A dreadful Christmas culminating in the non-sacking of manager Brian McDermott amid continued boardroom turmoil has seen the summer's optimism evaporate from Elland Road.

Overview

Let's cut right to the chase here: nobody outside of Leeds really likes Leeds very much. People remember Don Revie and his fearsome side of the 1970s, with its loose interpretation of the rules of the game, and Billy Bremner and Norman Hunter and all that lot. They remember what happened to Brian Clough when he took over at Elland Road. They remember the violent receptions they've had as away fans in that part of the world and they remember the never-ending "champions of Europe" song from a club that never has been, and never will be, champions of Europe.

And so when Peter Ridsdale gambles Champions League money on massive playing contracts and tanks of exotic fish without addressing the small technicality that Leeds haven't secured their place in the Champions League again first, we all point and laugh and pass that story around about Seth Johnson going in for a two year contract extension at £20,000 a week and coming out with four years at £40,000. And when Ken Bates turns up and runs the club into the ground only to buy it back immediately from an administrator he appointed, screwing the creditors into the ground in the process, while hiking ticket prices and taking the club into the Second Division, it almost feels as though somebody from one of the other 91 Football League clubs who has had quite enough of bloody Leeds and their bloody song has happened upon a magic lamp and used one of his wishes to make it all so.

And when GFH, a Dubai-based investment group, roll up to buy Bates out, and appear on the pitch in Leeds United scarves promising investment in the team and its bright new manager Brian McDermott, only to turn out — who would've thought a Dubai-based investment group would do such a thing? — to only be interested in flogging the club on quickly for a tidy profit… you get the picture.

But there's a wider point about Leeds United, who are one of the famous old institutions of the English sport whatever you think of them, and it's one I seem to be making with increasing regularity in these opposition profile pieces. We've seen it at Portsmouth, and Coventry, and Bradford and countless other clubs besides — traditional football clubs at the very heart of their communities left at the whim of decisions by one rich bloke, often with plenty of ulterior motives other than success on the football field and long term prosperity for the club. Clubs move 35 miles out of town, they change their names, they charge obscene ticket prices under some mad-cap "boutique football club" ideal and so it goes on.

For the rest of the country outside Leeds, watching Italian Massimo Cellino sack manager Brian McDermott, having earlier in the week tried to force his preferred candidate for the managerial position at Elland Road Gianluca Festa onto the bench for the home match with Ipswich, before he's actually completed a buy out of the club, knocked the BBC's comedy output over the past decade into a cocked hat. Laughed like a drain etc etc.

But how is this all being allowed to go on while the Football League and the FA stand idly by, muttering every now and again about their toothless fit and proper person test and financial fair play regulations?

It's not right, and it's making our sport a detestable thing to be a part of.

Interview

This week we took to The Twitter to locate us a Leeds fan capable of summing up the current situation at Elland Road, and we found Tom Stephen who did exactly that. Thanks to him for his time.

What on earth is going on?! It doesn't seem like five minutes since your current Dubai-based owners bought the club and now they're looking to sell again - why?

You tell me! The last 18 months has been a roller coaster to say the least - as the songs says, we've had our ups and downs. After the years of disappointment under Ken Bates, when GFH eventually took over everyone though it would be the start of something great, but it's become clear to see that the club has been nothing but an attempt at making a quick buck.

Under Neil Warnock the football was poor, and the relationship with him and the fans was quickly heading back to the way it was when he was at Sheffield United and one of the first decision they made was to get rid of him — a popular move. Appointing Brian McDermott last April was a real positive statement of intent - a manager with unfinished business wanting to build a team to get us promoted and establish ourselves back as a Premier League side. Of course, it's now clear that Brian had the same impression as us before the summer, that money would be available to strengthen all areas of the squad and other than Murphy coming in for over a million, the other players we signed were for a small fee or free. The players he's brought in, for me, have been positive, they're young players or players that he knows that will no doubt benefit us in the coming years. Towards the end of the summer it was obvious that there was little more money to spend and we were still a number of players short. The fans know it and so does McDermott, but the money is clearly not there.

GFH have always made it clear that they are looking for 'strategic investment' and when our current managing director David Haigh looked to be fronting a consortium of investors towards the back end of 2013, we were looking positively in to the January transfer window, still within touching distance of the playoffs, but again we were disappointed with the lack of money spent on players in the window.

Then the last week of January was ridiculous. It started with a disappointing result against Ipswich, and then the news that Cagliari owner Massimo Cellino was interested in buying the club and appointing Gianluca Festa as head-coach (who he had asked to be on the bench for the Ipswich game). Deadline day came with no sign of players coming in, but the likelihood of Cellino buying the club increasing, and then the club basically fell apart for the whole footballing world to see. The sacking of McDermott, coupled with the negative headlines regarding legal issues in Italy, was the final straw for a lot of Leeds fans, that night will live long in the memory and it will certainly take a lot for Cellino to win a lot of fans over. Since then however, it's becoming clear that Cellino is the only way for us as rumours have done the rounds that wages were struggling to be paid and suppliers were awaiting payment. Rock and a hard place comes to mind, it's either Cellino or administration and more financial troubles ahead.

What do you make, and what do Leeds fans think in general, of the Italian interest in buying the club?

Personally, like I say, I can't see any other option other than Cellino. I was as annoyed as anyone following the treatment of McDermott, who I think can take us forward, but with finances obviously being worse than any of us imagined, the money that it sounds like the Cellino family have is attractive and you can certainly see why GFH have gone down this road. On the whole, after the storm of transfer deadline day has cleared, the majority of Leeds fans have warmed to the idea of Cellino and understand that GFH do not have the money to continue running the club.

There are still some that are strongly against the Italians coming in, but as I say, there is no other option, as Cellino is the only investor willing to put up the money straight away, which is something that GFH need to protect their shareholders' best interests. As you well know, the past ten years since we were relegated from the Premier League have been tough and following the years of disappointment and lack of spending under Bates we are hungry for the investment to take us back up to top, but after the Peter Ridsdale regime and the financial consequences of that, as fans we are very wary of any potential investors that come in to the club. The support that we get, as you will see once again on Saturday is very vocal and loyal, and the fans that travel up and down the country are some of the most passionate people you will see, people you don't want to upset, and the sooner that Cellino and co understand this the better. I still think the fans are split slightly over the Italians coming in, but it will be interesting to see what happens over the next few months, should the FA ratify the deal.

What went on with Brian McDermott on transfer deadline day? Is he a dead man walking once this takeover goes through?

Deadline day was an utter farce. Throughout the week you could see that's something was coming to the boil, but the way things unfolded on that Friday night, hours before a West Yorkshire derby in front of 30,000 at Elland Road, was unbelievable. Only Leeds United would choose deadline days where football fans up and down the country sit in front of Sky Sports News to press the self-destruct button. The fans have united behind Brian since he has been here, and even after the poor results against Rochdale and Sheff Wed in January the fans have stuck behind him and he's widely accepted as the man to take us forward, but he needs time. To have treated him the way that the club did, from whoever made the decision to get rid of him, to the way the club communicated what was going on with the fans was a disgrace, and it shows the measure of McDermott to have come back at all after that. That 24 hours was very 'Leeds', to have self-destructed in such public fashion on the Friday, to go out the day after and blow Huddersfield out of the water, and then to reinstate McDermott on the Saturday night, was at first a relief, but we still didn't know what was going to happen next.

In the end, I hate to say it, but yes I think he is a dead man walking. Cellino will be looking for any opportunity to pull the trigger and despite everything that has been said by both sides since it all kicked off last month I can't see anyone other than Gianluca Festa being in charge on the first day of next season. To be fair, I wouldn't blame McDermott for walking if the takeover does go through; he deserves better than what happened to him, and can't see a relationship between him and Cellino working. Having said that, although I don't trust Cellino and what he's been saying regarding Brian, it's looking more and more likely he'll stay and deadline day is being more like a distant nightmare.

How do you rate the job McDermott has done this season? Would you keep him?

I'd give McDermott seven out of ten and there is absolutely no doubt I'd keep him. Since he's come in its obvious that his hands have been tied and he's not been able to strengthen the team as much as he would have liked. Having said that though, McDermott has been in no way perfect. Over the past couple of months since Christmas, some of the tactical decisions that have been made have been bizarre, leading to some awful results like at Sheff Wed and the performances of some of the players has brought in with the little money he has had to spend have been questionable.

They're about the only negatives from his time here though, and after the ever controversial Warnock left, Brian has offered a real sense of calm to the club. He has come in and said the right things, been positive and talked about the long term aims of the club. The ambitions are right, after the long absence from the Premier League there is a real desire to be back up there, but we need stability, we need to build a team to compete in the Championship and then make the transition in to the Premier League, similar to clubs such as Swansea and Stoke and then eventually push on back to where we were. McDermott is the man in my eyes, if we give him another three years from now, if all the takeover stuff goes through and ends up being a positive thing for the club, he will get us promoted, I'm very confident about that. We need another year or two to build, and them we would have a real good go at promotion. But stability is key, no sacking managers and no selling our prize assets like over recent transfer windows.

Who have been the stand out performers on the pitch this season?

Ross McCormack, without a shadow of a doubt. A player who hardly got a look in under Grayson to start with and towards the end of Warnock's tenure, but has really impressed this season. Throughout his career both at Cardiff and with us he's shown that he can score goals consistently, but this season he's really come out of his shell. He will no doubt be our Player of the Season this year. Another thing that he has shown has been loyalty, he could have left at the drop of a hat over the last couple of transfer windows, but he has stuck by the club and is now our club captain, something that should have been done to start with. Rudy Austin has been disappointing this season, but is looking up over the past month since McCormack took over the reigns as captain, it's been a decision that has no doubt benefited the team. The way he conducted himself on deadline day, showing a real passion and love for the club and the fans, was another moment that I will remember for a long time. A Leeds United cult hero in the making.

Another player that deserves a quick mention is centre half Jason Pearce who has been overall our most consistent defender this year. The best signing that Warnock made at the club and it's clear to see why he made him his first signing. A player who is only going to get better with more experience in my opinion, his last ditch blocks and no nonsense clearances are two of the major parts of his game. Alex Mowatt is one of the young players that has come throughout that has been very impressive since his debut and it would not surprise me if there was a lot of interest in him this summer.

Where are the weak links in the team?

Lack of any threat out wide and pace in the team. Jimmy Kebe and Cameron Stewart have both been brought in over recent weeks but have failed to change this, although with Stewart I think he will improve with time and is here for another few years. Kebe brought a lot of confidence when he joined, but performances have been very poor and I would be surprised and slightly disappointed to see us sign him permanently in the summer. There is also a lack of pace in the centre of midfield, and creativity with Austin and Murphy often too far back and lacking the legs to get forward much to create opportunities for strikers.

Up until last week, I'd have said Paddy Kenny too. I don't know what you lot made of him but Leeds fans are mostly divided on Kenny but in my opinion, he is too short to be a goalkeeper, he does not command his area at all and every save he seems to make is 'one for the cameras' and he insists on making every save he has to make as acrobatic as possible. But following his debut last week at Boro, Jack Butland has come in and automatically filled fans and more importantly the defence with confidence, with his performance and ability between the sticks.

Short, medium and long term aims and ambitions?

Short term aim? To finish between seventh and twelfth this season. Top half but not playoffs would please me. That may sound stupid, but I'm not alone in thinking we do not what to be anywhere near promotion this year. If we made the playoffs, the expectations rise, and if we were to go up, I think we'd come straight back down. We need time to build a team, and look to the future. We can't risk being the whipping boys of the Premier League next season, when we go up, we need to stay up. Positivity off the field is what we need, to get this whole mess sorted out in the boardroom.

Over the next couple of seasons to be building a team that can take us through and we could keep together in the Premier League. Not next season, but the season after is when I think we will start to look seriously like promotion contenders. Then the season after will be our year I think, it's not going to be a quick thing, but we need to be patient, if we get rid of the dead wood over then next couple of years then we need to look at building on what we've got to move forward.

Long term, established Premier League club. The last 15 years has given us some of the highest ups and lowest downs in footballing terms and if we got back to that, I could write off the league one years as just a bit of an adventure. It's not going to be easy and it certainly won't happen over night, but I honestly think, with the right attitude from owners and management, we could get back to were we were. Top ten Premier League club, and who knows, maybe even back in to Europe one day. We can dream.

Links >>> Official website >>> To Ell and Back site and forum >>> Leeds Mad site and forum >>> Football Network site and forum >>> Travel Guide >>> The Scratching Shed blog >>> Marching on Together forum

Tweet @loftforwords, @tomstephen_lufc

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Chareose added 21:21 - Feb 28 Leeds fans sing we are champions of Europe in reference to a loss in the Euro final where the referree was later found to have taken bungs to effect the result......... Also h ave to point out that Leeds have been a tad closer to european success thn QPR....... The comment " and never will be champions of Europe" LOL are you Mystic Meg then ?? You know the future ? And what right does a QPR fan have to mock Leeds United ,,,,?? You've hardly set the world alight even with billionaires backing you with millions and millions As for the Don Revie rubbish, your probably not even old enough to know anything about that and your just quoting it 2nd hand. The anti Don Revie stuff stemmed from Leeds rocking the boat when the nation was in the full throws of feeling sorry for Man U because of the Munich air crash . Leeds united had 18 british internationals and there werent many complaints when those "dirty" world class players were playing for everyones national teams..... suddenly the antagonism was all forgotten. How convenient !

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tahir231 added 22:51 - Feb 28 I am sorry to say this story is for those people who are NOT realists. The way the names BREMNER and HUNTER etc are used as a scare-mongering tactic. Oh my GOD " the big monster that's Leeds Utd is about to re-awaken. get real. You could have written an interesting article, a masterpiece EVEN !
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Northernr added 00:36 - Mar 1 Sigh. Don't take everything so seriously perhaps?
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