Halfway through last season, many Leeds United fans were already thinking about their inevitable relegation to the Championship.
There was turmoil on the pitch and in the boardroom at Elland Road, with the club’s fate then sealed at the end of May in a dismal 4-1 home loss to Tottenham.
Plenty has happened since then to lift the spirits of Whites supporters, with the 49ers Enterprises takeover confirmed, along with the appointment of Daniel Farke as manager.
All parties concerned now have a huge task on their hands in getting the club back into the Premier League, ideally at the first time of asking, which is of course much easier said than done.
That task has simply been made that little bit harder amid the revelation from Sheffield Hallam University sport finance expert Dr Dan Plumley that getting back to the top flight as quickly as possible is the only real way of fully making use of the parachute payments system.
“We’ve done a fair bit of research in that space, and they do benefit the teams that have them to such a degree that they are more likely to go up than the teams that don’t have them,” said Plumley, as quoted by the Yorkshire Evening Post.
“From an ownership point of view, what you’re obviously looking for is a three-year plan to get back to the Premier League whilst you’ve still got the security of parachute payments. The quicker you get back to the Premier League, the better.”
Not only will Leeds be competing with the usual suspects, along with one or two surprise packages, but fellow relegated clubs Leicester City and Southampton will no doubt fancy their chances of a top three finish next season.
It has placed a huge amount of pressure on the current Whites players, although those who have stuck around for the fight do at least deserve a great deal of credit for not jumping ship after the club’s relegation.
In other Leeds United news, the Whites are “confident” of keeping four senior players at Elland Road for another year.
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