A Leeds United Retrospective: The 20-23 Premier League years.

Leeds United are back, again. As the club gears up for the new Premier League season, lets look back at the last time the Whites graced the top flight.

The 16 year wait is over

In 2020, Leeds United won promotion back to the Premier League for the first time in 16 years. For the fans this was a monumental occasion. The dark clouds lifted, the misery of League One and the Championship were soon to be distant memories. Not even COVID could dampen the celebrations. Leeds United were back.

The fans' celebrations lasted all summer, as expected. The board, on the other hand, had to get straight back at it. It's one thing getting promoted, another to actually stay up. Us Leeds fans see ourselves as one of England's traditional big clubs - we aren't here to make up the numbers, like certain other 'yo-yo' clubs. We'd seen enough of the championship and we didn't want to ever go back.

The owner, Andrea Radrizanni, and his trusted Director of Football, Victor Orta, had confidently espoused their long-term plan for the club post-promotion. The plan for the Premier League, in a nut-shell, was relatively simple - consolidate, build, establish. Sounds pretty straightforward, right? Well, this is Leeds United. Words like 'simple' and 'straightforward' don't often appear in the fan's collective vocabulary.

The Honeymoon

It's often been said that a club's first 2 seasons in the Premier League are the toughest. Survive, then, in the 3rd season, kick-on and start to establish yourself in the league. Leeds.....did not do this. If anything, they did it the opposite way round.

Armed with confidence, momentum, and a couple of new signings, the first season back saw an unfazed Leeds United pick up where they left off in the championship. The continuation of their exciting, blistering style of attacking football under Bielsa, who only signed his contract extension moments before the first game, saw fans and pundits alike brand the team a genuine breath of fresh air, that even the most Leeds-hating bastards struggled to argue with.

62 goals were scored (and a fair few conceded, but lets not dwell on that), more than both Chelsea and Arsenal. A particular high point for myself, and most other Leeds fans I imagine, was Stuart Dallas' last minute winner against eventual Manchester City.

The feeling of joy was absolutely visceral, but it still saddens me to this day that there were no fans there to witness it. Leeds would go on to finish the season in 9th place, accumulating the highest points total of any newly-promoted side since Ipswich in the 01/02 season.

Leeds fans were, rightly, euphoric. The first season back after so long couldn't have gone much better. We'd created an excellent foundation, surely now we would go ahead and establish ourselves back in our rightful place. If only that were the case....

Second Season Syndrome

The momentum, it's safe to say, didn't last. Second season syndrome hit hard, the squad looked increasingly threadbare and the excellent 1st season addition of Raphinha started to look like the exception rather than the rule. Bielsa is a very studious man, who knows what he does and doesn't want. And what he definitely didn't seem to want, were many of Orta's transfer suggestions. Only 2 senior players came in (Dan James and Junior Firpo) and, more importantly, exiting players were not adequately replaced. In particular, the creative magic of Pablo Hernandez.

Leeds really struggled. Players looked tired and weren't hitting the same heights as the previous season. Injuries started to pile-up and, with Bielsa sticking religiously to his attacking philosophy, the heavy defeats were beginning to take their toll. Eventually, after 3 brutal defeats on the bounce, the great man was unceremoniously sacked. A dark moment.

Bielsa was an idol amongst Leeds fans. He reformed and rejuvenated a stale club, delivering success and pride that will not be forgotten. Who could replace such a totemic figure? The board, in their infinite wisdom, decided to appoint the walking-thesaurus-of-coaching-buzzwords, Jesse Marsch. Marsch approached the job with a vim and vigour not often seen in West Yorkshire. Maybe this very, very, enthusiastic American could help the club escape the drop. It just about worked. A dramatic last day victory over Brentford was all that stood between Leeds and relegation.

Staring into the Abyss

The 3rd season rolled around and this is where everything really fell apart. Key players Phillips and Raphinha were sold, alongside fan-favourite, Mateusz Klich. With Bielsa gone, and the more malleable Marsch at the helm, Orta could now push forward with his preferred signings (it quickly became clear why Bielsa didn't want Orta's players). 9 first-team players were signed, but, somehow, gaping holes in the playing squad were still, inexplicably, left unplugged.

Surprisingly, the season started well. 2 wins, including a 3-0 victory over Chelsea, and a draw, left Leeds fans with an unexpected sense of optimism. That, did not last. Things quickly went down hill and the season was turning disastrous. The players looked unfit and lost in the manager's ridiculously narrow playing system. What compounded the misery, was Marsch's nauseating enthusiasm, and meaningless platitudes, were beginning to make him sound more and more like David Brent for the LinkedIn generation. No one cared about underlying stats and positive dressing-room 'vibes' - we were shit. Mercifully, for us, and him, Marsch was sacked in February.

Things, briefly, started to look up under Javi Gracia, before a calamitous 2nd half performance vs Crystal Palace (I'd still like to know what happened at half-time) led to a monumental collapse. A ridiculous Big Sam roll of the dice followed, before the inevitable happened: Leeds were relegated back to where they were never meant to go again. Typical.

The Autopsy

How did this happen?

Andrea Radrizzani and Victor Orta have to take the majority of the blame. Their lack of coherent investment and poor planning is what, I feel, ultimately cost the club . We had a widely-revered genius as a manager and we didn't back him. Bielsa's style of play was relentless and entertaining but for it to continue to work the squad needed revamping. The same thing will have to happen this summer. It will be harsh on some players but the Premier League doesn't allow for sentimentality.

The 49ers, with the assistance of Red Bull, have levelled-up the club behind the scenes. The will seems to be there, as does the money. Now it's about seeing results. Some good work has already been put in this summer, but more is needed if we're going to avoid making the same mistakes as last time. Leeds fans - cross your fingers and strap in.