En god artikkel skrevet av legendariske Johnny Giles hvor han også gir sitt syn på Bates.
Beklager hvis den er for positiv......
Leeds' long climb back looks to be underway
By John Giles
Friday May 15 2009
IT will seem odd to many Leeds United fans that I saw plenty to be optimistic about despite the fact that they were edged out by Millwall for a place in the League One play-off final.
First and foremost, 37,000 people turned up at Elland Road and none of them left before the end, choosing to support their team even when they knew that another season in the third tier was a certainty.
This is the basis for everything the club needs to do to get back to where it belongs and it seems clear to me that the support base is still loyal and strong despite all that has happened in recent years.
Secondly, Simon Grayson hasn't had much time to do his work but he produced a decent run of results from a young team and lifted Leeds into the play-off zone. I rate him and I think he will get it right once he gets the backing.
FANTASTIC
Without much experience of League One football, it's hard to say what Leeds need to do to take a couple of steps further than they have done in the last two seasons but the simple fact that such a big crowd turned up is a fantastic base to start with.
I know there are many Leeds fans who are still appalled by the way the club fell so far and so fast and baffled that they find themselves in League One.
But like all big clubs seeing hard times, the support can be switched on again without too much effort.
Some clubs rise through the divisions and build a fan base as they go but when they drop in the other direction, it can be very difficult to hold on to big numbers and almost impossible to win them back when they leak away.
But Leeds will always have the capacity to attract a full house to Elland Road and that's a comforting thought for the chairman Ken Bates.
I know many were suspicious of him when he arrived and even more so when he took the club into bankruptcy but it must be said, Leeds United FC is in far better shape now than it was just a few years ago.
Bates has brought some discipline with him and started the climb away from the boom/bust cycle that brought the club to the brink of the Champions League final and then into financial meltdown.
Supporters were slow to give any loyalty to Bates and when Gary McAllister, a big favourite at Elland Road, had to admit defeat, their worst fears seemed to be confirmed.
But the move for Grayson was an intelligent one and a sign that the club is thinking straight and with the future in mind.
The momentous collapse that Leeds endured and are still enduring is an object lesson for a couple of big clubs in the Premier League at the moment. Newcastle United and Middlesbrough should take a close look at Leeds' disappointment last night and mark their plight well.
Plunge
As Charlton proved this season, there's a fine line between unexpected success and a plunge through the divisions. Not so long ago, Alan Curbishley ran that club like a well-oiled machine until his chairman came out and suggested that the fans were sick of finishing in 12th place every season.
Curbishley got the message and stepped aside while the chairman laid his plans for world domination.
Right now, Charlton fans look back wistfully at the Curbishley days and wonder how they ended up in League One in such a short space of time.
Next season, they won't even be the biggest club in League One because they'll be battling with Leeds and another surprise visitor to the lower divisions -- Southampton.
Norwich too were a Premier League team not so long ago and all that adds up to the certainty that no club will find it easy to get out of League One next term and a warning for anyone smart enough to heed it.
That said, I believe Leeds can and will. Grayson has the basis of a decent team and they try to play in the right way. With a touch more fortune they could have beaten Millwall last night and made the play-off.
Had that happened, a lot of League One chairmen would have been severely put out. The cash Leeds generate plays a big part in the financial life of the division and they would be missed.
My belief is that the game could do with a resurgent Leeds United, one of the few clubs outside the Big Four that have the support and tradition needed to challenge the status quo at the top of the Premier League.
I know that may seem like a foolish notion given Leeds' current circumstances but the Premier League needs more competition at the top and it's clear that clubs like Everton, Aston Villa and Spurs cannot bridge the gap.
Leeds are one of the few clubs that have the capacity to do so and it looks to me like they've taken some positive steps in the right direction.
- John Giles
Vis innlegg
