Leeds United's Rise
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Leeds United has a rich history, first founded in 1919. Then Leeds United was named Leeds City. Leeds United won the FA cup in 1972, the League cup in 1968, won the 1st divison 3 times and the 2nd divison 3 times and the UEFA Cup winners in 1968 and 1971. 2001–2004: Financial implosion O'Leary's Leeds never finished outside of the top five, but following their defeat in the UEFA Champions League 2001 semi-final against Valencia their fortunes began to change. Under chairman Peter Ridsdale, Leeds had taken out large loans against the prospect of the share of the TV rights and sponsorship revenues that come with UEFA Champions League qualification and any subsequent progress in the competition. Leeds signed Robbie Fowler and Seth Johnson for large fees and big wages.[citation needed] However, Leeds narrowly failed to qualify for the Champions League losing out to 4th place to Newcastle United, and as a consequence did not receive enough income to repay the loans. The first indication that the club was in financial trouble was the sale of Rio Ferdinand to Manchester United for approximately £30 million. Ridsdale and O'Leary publicly fell out over the sale, and O'Leary was sacked and replaced by former England manager Terry Venables. Leeds performed badly under Venables, and other players were sold to repay the loans, including Jonathan Woodgate, who Ridsdale had promised Venables would not be sold. Other star players such as Lee Bowyer, Nigel Martyn, Robbie Fowler, Robbie Keane and Harry Kewell were also sold over time, with Kewell's departure under rather acrimonious circumstances. Tensions mounted between Ridsdale and Venables. Although some players had left, the team was still underachieving given the quality of players remaining. Venables chose to leave out the likes of Olivier Dacourt and David Batty, who had been two of Leeds' star players in the years prior. After a string of poor results and Leeds in the bottom half of the table, and with relations between chairman and manager still strained, Venables was eventually sacked and replaced by Peter Reid. During this time Ridsdale had resigned from the Leeds board, and was replaced by existing non-executive director Professor John McKenzie. By this time Leeds were in danger of relegation, but Reid saved Leeds from the drop in the penultimate game of the season. Reid was given a permanent contract at Leeds the following summer. Due to player sales, lack of funds, and the failure to land targets Paulo Di Canio, Patrick Berger and Kleberson, he brought in 8 players on loan. This policy was not a success, with players such as Roque Junior failing to live up to their reputations. An unsuccessful start to the 2003–04 season saw Peter Reid dismissed. Leeds were in turmoil with talk of dressing room unrest and poor performances on the pitch. Head coach Eddie Gray took over as caretaker manager until the end of the season. Gerald Krasner, an insolvency specialist, led a consortium of local businessmen which took over Leeds and under his chairmanship oversaw the sale of the clubs' assets, including senior and emerging youth players of any value. Gray was perceived by many to be largely blameless for the performance of the team during the 2003–04 season as the majority of the squad was sold out from underneath him and despite his efforts, Leeds were relegated after 14 years in the top flight. Following relegation, Gray's reign as caretaker manager was ended, and the then assistant manager Kevin Blackwell was appointed manager, his first managerial job in football. A mass exodus ensued as most of the remaining players were sold or released on free transfers to further reduce the high wage bill. Star players such as Mark Viduka, Dominic Matteo, Paul Robinson, Alan Smith and James Milner were all sold for relatively reduced fees. Blackwell was forced to rebuild almost the entire squad through free transfers. Leeds were eventually forced to sell both their training ground, for £4.2 million, and their stadium in the autumn of 2004. 2004–2007: Play-off misery and relegation The board finally sold the club to Ken Bates for £10 million. Blackwell stabilized the team by signing players on free transfers and low wages and Leeds finished the 2004–05 season mid-table in the Championship. At the end of that season Leeds legend Lucas Radebe retired after a series of injuries and promising young player Aaron Lennon joined Tottenham Hotspur. In the 2005–06 season Leeds finished in the top 6 and made the play-off final. Leeds were favourites for the game, but after being in the top 3 for most of the season and pushing Sheffield United for second place, Leeds' form drastically dipped in the last quarter of the season. Following an impressive performance away to Preston in the playoff semi final, many believed Leeds were back in form, but they lost 3–0 to Watford in the final. Striker Rob Hulse was sold in the pre season to Sheffield United and was replaced by loan striker Geoff Horsfield. The 2006–07 season started badly with Leeds conceding many late goals in matches, and in September 2006 Blackwell's contract as manager of Leeds United was terminated. Leeds hired John Carver as caretaker manager but his spell was a disaster with Leeds on the receiving end of some drubbings. Carver was relieved of his duties and Dennis Wise was eventually installed as his replacement after a month without a permanent manager. Matt Kilgallon, one of Leeds' star players, left in January to join Sheffield United. Wise was unable to lift the team out of the relegation zone for much of the season, despite bringing a number of experienced loan players and free transfers on short term deals into the squad. With relegation virtually assured, Leeds entered a Company Voluntary Arrangement (administration) on 4 May 2007, thus incurring a league imposed 10 point deduction which officially relegated the club to the third tier of English football. The relegation was one of lowest points in the club's history, as Leeds United had never played any lower than the second tier of English football. The summer saw many players leave, such as David Healy and Robbie Blake, whilst long serving Leeds player Gary Kelly retired after the relegation. Leeds, as they had after Premiership relegation three years previously, were forced to build a squad almost totally from scratch; with the future of the club uncertain Leeds could not sign any players until a few days before the opening game of the season against Tranmere Rovers. 2010-present: Return to The Championship Leeds are set to begin the 2010-11 season in the Championship after ending a run of spiralling down the divisions.
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Whoops I forgot a small period, sorry! Adding it in now: 2007–2010: Third tier for the first time The CVA was due to end on 3 July 2007, which would have allowed Bates to regain full control of the club. However HM Revenue & Customs challenged the CVA, a decision which could ultimately have resulted in the liquidation of the club. Under league rules, if the club were still in administration at the start of the next season, Leeds would have been prevented from starting their campaign by the Football League. Following the challenge by HMRC, the club was put up for sale by KPMG, and once again Ken Bates' bid was accepted. The league eventually sanctioned this under the "exceptional circumstances rule" but imposed a 15 point deduction due to the club not following football league rules on clubs entering administration. On 31 August 2007 HMRC decided not to pursue their legal challenge any further. Wise and his assistant Gus Poyet guided Leeds to a play-off place at the start of 2008, despite the 15-point deduction, which seemed to galvanise the Leeds players and fans and helped Leeds maintain an unbeaten start in the first quarter of the season. Assistant Manager Gus Poyet left to join Tottenham, and he was replaced by Dave Bassett. Wise controversially quit as manager on 28 January to take up a position in Kevin Keegan's new set-up at Newcastle United. The following day former club captain Gary McAllister was appointed as manager of the club with Steve Staunton brought in as his assistant. In spite of this mid-season managerial change and a spell of poor form before Wise departed, plus the well-publicised 15-point deduction, Leeds went on to secure a play-off place with one game to spare. McAllister's loan signing Dougie Freedman had been instrumental in helping Leeds into the playoffs. They were however beaten 1–0 in the final by Doncaster Rovers in their first appearance at the new Wembley Stadium. Leeds had been favourites for the match but underperformed, with many of their players failing to play to their usual standards. McAllister signed Andy Robinson, Luciano Becchio and Robert Snodgrass during the summer period. Leeds started the next season in fine form, playing attractive passing football and the emergence of Fabian Delph was an indication that the Leeds youth policy was still in rude health. However, the teamd became fragile in defence, leaking several late goals, and form drastically dropped. On 21 December 2008, McAllister was sacked after a run of poor results (5 defeats in a row), including the club's first defeat to non-league opponents, Histon, in the 2nd round of the F.A. Cup. At the time, Histon's goalscorer was working as a postman by day. McAllister was replaced by Simon Grayson, who resigned from his post as manager of Blackpool FC to take the position, two days later. Leeds' form improved under Grayson, who made a few loan signings to help strengthen the defence such as Richard Naylor and Sam Sodje. Leeds made the play-offs once again by finishing 4th; however, this time they did not make the play-off final, after being beaten over the two legs of the semi-finals 2–1 on aggregate by Millwall. In the summer Fabian Delph was transferred to Premier League side Aston Villa in a multi million pound move. Over the summer Grayson decided to strengthen the team by signing Patrick Kisnorbo, Shane Higgs, Jason Crowe, Michael Doyle and Leigh Bromby. Richard Naylor was signed on a permanent deal and was made Leeds United captain on a full time basis, after having the armband whilst on loan previously. The club opened the 2009–10 season with eight consecutive victories, thus recording the best start ever to a season by a Leeds side. Leeds lost 1–0 to Premier League team Liverpool in the League Cup. In the league, Leeds were top at the halfway point in the season with 56 points. On 26 December 2009, manager Simon Grayson celebrated a year in charge of Leeds. In his 46 league games in charge of Leeds, Leeds had accummulated 102 points, and scored 99 goals under his management. In the third round of the FA Cup, Leeds created an upset against old rivals Manchester United at Old Trafford on 3 January 2010, beating them 1-0. It was the first time Leeds had triumphed at the ground since 1981; it was Alex Ferguson's first defeat in the FA Cup third round as Manchester United manager and the first time ever his side had fallen to a lower division side in the competition. Leeds then faced Tottenham Hotspur at White Hart Lane in the 4th round of the FA Cup. Leeds earned a 2–2 draw against Spurs after Jermaine Beckford scored from an injury-time penalty, but lost the replay 3-1 at Elland Road. After the impressive run in the FA Cup, Leeds' league form suffered with the Whites taking just 7 points from the next 24 available and surrendering a 9-point lead at the top of League One to Norwich City. The poor run of form included a 2–1 home defeat to Walsall on 16 February; the match was the first home league game Leeds' had lost for 26 games, which stretched over a year. After a 1–1 home draw with Brentford on 6 March, Leeds were still in 2nd place, but with only a 2 point advantange over third-placed Charlton. On 9 March, Leeds won their first away league match of 2010 with a convincing 4-1 victory over Tranmere Rovers giving them breathing space of five points from third place with 11 games remaining. However on 22nd March, after Leeds' lost 2-0 against Millwall at Elland Road, closing the gap between the two teams to just 3 points. Three further losses left Leeds in 4th place. Leeds also lost regular first team player Patrick Kisnorbo for the rest of the season with a serious achilles injury and Preston defender Neill Collins was brought in on loan to replace him. Leeds finally ended their winless run with a 2-1 win over Yeovil at Huish Park and a 2-0 home win over Southend. Leeds then made it three wins on the bounce with a comfortable 3-1 away win over Carlisle United despite Grayson deciding not to start with top scorer Jermaine Beckford, and instead opting for Max Gradel. The win moved Leeds back into 2nd place and an automatic promotion spot; they were unable to continue the winning momentum in the next fixture as they went down 3-2 away at Gillingham, but still kept 2nd place. On 24th April Leeds responded with a convincing 4-1 home win over MK Dons. In the penultimate league game Leeds lost the chance to be promoted as Millwall lost 2-0 away at Tranmere Rovers while Leeds lost 1-0 away at Charlton Athletic to a late own goal from captain Richard Naylor. A win would have seen Leeds promoted but the defeat still kept them in 2nd place, with their fate resting in their own hands going into the final game on 8 May. Leeds lay one point ahead of both Millwall and Swindon, two points clear of Charlton and three points ahead of local rivals Huddersfield. Leeds' final match of the season at home to Bristol Rovers appeared to be going against them as Max Gradel was sent off and they went a goal down just after half time. Meanwhile Millwall were leading at home to Swindon; but Leeds responded with two goals in four minutes from Jonny Howson and Jermaine Beckford to turn the game around. Leeds held on to win 2-1 confirming promotion to The Championship, and sparking scenes of jubilation as fans ran onto the pitch. Beckford finished the season as Leeds' top scorer with a total of 31 goals in all competitions whilst Patrick Kisnorbo took both Player of the Year and Players' Player of the Year awards.
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so are Leeds in the coca-cola championship or still in league 1 ?
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Coca-Cola Championship and proud of it!!!
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A leeds fan in sg, you're a rare breed. 
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yah lor, S'poreans only support big clubs or winning clubs !!!!!
last time probably no one support Chelsea.
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There are only 65 leeds fans in Singapore. My dad introduced me to Leeds United. I started supporting Leeds United when i was just 5 years old and i watched the greats play. The likes of Harry Kewell, Mark Viduka, Alan Smith, Gary Kelly, Nigel Martyn, Paul Robinson, Ian Harte, Robbie Keane and my personal favourite David Batty. Leeds United is like any other Priemer League Club, we rubbed shoulders with the greats. We played the giants of Europe. Leeds United should be remembered as a club which gave much to football. We have produced young talents like Fabian Delph(Aston Villa), Matthew kilgallon(Sunderland), Aaron Lennon(Tottenham Hotspur), Paul Robinson(Blackburn Rovers) and Alan Smith(Newcastle United).
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Last Time in Leeds
i onli like Harry Kewell -
Long old forsaken club, only knew them through soccer games...
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history lesson ar ?
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I am wondering why no other sheiks or yankees are interested in buying Leeds?
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Elland road
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Their fanbase dropped when they got to division one. No rich fans in leeds i guess.
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Originally posted by Rooney9:
I am wondering why no other sheiks or yankees are interested in buying Leeds?
Who would want to buy a club playing in League 1 and in deep debts? But if they can return to the Premier league... Different story. Cos as a premier league club, you are guaranteed a sum of between $30 to $40 million from tv money alone. And your gate collection also increased when you can charge more and also more fans will come to watch the better quality opponents...Sheikhs and Yankees also not gong mah...
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i remember leeds united. a strong force around europe in the past.
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Leeds United did not have millions of dollars to spend, when we beat Manchester United 1-0 at Old Trafford. And Leeds United are no more in debt, we have successful cleared our debts and are able to buy players. We do not need sheiks and Yankees to win titles or trophies. How did u think Manchester United and Liverpool did it before the Yanks arrived? Did Nottingham Forest have sheikhs or Yanks to help them win the European Cup twice in 1979 and 1980, and the UEFA Super Cup in 1979. It was the managers of these clubs, it was Brian Clough of Nottingham Forest and Alex Ferguson of Manchester United.
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Originally posted by Tigerkid19:
There are only 65 leeds fans in Singapore. My dad introduced me to Leeds United. I started supporting Leeds United when i was just 5 years old and i watched the greats play. The likes of Harry Kewell, Mark Viduka, Alan Smith, Gary Kelly, Nigel Martyn, Paul Robinson, Ian Harte, Robbie Keane and my personal favourite David Batty. Leeds United is like any other Priemer League Club, we rubbed shoulders with the greats. We played the giants of Europe. Leeds United should be remembered as a club which gave much to football. We have produced young talents like Fabian Delph(Aston Villa), Matthew kilgallon(Sunderland), Aaron Lennon(Tottenham Hotspur), Paul Robinson(Blackburn Rovers) and Alan Smith(Newcastle United).
Where did the number 65 come from? People who officially registered themselves at the LUFC fan club in Singapore? If you include the other fans who did not register, the number would be greater. It would be 66 at least, as I'm a Leeds fan too.
Since the thread is started by a fellow Leeds fan, I shall share about how i started supporting the club. It started in 1992 when Leeds played the role of an underdog and challenged Man united in the title race. That season was the final season whereby the top flight division in England is called "Division One", after which it was renamed as Premier League till today. Eventually, the persistence of Howard Wilkinson and his players paid off as they won the league against all odds, assisted by a certain loan signing called Eric Cantona. A pity they didn't manage to sign him permanently and he soon headed to Old trafford to create a legacy there and Leeds plunged into mid table mediocrity for a decade or so after losing other key players like Gary Speed and MacAllister right after the title winning season.
10 yrs down the road, a rookie manager called David O'Leary came in and showed the whole world that he isn't afraid to use young players in big matches, during a time where all big teams bought star players to challenge for trophies. The average age of his first team during the early 2000s is around 23, with the likes of Batty (29) and Martyn (35) being the oldies in the team. They played attacking football, beat most of their opponents, and were starting to finish 5th and 4th regularly. Bigger teams like man united and arsenal started to take notice and treat their matches against Leeds as a big fixture.
The club's fortune changed during the season where they finished 3rd, one place ahead of liverpool. During those days, only the top 3 teams in England qualify for the UEFA champions league, hence it was history in the making as they made it to the top tier of European football competition for the first time in more than a decade. During that season, they also had a magical run in the UEFA cup, which ended tragically in Istanbul in the semi-finals against Galatasarray, when one fan was stabbed to death by turkish fans. It affected the young players psychologically and they went on a 6-7 game losing streak, but recovered in time to clinch the golden ticket to CL football in the following season.
The following season started badly with half the first team out with injuries. As a pessimistic fan, i remember hoping for the team to actually lose in the qualification playoff match they had to qualify for the group stage of the champions league, so that they can avoid the embarassment of getting trashed by the big boys. It turned out that they made it to the group stage - with Barcelona, Milan, and Besiktas in their group. I thought that my worst nightmare had came true after they lost 4-0 to Barca in the opening game at Nou Camp. In the second game, they have to face Milan, a european giant, at Elland Road. They managed to clinch a miraculously 1-0 victory with a stoppage time goal from Lee Bowyer. That game proved to be the turning point of the season as they went on to qualify for the next round - Another group stage against more european giants: Real madrid, Lazio and one more which i can't remember, I think it's anderlecht. What can i say, they qualified for the knockout stages with 2 games to spare, and at one point were challenging the mighty Real for top spot in the group. The magical run went on when they beat Deportivo in the last 8, but were dumped out in the semis by another spanish opposition Valencia. Great story for a modest team. During that season, the chairman has gambled by spending on borrowed money, and it came back to haunt the club as they missed out on CL qualification for the next season, and the rest is history as posted by Tigerkid19.
As a leeds fans, although O'leary did not win a single trophy during his reign at the club, I thought he has formed a legacy during that period, and with his departure as well as the sale of key players (Kewell, Smith, Viduka, Robinson, Keane, Woodgate, Ferdinand, etc) to raise funds, it was the end of an era.
I will continue to support them no matter which league they play in, and they will forever live in my heart.
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i love leeds...the jersey was one of my first jerseys i bought...i still track their progress when they were in lower divisions..my favourite players were from Leeds... Cantona, Rio, Tony Yeboah, Alan Smith, David Batty, Gary Kelly, Vinnie Jones, Ian Harte, Gary Mac and Lee Sharpe
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speaking of their jersey, i've always thought they have a nice one.
This is one of my fav. I mean the shirt.
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Cristiano@Red_Devils.com i am kinda suprised that you are a leeds fans. Ur username shows u are Manchester United Fan, sorry I did not include you in. So you officially number 66. Leeds United fans don't usually show their support out in the open. We are a humble club. Since, you are a leeds fan I was wondering whether there is any meeting place in Singapore where leeds united fans meet? Please do reply to my post asap. Thanks. And also thanks to those who like leeds united jersey.
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Originally posted by Tigerkid19:
Cristiano@Red_Devils.com i am kinda suprised that you are a leeds fans. Ur username shows u are Manchester United Fan, sorry I did not include you in. So you officially number 66. Leeds United fans don’t usually show their support out in the open. We are a humble club. Since, you are a leeds fan I was wondering whether there is any meeting place in Singapore where leeds united fans meet? Please do reply to my post asap. Thanks.
And also thanks to those who like leeds united jersey.
I'm sorry, i do not know of any LUFC fan club in sg, i merely assumed that your figure of 65 fans in sg came from there.Btw I've got that Strongbow shirt shown in poignant's post too. Been wearing it even till today.
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give them another few more season they will be back to the top flight
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My dad went to a pub in 2003, where he watched a live match with 60 plus fans. He has forgotten the pub and so i am desperately trying to find it. We will be back in the BPL next season. And I am crossing my fingers that neither the Yanks or Sheikhs buy our club, I am hoping it would be English businessmen taking over the club. I am trying to get Leeds United shirt, cause I outgrew my last one. So if anybody can tell me where to get it, i would really appreciate it. If not i would have to ship one straight from Leeds.
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They are exciting to watch in their hey days with kengsters around.
The EPL need some teams to spice up the disparity.
Hope they can be back soon.
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Thanks man. But all the club needs to do now is to buy players and we will soon be again playing with the big boys!!!