Leeds United are haunted by play-off ghosts – and the fear has set in — The Athletic 27/4/24
By Phil Hay
There’s a compilation to be made — and presumably one exists
somewhere — of Leeds United’s play-off ghosts; a video nasty for brave souls
only.
Start with Peter Shirtliff in 1987, negating the most
delicious goal John Sheridan ever scored. Move onto Kevin Blackwell’s team in
2006, dying with fright as fireworks blew up behind them; shortly before they
did likewise. James Hayter, Jimmy Abdou, Liam Cooper and Kiko Casilla crossing
wires, sending the Ming Vase of Marcelo Bielsa’s football across black ice.
Those are the bits you see. Sometimes the worst of it is
what happens when the cameras aren’t looking. Few events in Leeds’ history
better demonstrate the emptiness of play-off defeat than Angus Kinnear, their
CEO, hauling tickets for the 2019 Championship final out of his boot and into
the car of a waiting Derby County official, an hour or so after Derby turned
the semi-final between the clubs into The Wild Bunch.
Kinnear had possession of the tickets because Leeds were
odds-on to go through after the first leg. Leeds have been odds-on in plenty of
their play-offs over the years. But the black-and-white is stark — five
appearances across two different divisions, no promotions at the end of any of
them — and the fear about them is real. The fear is what made two wins from two
games non-negotiable this week, to keep the dance for automatic promotion going
and save the club from re-engaging with their nemesis.
Some poor historical records are odd and not all of them are
entirely relevant. Leeds failed to win at Brentford between 1951 and 2022 but
for 60 years, did not play there once. The turnover of faces at Elland Road
through the 2010s was such that it was hard to think of Brentford away as
jinxed; different players, different coaches, different seasons. It was hardly
Everton against Jurgen Klopp at Goodison Park (or Everton against Klopp at
Goodison Park prior to Wednesday night).
The EFL’s play-offs, by comparison, have seeped into Leeds’ psyche. Deep into it, to the extent that their crowd are convinced that Leeds don’t win them; don’t win them and won’t win them. Results have caused some of that paranoia. They speak for themselves, but their inevitability might not be coincidental. Follow the club over a concerted period and you’ll find that when pressure comes to bear in the Championship, it bears heavier here than almost anywhere else.
They’re big, Leeds. And for so long, they punched well below
their weight. Underwhelming seasons caused disillusionment, which in turn
created palpable desperation. You could smell it on the way to promotion in
2020 and by then the only way you envisaged Leeds going up was by smashing the
division, winning the title and quelling all doubt. Open the door to doubt and
horrible things happen.
As worsening results over the past few weeks made Elland
Road fret, it dawned on everyone that the runners-up place this season would be
just as good. No trophy, a different type of celebration but fundamentally, the
same thing for a club that cannot grow to full size in the Championship. Three
years in the Premier League made some in their fanbase wonder if life was more
fun in the EFL. A year back down here has reminded most that while it might be
fun in moderation, aspiration kicks in rapidly. Leeds, after relegation last
May, would be very happy to pass through quickly. Because of that, a 1-0 defeat
to Blackburn Rovers a fortnight ago made this week pivotal. Put up or shut up.
Monday’s 4-3 win at Middlesbrough was a good start and a
good hold of nerve. Then, at Queens Park Rangers last night, Leeds turned up
and froze; went out with their spades and dug themselves a pit, an unmitigated
no-show on a scale Farke had not experienced before. He was not blameless in it
either. His team are second, still, but Ipswich hold two games in hand, the
first at Hull City later today. Either Portman Road is about to go big on
charity or Leeds are about to collide with the play-offs once more, their
cheeks red from a 4-0 hiding at Loftus Road. The away end was packed at 3-0.
One header from Sam Field to bury QPR’s fourth and half of it emptied
instantly. Those who were left let Farke and his players know at full-time.
It was one of those evenings where the dots failed to join
from the off. Picking Joel Piroe to replace Patrick Bamford — in the stands
with a bruised knee — backfired badly, a failure to heed the lesson of
Blackburn passing him by. Piroe looked like he would not retain possession if
he was made of fabric and the ball was made of velcro. Ilias Chair scored a
deflected curler after eight minutes, Lucas Andersen a cleaner curler after 22
and two goals would have done QPR. Farke held off until after the hour before
using his bench, typically patient in acting in spite of what was going on.
Even then, Piroe was not sacrificed. Lyndon Dykes headed in a third and Field a
fourth, both of which Illan Meslier got something on.
How were Leeds supposed to feel as the wheels came off?
Sick, on the basis that automatic promotion looked blown. But not entirely
resigned, on the basis that Ipswich had work to do themselves. There are
statement defeats, though, just as there are statement wins, and no end of
people in Leeds will think they know where this is going. “Let’s talk about
(the play-offs) when it’s really confirmed,” Farke said. “I’m not tempted to
send the wrong message — that we give up.”
