The Leeds United season preview 2023/24 is difficult to call, with new players, a new manager and new owners all at Elland Road for the new campaign.
Preeminent Championship force Daniel Farke is targeting his third promotion to the Premier League with Leeds United this season following two successes with Norwich City, but the German gaffer will have to do so with a much-changed squad as a number of high-earners depart the club.
Enough players are still around from their promotion campaign in 2019/20 to know what it takes to get out of the division, but it'll be a tall order to bounce straight back from the Championship.
Leeds United season preview 2023/24, the fan's view: Daniel Chapman (@MoscowhiteTSB)
Last season was a disaster; a joke; a natural consequence of finishing 9th in the Premier League in 2020/21 and the board thinking they had it made.
This season will be different because we don’t actually get relegated very often. This is just our fourth in 60 years. We don’t really have a plan for it, which is worrying... but also exciting? Maybe?
Fans think our owner has to impress us. 49ers Enterprises completed their incremental takeover from Andrea Radrizzani this summer, and must work fast to get past questions about their years of silent part-ownership.
The thing my club really gets right is screwing things up.
The one change I’d make would be doing all of the ground improvements that didn’t get done while we were in the Premier League.
The pantomime villain will be Neil Warnock. I half-suspect he’s taken another year at Huddersfield just so he can manage them against us.
Our most underrated player is Patrick Bamford, in a weird way. Fans will argue he was overrated, but two years of injuries since scoring 16 goals in the Championship and 17 in the top flight, in back-to-back seasons, mean his actual abilities are all but forgotten. There’s mojo to rediscover.
Look out for midfielder Archie Gray. The 17-year-old heir to the Gray family dynasty could thrive in the second tier.
The player I’d happily drive to another club is Weston McKennie – he has gone, but just to make sure. His loan from Juventus was a disaster on the pitch and a dalliance with the worst of modern football fans online.
The opposition player I’d love here is Leeds-born Erling Haaland. He has already completed football, but what about on a cold Tuesday night etc. etc.
The active player I’d love to have back is James Milner. Full stop.
I’m least looking forward to playing Sheffield Wednesday. It’ll be like a post-relegation walk of shame.
I won’t be happy unless I start supporting a different club. But after Jesse Marsch’s Red Bull kick-and-rush, I’d just like to see some Leeds players passing to each other.
We’ll finish 7th, inevitably.
Season previews for the Premier League, League One and League Two are all available HERE
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