A sleeping giant. It's a cliché in football always used to describe a once 'big' club who has fallen on hard times but who could, in the right circumstances, rise again and become great.
The trouble is, this is almost never true. Or rather, all those giants said to be sleeping rarely ever wake up and if they do, it's not for long. The lower leagues are now full of such clubs; teams that once upon a time were major players in the top flight of English football such as Sheffield Wednesday, Nottingham Forest, QPR, Southampton, Coventry, Derby, Palace and Ipswich. All have had golden periods but will they ever match their previous glories? Will Forest win the Champions League? Will QPR ever finish second in the Premier League or be the top London club? Will Derby win the top flight? Will Ipswich win a European trophy? Top three for Palace? Probably not. Even clubs like Wolves and Sunderland - both massive, important in the 50s - though now in the top flight, and often in the past said to be a sleeping giants, look decidedly small next to the behemoths at the top of the league even despite their recent achievements. The gap has grown hugely while they were asleep. They have woken up but they are no longer giants. With the promotion of Newcastle, has another sleepy big boy awoke? Not really. Despite heroically large crowds, the financial state of the club precludes anyone realistically hoping for anything other than survival until the club is bought and funded appropriately. And in truth Newcastle's high profile has always relied on a few good cup wins in the 50s and not much else. In terms of achievements it's never really been a giant, asleep or otherwise. With no top-flight title since the twenties, if Newcastle is a sleeping giant then so are Huddersfield Town, with three titles to their name in that decade. As fond as I am of the Magpies, they have yet to aspire to giant status. The truth is there are no more sleeping giants. The likes of Sheffield Wednesday have proved that once you fall out of the top flight, it's easy enough to lose that status for half a generation or more. And with that comes a disparity of income and investment. The current financial set-up rewards success more disproportionately than ever before and if the parachute payments are extended to four years, this gap will grow even wider. No, there are no more sleeping giants. Just clubs who used to be great but which are no longer. Except one perhaps. Leeds United. Maybe this is a generational thing. If you grew up in the 80s, Leeds were a second division side and not a very good one at that. My generation grew up with Leeds as a powerhouse side of extraordinary talent matched with extraordinary physicality; both dirty Leeds and beautiful Leeds all at once. 1968-1974 yielded two league titles, two European trophies, one FA Cup and one League Cup. They were runners-up three seasons in a row in that period. Leeds United was the 70s made extant; hairy, rough, a little scary and yet thrillingly brilliant. It is those memories that make me feel Leeds United is not just a big club, but a massive one. A giant. And it might just have woken up with this weekend's promotion. Many have said that the Premier League needs Leeds. It certainly needs some bloody Yorkshire to give it some grit. But these last few years of decline and the financial meltdown have wounded them badly. There is a long way to go and, typically of Leeds, many backroom dramas to unfold, especially as no-one really knows who owns the club. Leeds has always had madness in the boardroom, going back to when they appointed Cloughie as manager despite the fact he was their fiercest critic. Like Yorkshire Cricket Club, it has been home to much political infighting and power struggles between giant egos. But that's proof of their big beast status. With the right backing, we all know Leeds could become a top-four Premier League club. They have a massive fanbase and the city has the ego that goes with being a big club. It has that innate self-belief that smaller, less significant towns don't have. No-one can imagine Norwich - their superiors this year - becoming a major player in the Premier League but you know, you just know The Damned United will be. Your Commentsfixkingsknees "Leeds who?" slimpickering "Thank god we did it. What a tense affair it was though. Yes we have a problem with idiot skinheaded yobs and yes we do tend to have ambitions above our station but you can't say we weren't fun to have around in the prem - we were mental. We had a young talented team (which the rest of the prem has benefited from) and produced a few remarkable seasons before going bankrupt and nose-diving spectacularly - sort of like a more extreme version of Pompey that people loved to hate. London fans - with the exception of Orient and Palace and on a good day spurs - can go to hell for all I care. I have lived down here for years now and all I hear is negativity about other clubs and even their own. You all hate the Northern attitude of blind hope but its a lot more fun than pessamism. And although you would never know it living in London, football is supposed to be fun." Bob_Taylor "God I hate Leeds United. I am not exactly sure why some many people clamour for Leeds to be back. I rather prefer Oldham. Yes, Oldham. " kurikuri "God Save Our Shop windows" bun9 "I just wonder with so many people complaining about how poor the Premier League is and when they say it's full of crappy little teams such as Bolton, Wigan, Wolves, Hull and Burnley etc I wonder if these people would think the league is better if the above teams were replaced with Leeds, Notts Forest, Southampton, Norwich and Newcastle. Maybe it's just so hard nowadays to forge a reputation as a good club. Take Bolton, been in the top tier now for 9 seasons and will be there for a 10th which is a great achievement yet people want them out of the league for being small and rubbish. What exactly do they have to do to gain a reputation as a good established top tier club?" markc1728 "The Premier League needs Leeds...to stay out. The last thing anyone in the Prem wants is their horrible, horrible fans back causing trouble. Plus Elland Road is an awful place to go for travelling fans. Actually Yorkshire is an awful place. John's whole argument seems to be based on the fact that he feels they would do well because their fans have a sense of entitelment and arrogance. To which I counter - Newcastle / Liverpool. And that they have a big fan base - much like Newcastle / Liverpool. But don't have back room problems. And then goes on to say we don't know who owns them. Sorry but Leeds are now 10 years and massive expenditure from a Champions League spot. Even if they promoted this year they will need to qualify for Europe to have a hope of attracting players good enough for the top four. Even from a solid mid-table Premier League base with a good fanbase and solid finances Aston Villa can't mount a successful challenge on the top four and it has taken Tottenham years to finally earn one. And even with all their financial muscle and a good starting point City have failed. Leeds are a half dozen years behind Tottenham at least. I'll be well into my thirtys before Leeds have a prayer of getting back to the top four. Realistically my 40s" teee25 "Leeds United: Champions League winners 2012/13." foxy "fair play to them for getting promoted, my whole family are leeds fans (except me, im an arsenal man) so they have always been my '2nd team',I was a nervous wreck in the closing stages on saturday but they held out. they deserve promotion for their efforts during the season and having a 'good egg' like grayson in charge. they should try and avoid the drop next season and no more, promotion direct to the premiership would come a year too soon in my view, aim for mid table next season and push on from there be good to have them back in the premiership, i miss the family rivalry!" BorussiaTeeth "God I hate Yorkshire." Dr Michael Benjamin, Community Psychiatrist ------------------------------- myRay: On-line Self-Help CBT http://www.myRay.com ------------------------------ Mental Health: http//www.MyDoctorExplains.com -------------------------------- Auditing || Quality Control http://www.MyDoctorExplains.com/alamo/ -------------------------------- Blog: http://www.DrMichaelBenjamin.com _______________________________________________ the Leeds List is an unmoderated mailing list and the list administrators accept no liability for the personal views and opinions of contributors. Leedslist mailing list [email protected] http://list.zetnet.co.uk/mailman/listinfo/leedslist and the hardest time in a sailor's day is to watch the sun as it sails away
