Telegraph 25/12/10
Simon Grayson urges Leeds United players to harness club's history for return to elite
There is an almost eerie sensation to being inside the Leeds United boardroom as the images of Don Revie, John Charles and Billy Bremner gaze down from the walls, embodying the only thing that could not be sold during the financial meltdown which took the club to the brink of extinction.
By Mark Ogden
History. Elland Road is infused with it, but as
players, land, and even goldfish, were sold to keep the club afloat during the darkest days of the last decade, the history proved to be the only asset without a 'For Sale' sign attached.
Ten years ago, David O’Leary’s Leeds were en route to the Champions League semi-finals before losing to Valencia. Since that high, the club have plunged to the unimaginable and unprecedented lows of administration and three years in the third tier of English football.
But as Leeds prepare to face Leicester City at the Walkers Stadium on Sunday, Simon Grayson’s team lie second in the Championship with the possibility of securing top spot ahead of the FA Cup third-round trip to Arsenal next month.
A bright new dawn appears to have followed a long, tormented night, but Grayson, who celebrated his second anniversary as manager on Thursday, insists that the history of Revie, Bremner and the rest must be harnessed and embraced if Leeds are to return to the elite.
“When I was Blackpool manager, the pictures used to be up of Stanley Matthews and all the other greats,” Grayson said. “People asked me if it was a burden to have the history and tradition, but I only see it as a motivation for the current players.
“At Leeds, I tell them they can be the new group of players who end up having their pictures all over the walls of Elland Road.
“They can be a new bunch of heroes who can achieve something, so why settle for somebody half-remembering that you played for Leeds United - be one of those who people remember in 10-15 years' time as somebody who was a really good player for the club.
“It’s not about dwelling in the past, it’s about being inspired by it, and after the dark times this club has endured - some of it was soul-destroying - we should be proud of our history and motivated by it.”
Former chairman Peter Ridsdale, who claimed that Leeds were "living the dream" as exorbitant spending on players sparked the club’s demise, is still held up as the figure to blame for the fall from the Champions League to the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy.
The £240 bill for goldfish in the chairman’s office hardly broke the bank, but if anything encapsulated the financial madness, that was it.
Having teetered so close to the brink, however, Leeds under Ken Bates are a different animal. The club is now financially stable and profitable and Grayson admits that the lessons of the past will not be forgotten.
He said: “As a club, we are in the black and the chairman, along with [chief executive] Shaun Harvey, run the club as a business.
“And the one thing I would like to think - and I’m sure this will be the case while the chairman is involved - is that the club will never get back to the state it was in financially.
“It was so bad that the club went into administration and that shouldn’t happen to a club like Leeds United. The club’s very existence was at risk.
“Nobody needs to go through that again, where people who had worked here for many years lost their jobs.
“But we are in a really positive state now, the club is making money and we won’t be throwing stupid money around in the transfer window. We don’t want to get back to where we were.”
Having seen home-grown stars such as Jonathan Woodgate, Alan Smith and Harry Kewell all offloaded to stem the losses, the Leeds revival is now being driven by captain Jonny Howson, a 22-year-old local boy, and Grayson admits youth is the key to Leeds’ future.
“Jonny Howson, who came through the system and is now captain at 22, has fantastic potential.” Grayson said. “He is a Leeds lad and he wants to be a success at this club.
“He is fulfilling his potential and I am sure people will be keeping an eye on him, but we don’t need to sell anybody.
“I’d like to think that, if the players have the ambition that I think they have, they can see they can succeed with us rather than go elsewhere and Jonny hopefully sees that.”
But can promotion and a return to the Premier League be achieved this season?
Grayson said: “When I came here two years ago, I said that somebody would take Leeds back to where the club belongs and the chance is there, so I would love to be the man to do it.”
Simon Grayson urges Leeds United players to harness club's history for return to elite
There is an almost eerie sensation to being inside the Leeds United boardroom as the images of Don Revie, John Charles and Billy Bremner gaze down from the walls, embodying the only thing that could not be sold during the financial meltdown which took the club to the brink of extinction.
By Mark Ogden
History. Elland Road is infused with it, but as
players, land, and even goldfish, were sold to keep the club afloat during the darkest days of the last decade, the history proved to be the only asset without a 'For Sale' sign attached.Ten years ago, David O’Leary’s Leeds were en route to the Champions League semi-finals before losing to Valencia. Since that high, the club have plunged to the unimaginable and unprecedented lows of administration and three years in the third tier of English football.
But as Leeds prepare to face Leicester City at the Walkers Stadium on Sunday, Simon Grayson’s team lie second in the Championship with the possibility of securing top spot ahead of the FA Cup third-round trip to Arsenal next month.
A bright new dawn appears to have followed a long, tormented night, but Grayson, who celebrated his second anniversary as manager on Thursday, insists that the history of Revie, Bremner and the rest must be harnessed and embraced if Leeds are to return to the elite.
“When I was Blackpool manager, the pictures used to be up of Stanley Matthews and all the other greats,” Grayson said. “People asked me if it was a burden to have the history and tradition, but I only see it as a motivation for the current players.
“At Leeds, I tell them they can be the new group of players who end up having their pictures all over the walls of Elland Road.
“They can be a new bunch of heroes who can achieve something, so why settle for somebody half-remembering that you played for Leeds United - be one of those who people remember in 10-15 years' time as somebody who was a really good player for the club.
“It’s not about dwelling in the past, it’s about being inspired by it, and after the dark times this club has endured - some of it was soul-destroying - we should be proud of our history and motivated by it.”
Former chairman Peter Ridsdale, who claimed that Leeds were "living the dream" as exorbitant spending on players sparked the club’s demise, is still held up as the figure to blame for the fall from the Champions League to the Johnstone’s Paint Trophy.
The £240 bill for goldfish in the chairman’s office hardly broke the bank, but if anything encapsulated the financial madness, that was it.
Having teetered so close to the brink, however, Leeds under Ken Bates are a different animal. The club is now financially stable and profitable and Grayson admits that the lessons of the past will not be forgotten.
He said: “As a club, we are in the black and the chairman, along with [chief executive] Shaun Harvey, run the club as a business.
“And the one thing I would like to think - and I’m sure this will be the case while the chairman is involved - is that the club will never get back to the state it was in financially.
“It was so bad that the club went into administration and that shouldn’t happen to a club like Leeds United. The club’s very existence was at risk.
“Nobody needs to go through that again, where people who had worked here for many years lost their jobs.
“But we are in a really positive state now, the club is making money and we won’t be throwing stupid money around in the transfer window. We don’t want to get back to where we were.”
Having seen home-grown stars such as Jonathan Woodgate, Alan Smith and Harry Kewell all offloaded to stem the losses, the Leeds revival is now being driven by captain Jonny Howson, a 22-year-old local boy, and Grayson admits youth is the key to Leeds’ future.
“Jonny Howson, who came through the system and is now captain at 22, has fantastic potential.” Grayson said. “He is a Leeds lad and he wants to be a success at this club.
“He is fulfilling his potential and I am sure people will be keeping an eye on him, but we don’t need to sell anybody.
“I’d like to think that, if the players have the ambition that I think they have, they can see they can succeed with us rather than go elsewhere and Jonny hopefully sees that.”
But can promotion and a return to the Premier League be achieved this season?
Grayson said: “When I came here two years ago, I said that somebody would take Leeds back to where the club belongs and the chance is there, so I would love to be the man to do it.”
Leeds United’s decline and crawl back up
Leeds United’s downward spiral saw the club plunge from Champions League semi-finalists to financially-bereft third tier strugglers within eight years.
April 2001 Champions League semi-finalists.
Jan 2002: Top of Premiership on New Year’s Day.
Jul 2002: Rio Ferdinand sold to Manchester United for £30m.
Jan 2003: Robbie Keane, Robbie Fowler, Olivier Dacourt, Lee Bowyer, Jonathan Woodgate all sold.
May 2004: Relegated to Championship. May 2007: Enter administration, relegated to League One.
Aug 2007: Start League One season on minus 15 points following administration.
May 2008: Lose play-off final to Doncaster Rovers.
May 2010: Promoted to Championship.
Dec 2010: Defeat QPR to occupy second promotion slot in Championship.