Leeds United: What lies in Store?

Article by e-Leeds Correspondent Jeremy Taylor

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The season is over now and we’re not going up and we’re not going down.

Were it not for a string of sensational events that have seen Leeds United reach new heights in terms of scandal, ridicule and self-harm then this season would have been as bland and nondescript as many of the previous dozen or so.

After all the turmoil, the path is clear now and we’re out of the woods as far as financial meltdown and relegation goes. We have a stable owner who knows football and has a strong desire to build a successful club rather than just make money.

We have a manager that, while still reeling from a run of form that would have seen most others handed a P45, is upbeat, clearly breathing easier and is now looking forward with enthusiasm. Should we continue with a good result this weekend and demonstrate that we have indeed turned a corner, all looks well again.

The task ahead now is one of rebuilding and reshaping a squad that has proven ill equipped to fight for promotion in the Championship. Plenty of the peripheral players will be released and new players will be coming in and as far as recruitment goes, many fans will be nervous about McDermott’s choices as is recent record has let him down badly.

Kebe can be taken out of the equation as he was clearly far from fit and generally incapable of coping with the kind of situation he found himself in at Leeds. Hunt has also been a huge disappointment, but the one thing these players have in common is that they have been tried and tested under McDermott so he naturally assumed he knew what he was getting.

The better gauge of McDermott’s talent spotting ability lies with the likes of Murphy, Wooton and Smith. These are all young players who caught his eye and were signed as talents. Again, it’s unfair to judge without considering the environment they have all been playing in.

Barring Wooton, the others were all making a step up in terms of standard and pressure. Better players than all three of them have taken longer than a season to find their feet. There’s every reason to believe that all three will be much better next season.

Another valid point is that McDermott will be fishing in a totally different pond this time round. Cellino understands that quality costs money and, once a prospective list has been interrogated and agreed, McDermott will be given money to spend.

There will almost certainly be some Italian imports and, as unknowns, again we must trust the judgment of people that know what they are doing and hope that we end up with a gem or two. There are plenty of footballers out there that arrived on these shores as unknowns and quickly became stars. Some of them even went through that transformation at Elland Road. Hasselbaink, Cantona, Kewell…

One burning question that has been somewhat ignored recently is that of McCormack. There are clubs already circling the league’s top scorer and worryingly, unlike before they are all Premier League clubs.

If Cellino was right in what he said during his infamous interview then Ross was pushing to get out in January, and who could blame him. So, it’s only sensible to assume that when bids come in this time he’ll demand to go. There might be a fight but no Championship club can reasonably keep hold of a player when the top flight comes knocking, especially if the player wants to go.

So, we need to accept that Ross will leave this summer. He’s been a great player for the club and without his goals this season we would be in League One. We need to take the cash and move forward, confident in the knowledge that it will all be spent on replacements, and some.

There’ve also been whispers that we might try and sign Butland permanently. Personally I can’t see this happening for two reasons. Firstly Stoke would be daft to let him go and secondly, he would be choosing to stay in the Championship instead of joining any number of Premiership clubs that would surely like to take him; something that wouldn’t exactly help his international aspirations.

On this note, we’ve been linked with the highly rated Southend stopper Daniel Bentley. For me, this is much more realistic and equally exciting. Not just because he’s described as a real star in the making but because it’s just exciting that we are even in the running for such players.

Not so long ago we would only be looking at a goalkeeper that was either the wrong side of 35 or so bad that no other club wanted him.

For the foreseeable future, I expect Leeds to be linked with a whole host of names, which in itself will be unfamiliar and exciting for us fans. But crucially, the names will all be players with the scope to improve, to grow in the game and potentially become Leeds United stars of the future.

So, regardless of which players end up being Leeds United players, this shift in approach symbolises everything about the corner we have now turned. We’re looking to the future and we’re on the climb again. It’s been a long time coming and it feels good.

The rollercoaster continues, but at least the sun has come out and the rest of the ride looks like fun again.

@jezaldinho

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