When Leeds United last played Plymouth Argyle, it was 7th April 2007, Dennis Wise was manager following four predecessors of Kevin Blackwell, John Carver and David Geddes, we were 21st in the Championship, and heading into that game on a good run from the previous four games of 2 draws and 2 wins, hoping for a last minute relaxation reprieve. And yet just six years prior to that we were in the semi-final of the Champions League losing to Valencia, having an enjoyed a good run against all odds. It was all about to go horribly wrong, and went down in history as the darkest days for the club.
Despite Leeds winning 2-1 against Plymouth with goals from their seasons top scorer David Healy and a last minute winning header by Slovakian Ľubomír Michalík, dark days were upon us and Leeds United fans despaired, raged and protested at both Chairman Ken Bates and chants of corruption echoed around the city as the team headed for Tier 1 football for the first time ever, with an unprecedented -15 points deducted for going into financial administration, a decision that has never been witnessed since! Elland Road and the training ground was sold off as were the players, and a murky deal made with the HMRC saw the club in ruins for what seemed like the foreseeable future. Even with a phenomenal start to League One football and eradicating the -15 point deficit in quick succession and reaching the play off final, we had to stay there for three more seasons before we clawed our way back up.
A feeling of déjà vu perhaps for Leeds United fans at the beginning of this season, feelings of history repeating itself with the offloading of players on loan to save on the wages bill, chaos and turmoil amongst wantaway players and a previous season again seeing off another four managers of Jesse Marsch, Michael Skubala, Javi Gracia and Sam Allardyce.
But now the 2023/24 season sees Leeds United rise from their darkest hours of bygone days and an emergence of an experienced, motivated and passionate manager in Daniel Farke, a sound stable financial investment from the 49ers and a blossoming, innovative and courageous squad pushing for automatic promotion. For this weeks match, an important miss with surely with be Struijk who is absent after having hernia surgery, and Leeds are still awaiting the return of Geldhart and Shackleton. Spence and Dallas are yet to be fully healed from their respective injuries. Bamford and Cresswell are doubts for the clash against the Pilgrims who have struggled away from home this season. With Ipswich dropping points of late, Leeds United will be hoping to capitalise on closing the gap this weekend for automatic promotion placement, dependent on other results.
We know it’s too early to call it if Leeds can get back to the sparkly lights of the Premiership just yet, but when you look back to 16 years ago, Leeds United fans have to be ecstatic at the position the team finds themselves in today compared to their last encounter with Plymouth Argyle. It just goes to show Leeds United fans know how to keep the faith through the darkest of times, and Leeds United will continue to shine their light.
