English football is not necessarily known for its unpredictability. Manchester United, Arsenal, or Chelsea have won every Premier League title save one since the Premier League was created in the early 1990s. Pick Man U, Arsenal, Liverpool, and Chelsea to finish in any order, and odds are pretty solid that you will correctly pick the superfecta box for the four teams England sends to the Champions League each season.However, just when you think it's predictable and pre-written, there's a club like Reading that bursts onto the Premiership scene last year for the first time, and just barely misses out on a European spot. The small teams rise up and grab their share of the glory. However, it's a zero sum game, and for whoever comes up, someone must go down, and in this case, we have clubs like Leeds United to remind us that the game can change at any moment.
Leeds United were formerly a great club. Their rivalry with Manchester United peaked in the 1990s when both clubs were solid domestically and were always competing for league titles and European placement. As recently as 2001, Leeds were in the semifinals of the Champions League. Even after being relegated from the Premiership in 2003, only a year ago Leeds were one game away from returning to the top flight before bowing to Watford in the Play-off Final. Another relegation followed this past season, and the club's massive debt pushed them into administration. Now Leeds are up for sale, and it could get even worse. Reports coming out of Elland Road indicate that if Leeds are not out of administration by the time the League 1 Season starts in August, then the FA will not allow them to play. I am not sure if this means that they would simply be suspended untill their finances are in order or if it means that they would be relegated from the Football League alltogether, which would mark the most stunning reversal of fortune in English Football for years. From European semifinalists to non-league football in 6 years.
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