs that are in a little bit of turmoil, I would like to think given the inherent class of Leeds United fans, they’ve been there.
They also have colorful owners during the transitional and middle periods.
Most of all, Leeds needs stability after relegation.
It’s not about going in and spending money in a way that’s unsustainable or aimed at impressing.
But I think there’s a lot of things that are really worth appreciating and that also contributes to the blood relationship between the owner and the people in the hierarchy, between Daniel Farke and the owner, from Daniel comes down to the players.
Leeds entered last night’s clash with Leicester in 3rd place and 14 points behind Leicester.
Obviously, first place is excellent and third place is not first by the strict definition of the numbers ahead.
But I think overall it wouldn’t be an exaggeration to say things are going well under the 49ers in Leeds.
For this season, I think the base score should be top 6.
I hesitate to use the words success and failure and wish there was some way to structure sentences that didn’t sound like failure below sixth grade.
But based on what I’ve seen of the league so far and I’ve seen most of the teams compete, I think Leeds should at least be in the top six at the end of the season and they can finish the game.
.
The gap with the first two parts is huge.
Leicester have clearly started the season on a points train with more points than Burnley at the same stage last year.
And then there’s the unknown number of Ipswich who finished second, and I’ll never tire of singing their praises for where they were, who was in charge, how they conducted themselves and how they played the ball.
They are a fun team to watch and it’s not a contrast.
You’re not just saying that because Ipswich were in League One last season that Leeds must be above them.
It’s about merit, it’s about momentum and it’s here and now.
But given how long it took Leeds to return to the Premier League and reach the glorious heights of their first season and the ups and downs of relegation, I can’t help but wonder if you’re a realist , pragmatic, dreamy or not.
or an idealist, sixth or higher is an absolute must for Leeds.
If we have to play the play-offs, it won’t be a disaster because the Premier League still has 3 more games left.
But a lot will happen between now and the end of the season: injuries, suspensions, strange events, loss of form and fitness.
Leeds might yet haul in both Ipswich and Leicester.
They might fall off a cliff and be terrible.
You never know and there’s still a long way to go.
But getting back into the Premier League is fundamental to the ongoing stability and success of Leeds.
They have to get back into the Premier League.
I don’t think there’s anything really exaggerated about it.
I cover the Championship, I cover leagues one and two and sometimes I also cover the Premier League.
But the Premier League is where a club of Leeds’ caliber is needed and you can’t part with their finances because that’s what makes the league and tournaments as big and attractive as they are.
as its tradition.
I was out at Elland Road doing a bit of filming the other day and Leeds were clearly winning the old First Division for the last time.
There is history and heritage there, but the motto of a club of this size and caliber is that you have to be in the Premier League.
That’s why it is imperative.
Why have Birmingham brought Wayne Rooney in?
Is it to build for five years?
No, they have brought Wayne Rooney in because they think he can get them into the Premier League.
Time will tell whether that was the right decision or not.
But Leeds’ first port of call after relegation is to dust themselves off and how quickly can we return to the Premier League?
There is no unity in the championship because whoever goes up wants to beat all the big guys that have gone down and whoever has been stuck in the championship for a while wants to beat all the big guys that have gone down and adults want to return among adults.
Returning to the Premier League this season is fundamental for Leeds as a football club.
If you ask me how important their first return was, what does history tell us?
Sixteen years.
Over 16 years, all the good players have left and you don’t need to hypothesize the worst case scenario because Leeds have already experienced that worst case scenario.
You made me play for you in League One, for God’s sake.
That’s how it happened.
It goes from glorious evenings and weeknights playing in the Champions League to weeknights playing Papa John’s, Checkatrade or the EFL Trophy.
Here’s what’s happening.
Obviously, you have got to dovetail into that mismanagement from a financial point of view and lack of leadership several rungs up the ladder.
But I am talking about keeping hold of the players, keeping the players hungry enough and realising as well that a lot of players that got them into the Premier League wouldn’t have got there any other way and I mean that with the greatest of respect.
They got there as a collective and it’s changed people’s lives.
It’s changed people’s footballing lives and changed people’s post-playing lives and that’s how big a deal it is to get promoted with Leeds and stay in the Premier League with Leeds.
The 49ers will be under no illusions.
The other aspect is that Leeds has a business or a collective group of people who have run a business and have invested in sport.
I don’t know if there’s a better way to say it, but they haven’t come to cause trouble in the Championship.
They will see the Americans
