. . . in fourteenth place and with a final points total of 47; a comfortable eight above the dotted line. There was even the remote possibility of qualification for European competition. That reward went to Sunderland who came up through the Championship play offs and defied the received laws of football gravity by qualifying for the Europa League through their seventh-place final spot. Their previous foray into European competition was the 1973-74 European Cup Winners Cup competition (don’t ask me how they qualified for it; Google the answer!). It is to be hoped that interaction with European football culture acts as some kind of educative experience for those Brexit voting Makems! On a more cautionary note, how will the Black Cats juggle the perils of Second Season Syndrome with participation in what can be a draining competition in terms of travel and squad demand.
To return to the matter at hand; the moment that Leeds fans could definitely start dancing and dining to the tune of “Staying Up! We Are Staying Up! came with that excruciating VAR deliberation at the London Stadium in stoppage time in the West Ham United v Arsenal encounter where the stakes could not have been higher for the Gunners at any rate. For had Raya, the Arsenal keeper, not been adjudged to have been impeded (on top of several apparent tugging of West Ham shirts) during the melee resulting from a corner in which Harry Wilson rifled home what would have been a Hammers’ equaliser, then their arithmetic advantage at the top of the Premiership would have dissolved leaving the path clear for Manchester City to sweep towards yet another title. By contrast the point that the Hammers would have been insufficient to avoid the inevitable drop which was confirmed on Sunday past. But history and the Gods shone on Arsenal (and by extension Leeds United) and the goal was chalked off and rightfully so if the issue was solely the arm which crossed the body of Raya. But the noun stress simply does not do justice to the collective agony endured by maybe millions glued to their television sets across the world.
To return to the matter at hand; the moment that Leeds fans could definitely start dancing and dining to the tune of “Staying Up! We Are Staying Up! came with that excruciating VAR deliberation at the London Stadium in stoppage time in the West Ham United v Arsenal encounter where the stakes could not have been higher for the Gunners at any rate. For had Raya, the Arsenal keeper, not been adjudged to have been impeded (on top of several apparent tugging of West Ham shirts) during the melee resulting from a corner in which Harry Wilson rifled home what would have been a Hammers’ equaliser, then their arithmetic advantage at the top of the Premiership would have dissolved leaving the path clear for Manchester City to sweep towards yet another title. By contrast the point that the Hammers would have been insufficient to avoid the inevitable drop which was confirmed on Sunday past. But history and the Gods shone on Arsenal (and by extension Leeds United) and the goal was chalked off and rightfully so if the issue was solely the arm which crossed the body of Raya. But the noun stress simply does not do justice to the collective agony endured by maybe millions glued to their television sets across the world.
But I share with my TPQ fellow columnist Dr John Coulter his joy and delight at this long overdue Premiership title for Arsenal. They were worthy winners; their standard of football defies the “One-Nil to the Arsenal” stereotype and the resilience and camaraderie amongst the group that Mikel Arteta has instilled which has enabled them to transcend the heartbreak and frustration of three successive runners-up finishes is something to behold. Onwards and upwards to a first ever and long overdue European Champions League trophy this Saturday against another Sovereign Wealth asset, namely PSG or should that be Qatar. Should Arteta do what no Arsenal boss has done since the legendary Herbert Chapman in the 1930s and retain the title, then a place in the pantheon of football deities awaits.
After another diversion into serendipity, I wish to report real satisfaction at Daniel Farke’s personal achievements this season in securing post-promotion safety for the first time in his managerial career as well as piloting a club to his first Cup semi-final. His change of tactical formation at half time at the Etihad on 29th November 2025 when his team were staring down the barrel of a defeat to equal the 7-0 rout inflicted by Manchester City in November 2021 and he down the barrel of likely dismissal after a run of four successive losses which had dropped us into the relegation places has already gone down in Elland Road folklore. Once we had extricated ourselves from the bottom three, a return was never likely as we became a competitive force in the Premiership, becoming much harder to beat and playing a brand of exciting football exemplified by the resurrection of the career of the notoriously injury prone striker Dominic Calvdert-Lewin.
After another diversion into serendipity, I wish to report real satisfaction at Daniel Farke’s personal achievements this season in securing post-promotion safety for the first time in his managerial career as well as piloting a club to his first Cup semi-final. His change of tactical formation at half time at the Etihad on 29th November 2025 when his team were staring down the barrel of a defeat to equal the 7-0 rout inflicted by Manchester City in November 2021 and he down the barrel of likely dismissal after a run of four successive losses which had dropped us into the relegation places has already gone down in Elland Road folklore. Once we had extricated ourselves from the bottom three, a return was never likely as we became a competitive force in the Premiership, becoming much harder to beat and playing a brand of exciting football exemplified by the resurrection of the career of the notoriously injury prone striker Dominic Calvdert-Lewin.
The highlight of the season was a 2-1 victory at Old Trafford over a Manchester United side much revitalised by Michael Carrick who has just been made permanent Head Coach; the first such League win at the lair of what for most Leeds fans is the Auld Enemy since February 1981. Farke thus achieved what evaded other (relatively) high achieving Leeds managers such as Howard Wilkinson, Marcelo Bielsa, David O’Leary, and George Graham. That we could easily have been three or four up at half-time and at the Hill Dickenson stadium (Everton’s new gaff) and Villa Park vindicates our status in the top flight. That we didn’t see such matches out to a wholly successful conclusion is certainly an area of improvement for next season.
That victory at Old Trafford presaged the dash to safety which saw us take 14 points from an available 21 with just one defeat and one duck; the 3-0 loss at West Ham on Sunday past, a dead rubber for far more tragic reasons for the Hammers whose relegation was the grisly climax to the most egregious corporate failings in recent English football history since the financial implosion at Elland Road in the early noughties which consigned us to a sentence of sixteen years of exile from the Premiership after relegation in 2004. In close competition for the dunce’s cap have been the executives at Tottenham who contrived to engineer the near-death experience of avoiding relegation by two points. Their survival was secured by a stumble to a 1-0 win over victory over Everton; their first home win since 6th December.
It is for others to dissect the grim goings on at boardrooms in North and East London. While wishing to avoid Thersea May type hubris about “strong and stable” leadership, the Leeds owners, the 49ers Enterprises, have proved to be solid tillers of the soil, something which could not be said for the succession of post Ridsdale regimes which made Leeds United a byword for financial and organisational incompetence. It was a history that Daniel Farke was totally aware of, having taken over as manager in 2023 in the midst of a relegation battle that was in large part due to appalling decision making by the board headed by Andrea Radrizzani and the Director of Football Victor Orta including signings of unsuitable players with relegation clauses. Having had to rebuild the club in the midst of the inevitable departures from the club, Daniel has warned the board of the legacies of such dysfunctional corporate leadership and will work with the 49ers as a team. A really positive development has been the commencement of work to expand Elland Road to a capacity of 52,000 by the beginning of the 2030s.
It was a weekend that saw multiple departures and ends of eras. Pep Guardiola bade an emotional farewell to a Manchester City for whom he brought a trophy haul unimaginable in the days of “Cityitis” (we won’t mention the 115 charges which will end up at football’s version of the County Court) along with two icons of the Pep talk era – Bernardo de Silva and John Stones with a guard of honour for de Silva as he departed the Etihad in a substitution in the 71st minute. Two lynchpins of what was essentially the Klopp era at Anfield, Mo Salah (the best forward to have graced the top flight in my years of watching football) and Andy Robertson also departed to the sight of another guard of honour at their substitutions.
That victory at Old Trafford presaged the dash to safety which saw us take 14 points from an available 21 with just one defeat and one duck; the 3-0 loss at West Ham on Sunday past, a dead rubber for far more tragic reasons for the Hammers whose relegation was the grisly climax to the most egregious corporate failings in recent English football history since the financial implosion at Elland Road in the early noughties which consigned us to a sentence of sixteen years of exile from the Premiership after relegation in 2004. In close competition for the dunce’s cap have been the executives at Tottenham who contrived to engineer the near-death experience of avoiding relegation by two points. Their survival was secured by a stumble to a 1-0 win over victory over Everton; their first home win since 6th December.
It is for others to dissect the grim goings on at boardrooms in North and East London. While wishing to avoid Thersea May type hubris about “strong and stable” leadership, the Leeds owners, the 49ers Enterprises, have proved to be solid tillers of the soil, something which could not be said for the succession of post Ridsdale regimes which made Leeds United a byword for financial and organisational incompetence. It was a history that Daniel Farke was totally aware of, having taken over as manager in 2023 in the midst of a relegation battle that was in large part due to appalling decision making by the board headed by Andrea Radrizzani and the Director of Football Victor Orta including signings of unsuitable players with relegation clauses. Having had to rebuild the club in the midst of the inevitable departures from the club, Daniel has warned the board of the legacies of such dysfunctional corporate leadership and will work with the 49ers as a team. A really positive development has been the commencement of work to expand Elland Road to a capacity of 52,000 by the beginning of the 2030s.
It was a weekend that saw multiple departures and ends of eras. Pep Guardiola bade an emotional farewell to a Manchester City for whom he brought a trophy haul unimaginable in the days of “Cityitis” (we won’t mention the 115 charges which will end up at football’s version of the County Court) along with two icons of the Pep talk era – Bernardo de Silva and John Stones with a guard of honour for de Silva as he departed the Etihad in a substitution in the 71st minute. Two lynchpins of what was essentially the Klopp era at Anfield, Mo Salah (the best forward to have graced the top flight in my years of watching football) and Andy Robertson also departed to the sight of another guard of honour at their substitutions.
Whether Arne Slot will be around to properly manage the transition from the age of “heavy metal” football is, to put it tentatively, up for speculation. Andoni Iraola left Bournemouth, having not just kept this most unlikely outpost of elite football in the Premiership but to the Europa League. Oliver Glasner left Crystal Palace having guided them to their first major trophy, the FA Cup in 2025, and to the final of the European Conference League this season. How successful will their respective successors be in ensuring the continuing renewal and regeneration of their clubs?
Lastly, as a native of County Tyrone I cannot sign off on this piece without paying tribute to Frank McGuigan, a Red Hand legend who sadly passed away at home in his native Ardboe on Sunday at the age of 71. A footballing but very self-effacing prodigy who captained Tyrone in their 1973 Ulster Football Final victory at the age of 19; he would surely have achieved more than his second Ulster medal in 1984 at the age of 30 which he won through a scintillating display of football skill had not life in the form of exile on the building sites of New York. A superstar of his era; Frank had to deal with tragedy and struggle in the form of a serious road traffic accident which ended his career and later a battle with alcoholism which he came out of the other end. In his recovery years, he passed on his wisdom and knowledge to the next generation of Ardboe GFC players including his three sons.
RIP Frank.
Marching on Together
Lastly, as a native of County Tyrone I cannot sign off on this piece without paying tribute to Frank McGuigan, a Red Hand legend who sadly passed away at home in his native Ardboe on Sunday at the age of 71. A footballing but very self-effacing prodigy who captained Tyrone in their 1973 Ulster Football Final victory at the age of 19; he would surely have achieved more than his second Ulster medal in 1984 at the age of 30 which he won through a scintillating display of football skill had not life in the form of exile on the building sites of New York. A superstar of his era; Frank had to deal with tragedy and struggle in the form of a serious road traffic accident which ended his career and later a battle with alcoholism which he came out of the other end. In his recovery years, he passed on his wisdom and knowledge to the next generation of Ardboe GFC players including his three sons.
RIP Frank.
Marching on Together
⏩Barry Gilheany is a freelance writer, qualified counsellor and aspirant artist resident in Colchester where he took his PhD at the University of Essex. He is also a lifelong Leeds United supporter.
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