Search
On FM Scout you can chat about Football Manager in real time since 2011. Here are 10 reasons to join!

Leeds United: Waking Up English Football's Original Sleeping Giant

Started on 4 January 2018 by joshleedsfan
Latest Reply on 9 January 2018 by joshleedsfan
 
In decades gone by, there have been clubs that have fallen from the top divisions and fallen away through the lower leagues. Ferencvaros of Hungary reached the final of the 1968 Inter-Cities Fairs Cup (predecessor to the UEFA Cup/Europa League), as well as the European Cup Winners' Cup in 1975, before their presence in Europe gradually dimished and they haven't qualified for the final stages of any European competition since 2004.

A more famous and a more recent example is that of Parma, who once challenged the best in Serie A in the late 90s, before liquidating in 2015 and starting as a phoenix club in Serie D. Closer to home, Luton Town couldn't stay in the top flight long enough to see the birth of the Premier League, and gradually slid towards the conference by 2009.

One of the first major examples of a fallen giant was Nottingham Forest, who won the European Cup (now the Champions League) twice in a row- Liverpool are the only other English club to have done so- in 1979 and 1980. They found themselves bouncing between the Premier League and the Championship in the 90s before going down in 1999, they haven't been seen in the top flight since and spent a three-year period in League One.

But a serious contender for the most spectacularly catastrophic downfall has been the case of Leeds United. With a proud history already behind them- consistently challenging for silverware in the '60s and '70s and won the last First Division title before the Premier League in 1992- they made it to the semi-final of the UEFA Cup in 2000, followed by that of the Champions League in 2001. Three years later, they were a club relegated to the Championship with virtually no players left. Skip forward another three years and they were rooted to the bottom of League One with -15 points, for breaches of insolvency rules. Following the Leeds' example, it's not been uncommon for similar falls from grace- in football- to be known as 'doing a Leeds'.

Although they returned to the Championship in 2010, their recovery- if you can still call it that- has stagnated somewhat. They finished 7th in their first season back, three points off the playoffs. However, poor ownership reared its ugly head once again and affected results on the pitch. Between 2011 and 2016, the club had seen three different owners, a delay in paying the players' wages and two owners driven out by fan protests.

The club's fortunes changed in the 2016/17 season. Although this initially appeared to be the result of Massimo Cellino- the club's eccentric owner at the time, called "a man with marked criminal tendencies" by a judge in 2014- taking a back seat, it became apparent that there was a new face at corporate level.

Andrea Radrizzani, a successful media tycoon, had made an expression of interest to Cellino over the summer of 2016 with regards to investment in the club. The club's fortunes on the pitch improved drastically and Radrizzani bought a 50% stake in the club in January 2017. He completed a full takeover in the summer- after Leeds had failed to make the playoffs at the last hurdle- the day before he and everyone connected with Leeds United received a nasty shock...
GARRY MONK QUITS LEEDS


Leeds United have been rocked by news that Garry Monk has resigned as the club's Head Coach.

Signed last summer, Monk guided Leeds towards their highest league finish for six years, as they finished 7th place- they could've made the playoffs but for a drastic drop in form after the Easter international break.

His resignation leaves Leeds United searching for a new manager for the fourth summer in a row, and he becomes the club's seventh managerial departure since 2014.

Speculation is rife as to who will take the hot seat at Elland Road, with former Middlesbrough manager Aitor Karanka being named as the favourite to take charge. Other candidates include Scotland manager Gordon Strachan, ex-Hull boss Marco Silva and ex-Aston Villa and Everton midfielder Josh Townend.
LEEDS APPOINT TOWNEND


Leeds United can confirm that Josh Townend has been hired as the club's new Head Coach. Townend signs on an initial one-year deal.

This will be Josh Townend's first time in management having previously occupied coaching roles at Swindon Town, Nottingham Forest, Queens Park Rangers and Southampton.

Townend enjoyed a successful playing career, racking up 30 caps for England. He was first signed to a professional contract in 1992 at the age of 17, by Everton. He then went on to play for Aston Villa (1996-99), Tottenham Hotspur (1999-01), West Brom (2001-04), Reading (2004-06) and Crewe Alexandra (2006-07).

Townend was born in Leeds in 1975, and although he began his career at Everton and never had the opportunity to play for us, he has been an avid fan of the club since he was younger.

Speaking to LUTV, Townend said "I always wanted to have the chance to come here (to play for the club) as a player, but unfortunately that opportunity never arose. I just got on with my career with the mindset of 'it is what it is, whatever will be will be', so naturally I was on cloud nine when I was offered the job"

"This club has an unbelievable set of fans and they finally seem to be getting the club to match it again. There'll be a lot of hard work ahead, but I'm dying to get stuck in and do this club and the fans proud"

PRE SEASON


TRANSFERS


In:




*The following are new signings that were made in real life, therefore were already the club













Out:

Chris Wood Burnley £15m
Liam Bridcutt Nottm Forest £1m
Rob Green Huddersfield Free
Charlie Taylor Burnley Free
Giuseppe Bellusci Palermo Free
Souleymane Doukara Osmalispor Free
Jordan Botak Sint-Truiden Free

FRIENDLIES


Leeds United 2-1 FC Groningen

Jay-Roy Grot 56
Etienne Reijnen 70
Marcin Wasilewski 80

Walsall 1-3 Leeds United

Florent Cuvelier 14
Jay-Roy Grot 65, 79, 88

Leeds United 1-1 KV Oostende

Ezgjan Aloski 21
Ibrahima Bah 82

Argon 0-4 Leeds United

Stuart Dallas 20
Pierre-Michel Lasogga 65, 73, 77

Leeds United 0-3 FC Twente

Tom Boere 28
Nikola Gjorgjev 76
Oussama Assaidi 90+1

Dordrecht 1-3 Leeds United

Shaquille Pinas 24
Jafar Arias 37
Jay-Roy Grot 69
Stuart Dallas 71
Antonio Stankov 78

Excelsior 1-1 Leeds United

Mike van Duinen 74
Kemar Roofe 82

SUMMARY


Overall, it's been a positive pre-season. Victor Orta has been put in charge of signings (confirming transfers is still my power) and he's plugged all the holes I believe to have had with some decent players. Marcin Wasilewski in particular is a strong addition and someone who believe can be a great leader for us. As for the friendlies, we should have done much better against FC Twente, which was an afternoon of wasted chances. Other than that and a few draws where I felt we could have won, I've been happy with what I've seen. Roll on Bolton...

LEEDS SIGN ZYRO



Leeds United have completed the signing of Wolves winger Michal Zyro on a two-year deal.

The Polish international arrives at Elland Road for a fee of £1.2m, and is Josh Townend's fourth signing on top of the new arrivals signed ahead of his appointment.

Zyro arrived at Wolves from Legia Warsaw midway through the 2015/16 season and made 7 appearances, scoring 3 goals. Following the takeover last summer and the influx of new arrivals at Molineux last season, the 24-year-old couldn't get a look in, and it was decided it would be best for all parties if he moved on

MIchal Zyro is the third Polish international to arrive at Elland Road, hot on the heels of central midfielder Mateusz Klich and centre-back Marcin Wasilewski, and Zyro has stated he is excited to be a part of the team for the 2017/18 season:

"It's always been a dream for me to play in England. I had a good start at Wolves, but with all the transfers last summer, I couldn't get any game time which was frustrating. I knew I had to leave, and I couldn't have asked for a better club to move to.

Leeds United is a big club with a lot of potential in this league. We saw it last season when they nearly made the playoffs and I hope I can be part of the team that goes a step further.

I'm looking forward to be playing with Mateusz (Klich) and Marcin (Wasilewski). I know them from the Poland national team and they are good players. There are also many other good players here that I can't wait to play with"
joshleedsfan's avatar Group joshleedsfan
7 yearsEdited

AUGUST 2017



RESULTS


Bolton Wanderers 2-1 Leeds United

Pierre-Michel Lasogga 27
Adam Armstrong pen 90+1
Jem Karacan 90+4



Leeds United p2-2 Coventry City Carabao Cup 1st Round

Jay-Roy Grot 60
Michael Doyle 79
Ezgjan Alioski 105+1
Stuart Beavon 116



Leeds United 0-1 Preston North End

John Welsh 1



Leeds United 2-2 Fulham

Neeskens Kebano 4
Ronaldo Vieira 10
Samu Saiz pen 55
Jordan Graham 90+4



Sunderland 0-3 Leeds United

Kemar Roofe 4
Ezgjan Alioski 14
Samu Saiz 52



Leeds United 3-0 Doncaster Rovers Carabao Cup 2nd Round

Kemar Roofe 15, 36
Ezgjan Alioski 67



Nottingham Forest 1-3 Leeds United

Zac Clough 28
Ezgjan Alioski 42
Samu Saiz 59
Kalvin Phillips 69



LEAGUE TABLE




*For the enlarged image, click the image (this will take you to FMShots)

The board expect a top half finish, and we've recovered well from a rough start to give ourselves a solid foundation to build on. The bar has been set a couple of times and over time, it'll become more apparent which teams we should be beating. We have a fixture against overachieving Burton and a win will put us on 10 points from 6 games, an acceptable return for most teams in what is the most unpredictable league in the world.

PLAYER OF THE MONTH




With most of his team mates blowing hot and cold throughout the month, Gianni Alioski has been one of the few players consistently playing out of his skin. He's been integral to the recent turnaround in results and deserves a lot of credit for carrying the team- helped by Saiz and Roofe at times- with his unpredictable attacking flair.

LEEDS IN DEADLINE DAY LOAN SWITCH



Leeds United have announced two loan signings and one loan termination on deadline day.

Cameron Borthwick-Jackson has returned to Manchester United, citing a lack of game time as his reason for returning to Old Trafford. Reece James has been Leeds' first choice left-back for the first few games, and Borthwick-Jackson clearly didn't believe he stood a chance of getting sufficient game time to aid his development this season.

Meanwhile, Leeds have signed Newcastle United's Massadio Haidara and AC Milan's Davide Calabria on loan.

Haidara has arrived to give Reece James competition at left-back- with Borthwick-Jackson having returned to Manchester United- and it is hoped that the left-back role will be a strong position in the Leeds United lineup this year.

Calabria's arrival at right-back will pose a challenge for Luke Ayling, who Josh Townend clearly seems to have judged to have been slack in the absence of Gaetano Berardi, who has been unavailable due to injury.
Hey joshleedsfan I Need Your Help I Was Going To Do National Pride Remake I Cant Find Codes And Posts To Put This Story Can You Help Me
2018-01-09 14:03#248092 LugoManager : Hey joshleedsfan I Need Your Help I Was Going To Do National Pride Remake I Cant Find Codes And Posts To Put This Story Can You Help Me

https://www.fmscout.com/a-bbcode-tags-and-reusable-icons.html

You are reading "Leeds United: Waking Up English Football's Original Sleeping Giant".

FMS Chat

Stam
hey, just wanted to let you know that we have a fb style chat for our members. login or sign up to start chatting.