‘Marcelo Bielsa is the long awaited hero Leeds United deserve’ - Kaiser Chiefs’ Simon Rix
I don’t really remember my first match, it was against Oldham in a cup.
I do remember my bedroom. White walls with blue and yellow tape across the corners.
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Hide AdLeeds United bedspread and centre of the wall the Leeds squad picture.
A tracksuited Billy Bremner alongside Micky Adams, Mervyn Day, John Sheridan.
Not the most glamouros team in 80’s football, but I was pretty obsessed.
Soon David Batty and Gary Speed would be in the team, soon we’d be winning the league and back in Division 1, soon it was onward to European adventures.
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Hide AdFast forward a few years and Kaiser Chiefs are doing very well, when 95 per cent of the time you are on a tour bus or plane a long way away, suddenly home becomes important, something to centre you and keep you sane
So I did what anyone else who was away for 10 months a year would do and bought a season ticket.
“Luckily” by that stage Champions League football was way behind us. We were on a one way ticket to League 1.
The football has often been dire, the players often catastrophically untalented, but we were there.
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Hide AdWe were there when we threw away a 4-1 lead to lose 6-4 to Preston.
We were there for Barnsley 5 - 2 Leeds.
Stood in the uncovered away end in the rain at Swindon to watch Billy Paynter score twice, for us to buy the wrong striker and get stuck watching the same Billy Paynter not score twice for his entire Leeds career.
We’ve seen Hockaday in the manager’s seat and Liam Dickinson leading the line. It’s been awful. But we were there.
Finally we are back in the top league.
Bielsa is the long awaited hero that Leeds deserved.
I think he’s the perfect fit.
The football we have been playing is arguably more suited to the Premier League and hopefully we’ll get less teams coming to Elland Road and wasting time from the 1st minute.
So I think we’re going to be alright. Looking forward to the next chapter.
There’s sure to be ups and downs and we’ll be there.
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