Leeds United
Last season was one of the best campaigns Leeds United have had in the Championship for a while. Despite everything that happened before a ball was kicked, the Whites managed to win the Championship and get promoted.
After losing the play-off final that summer, Leeds lost most of their best players including Archie Gray, Georginio Rutter and Crysencio Summerville. They were not really expected to mount a serious push for promotion after losing such quality.
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But the 49ers provided Daniel Farke with the resources to get top targets before the season began. Key signings like Manor Solomon, Ao Tanaka and Joe Rothwell were added to beef up the squad ahead of the season. As for other positions in the squad, Farke turned to internal solutions, like recalling Brenden Aaronson into the first team fold and his use of Mateo Joseph.
Leeds ended the campaign with 100 points, 95 goals scored and most importantly, the league title on the final day of the season.
Former Leeds United man sent off on his debut
After reaching the Premier League, some players who played a pivotal part in the promotion run were nowhere to be seen. Leeds did not take the chance to sign Solomon on a permanent deal alongside Joe Rothwell. The latter joined Rangers in the summer, but after six months, he was not playing much and found himself at Sheffield United on deadline day. At Bramall Lane, he joined former Leeds players Patrick Bamford and Kalvin Phillips under Chris Wilder.
The 31-year old made his debut for the Blades on Monday night in a Championship clash against Middlesbrough. Patrick Bamford continued his great run as he scored in the game, and Kalvin Phillips came off the bench to make his first appearance. Joe Rothwell also made his debut, coming on after 46 minutes, but lasted just 35 minutes as he was sent off for a rash challenge on a Middlesbrough player. He will now be out for the next three games.
49ers were right on summer decisions
For all the flack the 49ers got in the summer over not taking the chance of signing the loan players from last season, the decisions were spot on. Manor Solomon has now joined two clubs since being a hot topic in the summer; he flopped at Villarreal and is now on loan again in Italy. Joe Rothwell also had a poor spell at Rangers and is now down in the Championship.
Leeds recruited top players like Gabriel Gudmundsson, James Justin, Anton Stach and Dominic Calvert-Lewin and they have delivered in the Premier League this season. Sometimes fans need to respect the decisions from the ownership.
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