Where do Leeds stand now? And where are they going?

By Joe Dobbs

After another disappointing loss to a team that has the worst home form in the division, you have to think, where does our beloved club stand now? Well we're 16th in the league with the 4th joint worse goal difference. We have a caretaker manager who doesn't seem to want to be there. Once again there is a cloud of false identity and secrecy on who owns the club and what their objectives are. The players are in mixed form and for the first time since our return to the championship, Leeds fans alike are now nervously looking over our shoulders hoping to stay away from the likes of Tranmere, Brentford and Carlisle. It's fair to say the only thing reaching the expected standard as is the ever present support of the fans who have been giving 100% to the club as always. 

So that's where we stand as a club now. But where are we going in the future? I'm an optimist, always have been and always shall be. If you look at our team now it really isn't that far off a play off spot. Compare our team with Brighton... Completely different ends of the table not because they have better players, but because they have an ambitious manager with the clubs board fully backing him and now sitting comfortably in 6th place, they never need to look back. Go through our players... The likes of Austin, Ross MC and Byram could easily outplay their Brighton counter-parts. Now I'm not going to go on a Warnock based rant criticising his tactics which endangered Leeds/Bradford flight paths over ER. But what I am going to say is that Leeds are really not that far away from tasting the green grass of the Premier League. It all comes down to the tough decision the Board will have to make over the next manager we appoint.

I'm looking through the current pool of managers available and they all look sensible (with the exception of Hughes) but they aren't what we need. You might think I'm mad, but the thought of O'leary back at Elland Road excites me. It would bring a great atmosphere back to the club, a manager who has never managed outside the top flight and brought us to the semi-final of the Champions League... I believe O'leary might just be the man to do the job. With the boards backing and supporting and advising on who he signs, no Championship team will walk past us again, we'll own the championship and every team in it. Be proud of the new Leeds team that comes out of that tunnel, a new squad consisting of the
new youth and the rejuvenated old. We won't make the same mistakes that we have in the past couple of years selling our best prospects  We'll keep your Byram's, Dawsons, and Poleons. We'll be brimming with talented youth that'll quickly bring back the glory days. With the likes of Austin, Ross Mc and Diouf to keep the experience and player's heads, we'll be in the right mindset to storm this division. This time next year we'll have 38,000 at Elland Road singing M.O.T louder than we have ever done before. We're Leeds united and we're going up.

---