As the curtain closes

Irritable? Wife/partner/kids getting on your nerves more than usual? You've got the missing the playoffs blues! Believe me it hurts.

The season might have been better and a improvement on the usual fare the long suffering fans have to deal with, but after the last international break only five points have been added to our points total and that's the reason why Huddersfield, Reading, Sheffield Wednesday and Fulham will playoff for a chance to be one hundred million pounds plus richer and Leeds will still be in the Championship in 2017/18.

It's not sour grapes, it's a fact and now do we actually care about what happens in them? A Bradford City fan I know through work was more pleased Leeds missed out on the top six than his team getting into their division's playoff positions, it's that mentality that leaves me bemused and a little perplexed.

There will be many who share my view, others may not, but surely having a near neighbour in the Premiership is good for football in West or South Yorkshire. It also gives us something to aim for next season, if one of them are successful.

The football season ends next Sunday for me with the game at Wigan Athletic and even though there will be good games to watch on the TV, the very fact that it won't be Leeds in them will make me reach for the remote and probably watch something else. I'm away for the final, so I'll miss that too.

One thing that needs to be done is tie down Garry Monk to a good contract and give him a few quid to spend, without him there next season would feel like another new beginning and we've had far too many of those recently. Change for change sake has put Birmingham City on the brink of relegation so that idea of sacking a manager when in seventh place wasn't the best the owners had.

Losing a manager of Monks capabilities will not only be a halt in our step but a leap backward in what could be classed as a rebirth of football in Leeds. We haven't seen a side play with such pride and passion for some time and it's about time we reward that from which is came, Mr Monk himself.

Leeds won 22 games under Monk, our best ever in a single campaign, even Howard Wilkinson didn't do that.

Only a fool would not try and keep that going and Mr Radrizzani hardly looks a fool, just pray he's listening and looking how the fans feel about the situation. We missed by what could be a matter of goal difference or three points if Fulham beat Sheffield.

Next year as Del Boy would put it "We're going to be millionaires" with the right recruitment he might be saying that about Leeds United FC.

As we look back to 25 years since one of the best periods to support Leeds we value the small decisions that Sgt Wilko and co. made. There's no reason that with the right backing we could be looking back in 25 years and thinking the same.

We will match on, but only with the right man leading the charge.

MOT

By Keith Ingham