It’s been a long, long time since the powers that be here at Nothing But Leeds have taken up the pen. Another gloomy season has all but been endured, eternal hopes for a play-off finish again appear dead-in-the-water and more of the agonising uncertainty that’s been surrounding our great club for years, has been a constant once again.
First there was Rӧsler, a German disciplinarian and passionate connoisseur for what Jürgen Klopp famously dubbed ‘heavy metal football’ – and after one of the more promising summers in our recent history, the whole place seemed to be on the up once again.
Years in the waiting, there was finally a relatively significant investment in the squad (albeit not even totalling the sum we received for Ross McCormack) and paired alongside the apparent control and organisation orchestrated by Adam Pearson… thoughts of a return to the Promised Land rang through our fickle heads once again.
Rӧsler’s tenure started well with a hard-earned and well-fought 1-1 draw against Burnley. Our team showed a distinctive battle and will-to-fight, something that has been an almost unknown trait in most Leeds teams in the last decade. However, our hope once again turned out to be false (As if we didn’t know, right?) and it wasn’t long until the season began to stagnate.
Poor team set-up, alongside questionable substitutions and the rookie idea of playing Chris Wood up front on his own began to build up a negative impression of the supposed-to-be flamboyant and attacking footballing genius, and yes, we all know what happened next. After all, the compulsive mad man is never too hesitant in wielding his axe… But nevertheless, 12 games is obviously not enough time to judge any manager – but that’s just about the length of a trial period any manager/coach/whatever can expect under Mr. Cellino.
Knowing how way leads on to way in the ever-growing list of managerial changes at Leeds United, we didn’t have long to wait for a replacement, and so, the flying Scotsman, the angriest man in the football league – Steve Evans – was brought to the fore.
Immediately, Steve Evans was a big hitter with all of us, sharing our views and opinions, as well as not being afraid to speak up on just about any matter imaginable. Even to Cellino (Or so we thought). Coming in at the deep end, with his team on the back of three straight defeats, Evans immediately introduced some form of stability, resulting in two fairly decent away draws at Fulham and Bolton.
The introduction of Byram back into the team was huge, and was probably the main instigator in any success we had around the Christmas period. Unfortunately, but just as expected, our Sam left us and soon after we went into a downward spiral...
All the hype surrounding Steve Evans soon turned into questions; questions as to why Botaka had been deemed surplus to requirements and why Casper Sloth hadn’t been given a run in the team. Personally, the whole Botaka situation has me flabbergasted, because, in his short run in the team to me he more than proved himself. Yes, he lacks an end product but he undoubtedly has the ability, skill and flair to be a game winner in probably the Premier League, never mind the Championship.
The idea of Lewis Cook as an out-and-out attacking midfielder (And even winger!) also raised a few valid questions on the thinking of the coach, and rightly so, because we all seen how good Cook is in that box-to-box anchor role.
A winless February ensured that all hopes for a play-off spot were all but gone and now entering into the home stretch, just like always, we’ll be more than happy to nestle in around 15th and enjoy another year in the safety of the Championship.
With seven games remaining, and safety all but clinched, it’s now time to start looking on to the summer. Should Steve Evans be the man to take us forward? Well given that he sees out the rest of the season, I personally think that he’s done enough to warrant another year at the helm. After all, he’s saved us from an inevitable relegation battle and we’ve even played some good football along the way, so it’s only right to give him the chance to build on it – and who knows – a promotion push could be on the cards next year?
Don’t get me wrong, there’s obviously some valid concerns surrounding him and his tactics, and I’ve found on more occasions than one that his team set-up and substitutions have been very suspect.
People make the excuse that the team’s not great, but in my opinion the talent in the squad should be capable of at the very least a top ten finish. However, despite the concerns, I still believe he's done enough to warrant another go.
I don’t think we’re long off in terms of challenging for promotion, a couple of centre-backs; a creative midfielder, a winger and a striker would leave us not too far away – and investing heavily into those key areas would be far more beneficial than buying a lot of 500k men to fill areas all over the pitch. Cellino did say that if he doesn’t get to the premier league by 2017 then he’ll resign. Ironically, most of us would probably settle for 15th if the mad man was to leave. But that’s for another day.
Let us know in the comments section whether you think Steve Evans has done enough to earn another year in charge, as well as what you think we need to challenge for promotion next season.
