It was 6am in central London the morning after the Championship play-off final and as the sun bled through the curtains, I was woken by a group of fans on the street outside my hotel.
You would never think that 12 hours earlier Leeds United had lost the biggest game of their season from the stirring, if slurred, rendition of ‘Marching on Together’ happening below. It was a new day, but some things stay the same: Leeds suffer in the play-offs and, at least until the world stops going round, their fans love their club unconditionally.
The very wealthy probably wish they could bottle that type of support and sell it given half the chance in the modern football climate. And to the uninitiated outside world, the whole thing — the quirks of the fan base, the Leeds salute, the commitment to ‘limbs’ — looks a bit insane.
But to use a quote all Leeds fans know from Phil Hay: “An astonishing number of people despise Leeds United or what Leeds United stand for, but this club was never made for them.” Following in Phil’s footsteps, knowing he has produced moments of brilliance like that, is going to be a big job, but I’m excited to be The Athletic’s new Leeds United writer.
Leeds fans at Stamford Bridge last season (Julian Finney/Getty Images)
It feels right to step into this challenge as Leeds continue their progress in a new era. The future is bright with Archie Gray skipping up the pitch, Daniel Farke at the helm and an ambitious and steady ownership group in 49ers Enterprises. I got a taste of what Leeds is all about after joining our coverage at the start of 2024 and I hope it’s only up from here.
Being a club writer demands I become one of you and I have already learned so much about what it means to be Leeds in the past few months. Dark humour seems to be an essential part of the Leeds condition. You have known what it is to love (Don Revie, Marcelo Bielsa, Tony Yeboah, Pablo Hernandez and plenty more) and what it is to suffer losses (which I’ll spare the pain of listing).
If you can erase thoughts of Wembley from your mind, last season brought plenty of highs. I enjoyed the delights of the link-up play between Georginio Rutter and Crysencio Summerville, Dan James’ bonkers halfway-line finish against Hull City at Elland Road, and watching 17-year-old Gray turn up at Stamford Bridge to play Chelsea in the FA Cup with all the swagger of a player with 200 senior appearances behind him.
🎂 The icing on the cake for @LUFC #EFL | #SkyBetChampionship pic.twitter.com/lJ9WMWdgVA
— Sky Bet Championship (@SkyBetChamp) April 1, 2024
Those are the moments that make it, even though promotion is the goal. It will be the joy of the journey from the Kassam Stadium to Turf Moor that makes this season worthwhile. After all, Leeds is a football club with its history rooted in proper football and the Championship has that in spades — but best not to linger there for too long.
I hope you stick with us and that this season I can bring you plenty of exciting stories, deranged goal celebration tweets and, just maybe, a promotion.
Earlier in the year, when I started working on Leeds coverage, I was sent a photo to help me get into the spirit. It shows a sign reading “Welcome to Leeds” with a spray paint addition that says “Now f*** off. Thank you.” It made me laugh at the time, but with every passing minute spent at Elland Road, I have come to understand the sentiment more. To outsiders, it remains a hostile, creaking, giant of a stadium. You do not suffer fools gladly here. But it still has that magic as one of the country’s great historic grounds and for over 30,000 people every other weekend, it is home.
Outsiders not welcome. I’m glad to be your new insider. See you at Elland Road.
(Top photo: George Wood/Getty Images)
