The Leeds United Cup Train - Derailement Due

Leeds United fans – if nothing else, they are as loyal as they come. They play in the 3rd tier of English football but they still manage to attract 20,000+ fans for most home games. But even the most loyal fan wishes they could turn the clock back 10 years, that’s when times were good for Leeds. Back in the 1999-2000 season, they finished 3rd in the Premier League and qualified for the Champion’s League. The next year, they made the semi-finals of the Champion’s League and finished 4th in the Premier League; however, 4th place in those days wasn’t enough to qualify for the Champion’s League in 2001/2.

To many clubs, that wouldn’t be so much of a problem but if your Chairman had taken out large loans against the club on the basis of those non-existent gate receipts, that is a problem. Unfortunately that’s exactly what Peter Ridsdale, the Leeds Chairman, did. The effect of this crippled Leeds who sold basically their entire first team as well as their stadium over the next couple of years and then club itself was sold. 2004 saw them relegated to the 2nd tier of English football and finally they were declared bankrupt in 2007 under the ownership of Ken Bates which saw them drop to the 3rd tier from which they haven’t managed to escape.





But this season is starting to seem like 2000 but in a different way. They are sitting in 2nd place in League One with a comfortable cushion for one of the two automatic promotion spots, their star striker Jermaine Beckford has hit the net 24 times this season and they also put up a good fight and lost narrowly to old foes Liverpool in the Carling Cup. But, most satisfying of all, they visited their even bigger foes Manchester United and returned him with a stunning 1-0 victory in the FA Cup.

On Wednesday Leeds host Tottenham Hotspur in the FA Cup 3rd Round replay after grinding out a 2-2 away draw just over a week ago. Although they have had a memorable season so far, it may be time the Leeds train reaches a bump in the tracks. After all their excellent form both in the league and in the cups, and despite the fact they’ll probably pull a bigger crowd than Tottenham did in the first game, this is still a team 4th in the Premier League playing a 3rd tier side. Tottenham ML or -0.5 (it’s the same bet) is -113 at Pinnacle.

.