Back of the Net!

Soccer news, views and fun stuff

&
 

Dec 21 2008

Fallen Giants

“The club would like to place on record its thanks for the loyal service given to Leeds United by Gary since joining the club as manager in January 2008, and wish him every success in the future.”

Just 7 years ago Leeds United were in the top five of the English Premier League and contested a Champions League semi-final - they looked to be on the cusp of greatness.  Yet irresponsible financial management (loans taken against TV revenue, insane transfer fees for overrated players, etc) saw them fall spectacularly from grace and now they languish in League One - the 3rd Division of old.

Gary McAllister was a star of the Leeds squad that won the last (Tier One) First Division title in the 1991-1992 season, and knows the club inside out.  If anyone was going to take a hand in regaining the clubs former fortunes, it was him.

Yet a run of five defeats has seen Ken Bates remove McAllister from the club as Leeds strive to build on last seasons surprise play-off campaign.  They missed out on success last time, but there was a feeling around Elland Road that they would be in for a chance this season.

Whether or not the change makes the intended difference and a new man in charge can get the Leeds team to pull their socks up and start winning again, Leeds United should be a shining beacon to all overspending Premiership teams that you just do not know what is around the corner.

This could have happened to any club.

Possibly-related Articles:                                        (auto-generated)

Trackback URI | Comments RSS

Leave a Reply

You must be logged in to post a comment.
Not A Member? Register for Free!

Some Today.com contributors may have received a fee or a promotional product or service from a manufacturer for promotional consideration, while others receive no consideration at all. Each contributor is responsible for disclosing any such promotional consideration.