Rob DawsonCorrespondent28. May 2023 3:45pm ET4 minutes read
LEEDS, England – “Leeds are falling apart again,” chanted Tottenham fans from their corner of Elland Road. The Leeds United fans across the stadium briefly considered embracing their own defeat, but went along with it instead. Their crew was falling apart and they couldn’t deny it.
In a game Leeds needed to win to have any chance of staying up, they lost 4-1 without a fight erupting.
Next time Leeds are here they will play in the league, swapping meetings with Manchester United, Liverpool and Arsenal for Plymouth Argyle and Rotherham United and it’s their own fault.
After emerging from crisis a year ago and only surviving by beating Brentford on the last day of the game, this season has been full of mistakes on and off the pitch.
How was Jesse Marsch allowed to continue as manager until February? How could a club’s record transfer fee be squandered on Georginio Rutter in the January transfer window, only for the striker to barely feature? How do you manage to concede almost 80 goals in a Premier League season? And how does one go from Marcelo Bielsa to Sam Allardyce in just over a year – via Marsch and Javi Gracia?
Most of these questions will be answered by owner Andrea Radrizzani, who has returned the club to the division where he founded it six years ago.
Fans want him gone and 49ers Enterprises, which owns 44% of the club, wants a full takeover, but the question of who will be at the helm next season has yet to be resolved. Allardyce said afterwards that “it’s the first thing to sort out this summer.” Only then, he said, could a decision be made about who will be the coach and what the squad might look like. Allardyce hasn’t ruled out staying, although a record of four games, three losses and 11 goals conceded has done him no favours.
Leeds United players are dejected after their Premier League stay expired. Robbie Jay Barratt – AMA/Getty Images
In his post-match press conference, he apologized to fans but also pointed the finger at his players and stressed that the biggest difference between Leeds and Tottenham was “unforced errors”. It was 90 minutes of self-inflicted damage. Even before the game, Allardyce wrote in his program notes that Leeds “were punished for the mistakes we made” and it was no different against Spurs.
Within the first 30 seconds, Weston McKennie played a simple pass and handed the ball to Son Heung-Min. Leeds only saw it again when they were 1-0 down and after watching Pedro Porro slip past Pascal Struijk and set up Harry Kane’s chance, Allardyce could only stand on the touchline and shake his head.
As the VAR reviewed the goal, the home fans began chanting in support of Bielsa, the popular former manager who was sacked in 2022, with Jack Harrison and Rodrigo arguing.
And as if conceding in the first two minutes of the first half wasn’t bad enough, Leeds did it again in the second. Kane wanted the ball more than Liam Cooper, Struijk had a chance to clear the pass but missed and Porro completed the ball, ending any flickering hope of a dramatic Leeds escape.
The frustration in the stands had long since turned to anger. The players received shouts of “You’re not fit to wear the shirt” while Italian broadcast boss Radrizzani was told to “sell the club and go home.”
Then news of Everton’s goal at Goodison Park broke and the first Leeds fans began to leave the stadium more than half an hour before kick-off. They missed Harrison scoring a goal for Leeds who then, fitting for a disastrous performance, gifted another goal to Kane.
Allardyce said ruefully afterwards, “You would have thought they would have learned from the first two, but no.”
A Leeds United fan watches as his side’s relegation to the Championship is sealed. Alex Dodd – CameraSport via Getty Images
When an intruder sprinted off the field and dodged a couple of burly security guards before being thrown to the ground, he was serenaded by the home fans, who chanted “Sign him up” and “He’s put up more fight than you”. It was hard to argue when Leeds had done so little to help themselves.
Lucas Moura’s fourth goal was a nice moment for the Brazilian in his last appearance at Spurs, but it only came about as Leeds defended even worse. Leeds have conceded 157 top-flight goals since the start of last season, more than any other side in Europe’s top five leagues. It’s a statistic that stinks of relegation.
It’s tempting on days like these to suggest that a club the size of Leeds will soon be back in the Premier League, but their supporters know better than most that it’s not that easy. When they were last relegated from the top flight in 2004, it was 16 years before they returned and their absence also included three seasons in English football’s third division.
Leeds have fallen apart but the question now is how quickly they can be put back together.