Leeds are back after 16 years of misery, mediocrity and incompetence

The Premier League has been reached thanks to the flawed, dedicated and obsessed Marcelo Bielsa, a perfect match for fans“Leeds scum are back” – the last time Leeds were promoted to the top division, in 1990, the Mirror expressed the feelings of many. The phrase was reclaimed as a badge of pride by their fans, proud to be unfashionable and disliked. Now that a long-awaited return to the Premier League has been secured, we’re back, a ghost from the original Premier League, here to haunt the pristine image of the global cash cow it’s become in our absence. We return as outsiders, humbled by the time away, as awkward as our enigmatic manager.For Leeds fans like myself, the past 16 years have been a hellish combination of incompetent and malicious owners, arrogant managers and mediocre players. We occasionally appeared on the sports bulletins when Ken Bates or Massimo Cellino said something particularly outlandish but the norm has been mainstream anonymity and relentless mockery. In January 2014, Huddersfield fans channeled Joy Division to sing “Leeds are falling apart again” at Elland Road and the song began to ripple around Championship stadiums whenever another collapse was in prospect. Sky Sports even chose to pipe the song in during the 5-0 victory against Stoke as promotion came closer, reminding us of the misery we were trying to leave behind. Continue reading... https://www.theguardian.com/football/2020/jul/18/leeds-back-premier-league-16-years-misery-mediocrity-incompetence-marcelo-bielsa #leeds_united #football #sport #championship