An awful lot of fun

That’s the Leeds United I fell in love with

Written by: Rob Conlon
Fans in the South Stand communicating with their counterparts in the Leicester end regarding a replay of the Foxes' disallowed goal on the screen behind them and it's implications for their parenthood, morality, etc

On the morning of the play-off semi-final second leg against Derby, I woke up feeling sick with anxiety. After fifteen largely miserable years of Football League purgatory, ending season after season with nothing to play for, Leeds were finally competing in a fixture that was shit or bust. We had a sorcerer in the dugout and a team full of cult heroes. And it was absolutely terrifying.

Catching the bus to town, I started feeling silly. What was so scary? Wasn’t this the kind of occasion that makes sport so absorbing? Two teams going toe to toe with a prize there to be won or lost. Why do we bother committing lifetimes, working for payslips we squander on tickets, travel, and TV subscriptions, if we can’t look forward to sport in its purest form? We all want to forget the result, but we’ll all remember That Night. Because That Night was fucking electric.

A league match against Leicester lacked the same intensity, but the emotions were familiar: waking up nervous, spending all day trying not to think about the consequences of losing, the building excitement of getting closer to Elland Road.

None of my friends in the pub seemed to share that excitement. Most expected Leeds to lose. We all agreed that if it was going to end that way, Leeds should at least do the decent thing and go behind early, giving fans the chance to either vent their fury or watch from the bar. I can’t claim to have been any calmer — when I got to my seat in the North East corner, the supporter to my left told me I looked how he felt. Given he’d been to Fulham at the weekend, I don’t think he was feeling particularly sprightly.

As for the game itself, am I daft for thinking it was fun? Obviously not fun in an enjoyable way, but fun in a frightening, thrilling way. It’s what Leeds United does better than anyone else. Jesse Marsch spent a year thinking he could change Leeds’ habit of doing things the hard way. Twelve months on he was consumed by stress and unemployed. I’m not sure if that reflects worse on Marsch, or us.

Leeds have been a poor football team for two years, but I don’t hire the manager, or pick the players, or get chances to score a winner at the back post, so there’s not much I can do about that – just like there was nothing I could do about those three goals Leeds conceded either side of half-time against Derby. Elland Road was crackling with nervous energy, from the soles of Illan Meslier’s feet slipping on the turf to the fans in the clouds of the East Upper howling at the moon. The Athletic’s Leicester correspondent Rob Tanner watched Leeds and was impressed by our ‘aggression, pressing, and fight’. Phil Hay, a man more familiar with these parts, watched the same game and felt like a junkie.

Unlike the Derby play-off, last night wasn’t shit or bust. A draw with Leicester won’t be the result that keeps Leeds up or sends us down. It’s the result that keeps us coming back for more, ready to do it all again. ⬢

DON'T MISS ANYTHING FROM TSB

Pick your emails:
  • Support The Square Ball

    Get more from TSB+

    ⬢ Ad-free podcast
    ⬢ Extra episodes
    ⬢ The Match Ball Live video
    ⬢ Every digital magazine
    ⬢ Daily email and more
    ⬢ From £4.99 a month
    ⬢ Click here for one month free trial
phil_hay_podcast_2023_thumbnail
Eight To Go
tsb_podcast_2023_thumbnail
Poor Dan James
tsb_podcast_2023_thumbnail
If you wanna be the best
A photograph of Sarah Danby walking out of the tunnel for Leeds United Women with two mascots either side of her
Chicken and egg
tsb_guide_2023_web_thumbnail
Elephant Stampede
tsb_podcast_2023_thumbnail
Do you recall?
THE_MEMBERS_SHOW_38
TSB
Futebol
members_show_2023_web_thumbnail
TSB
Barmby
tsb_podcast_2023_thumbnail
Ooh I wanna take ya
240318_COC_5TH_ROUND
TSB
Knockout
members_show_2023_web_thumbnail
TSB
Limewire
PROP_240319
Wind It In
The Square Ball