They say what goes up must come down - Leeds United’s task this season is to disprove that adage.
The last six promoted clubs have been unable to overcome the gravitas of the Premier League, being sucked straight through the black hole of relegation and back down to the second tier.
After the supernova celebrations upon winning the Championship title, Leeds are having to undergo a cosmic-scale revamp of the squad, so big is the chasm between the top two divisions.
There is only one aim next season: survival. Anything above 17th place is a bonus. Chairman Paraag Marathe is both ambitious and aware. His aim for the club to become a Premier League regular once again but he is fully conscious of the recent promotion trend.
That’s why he’s vowed that the 49ers Enterprises, the club's owners, will spend every penny they are allowed to. Already on the back foot with a joint-lowest three-year spending cap of £61million, Leeds are working within tight parameters.
For context, the limit for all other non-promoted clubs is £105m having been in the top flight for each of the past three years (every Premier League season allows for £35m losses versus the £13m of the Championship).
While the rules clearly disproportionally inhibit promoted clubs, Leeds have to abide by them for now and are not resting on their laurels.
“I really don’t want to deal with a relegation,” said Marathe just days after the title was lifted. If there is any new club which has the best chance of survival, it’s Leeds.
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At the time of writing, the Whites have 14 players who have already experienced Premier League football, new arrival Dominic Calvert-Lewin being one (although Patrick Bamford is set to leave).
A good core squad with no sign that rivals are looking to pinch key players is a good bedrock on which to build. Then it’s about finding the poise and potency to keep the club up.
One of the club’s biggest weapons is its fanbase. Elland Road was deafening at times last season with only one league loss suffered there.
There are exciting things happening with the stadium with its capacity to be expanded to 55,000. A formal planning application has been submitted and work could start as early as the first quarter of next year if proposals are approved, though full completion isn’t expected until 2030 with the club looking to keep the ground fully open during works.
Marathe recognises the seismic impact having a full Elland Road has on opposition teams, which is why he wants to keep the ground full and implement a design which maintains and bolsters the atmosphere.
“What’s of paramount importance is to keep the cauldron and electricity of the stadium today,” he said earlier this year. “Elland Road is a place that players and managers from other clubs don’t like playing at because it’s been called a cauldron or a hurricane of noise.”
Next season will be the same, but also different. There will be more than one league loss at home. But the role of supporters remains the present and actually increases in importance. The club are looking to tally at least 10 wins next season and the majority of them will come at home. But first must come the transfers.
Managing director Robbie Evans and sporting director Adam Underwood are familiar faces in new roles. Both were promoted to key positions a few months ago following a boardroom reshuffle upon the exit of CEO Angus Kinnear. This summer is a baptism of fire - although, neither are novices.
Evans built a multi-billion firm from the bare bones and Underwood has been learning the ropes for a decade at Leeds. Still, you only get one chance to make a first impression and the stakes of survival further emphasise how the pair must get recruitment right. Because there is a different feeling to promotion this time.
Under Marcelo Bielsa, it was a fever dream. Leeds rode the crest of the wave amidst promotion and brought a frantically unique style of play that proved successful before becoming the team’s undoing. Once teams figured them out, Leeds suffered and the orchestrator was dismissed.
His successors were rather all after the Lord Mayor’s Show - perhaps all who follow will always be - and the last gasp survival in 2022 was thrilling but ultimately only delayed what followed. Fractures started to appear, the fan base was left disgruntled and the future looked ominous.
Dominic Calvert-Lewin joined Leeds United on a free transfer last week (Image: Leeds United FC via Getty Images)
United needed a reboot and the 49ers offered that with their full takeover. Their aim has always been to establish Leeds as a Premier League regular once again.
Forthright and intentional, their reputation rested on their selection of manager, Farke, and promotion last season. Having stuck with the manager after the play-off final failure of 2024, they knew promotion had to happen the next time around.
Farke’s style of play is possession-based and intuitive. Conquer by precision and decisiveness as opposed to rampancy and hell-for-leather. His philosophy has been questioned by supporters on occasions.
In the days after the defeat at Wembley, chiefs convened to plot out the summer and next steps. There was steeliness about them, rather than a pose of licking their wounds. Farke would stay and go again.
Not gaining promotion would have meant the end of Farke at Leeds and trust in the 49ers shattered. Instead, it bounced the other way, and on merit - record points, the title and, most importantly, a place in the Premier League.
The board had already had a trial run at Premier League preparation having had to plan for two scenarios right until the last in 2023/24. So the remaining boardroom figures already had a blueprint, though this time in quick time.
With the trajectory on target, club chiefs started outlining summer targets as soon as six months before promotion. Because of that, Leeds have given themselves the best fighting chance of upsetting the odds, ending the trend and disproving the adage. There are metrics, beyond the 10 wins, that Leeds may be mindful of.
Only once has a team with 41 points or more been relegated in a 20-team Premier League season. Leeds will have to be better than at least one Premier League regular to survive.
A total of 39 points would have been enough to finish above the team that finished in 17th in the last four years - and seven of the last 10. And, by the way, no team has been relegated with 11 wins.
Can Leeds win 11 of their 38 games? It’s feasible if hardly easy. Leeds will believe. And that’s a core component of what it will take - belief. All of the aspects mentioned above - transfer planning, fan ferocity, investment, top flight experience - feed into confidence about being able to bridge the gap.
Leeds United being just that - united - is both a credit to the work done by Farke and a necessity for success next season. When storms come, the challenge will now be to keep that unity within camp.
The Premier League brings more spotlight and attention and pressure and all the rest. This season will be as much a test of character and nerve as quality. All of the stars will need to align for Leeds to stay up but achieving that objective is not out of this world, Leeds will feel.
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